Wrigley Field is getting a makeover...somewhat.

[hsnterprize]

I'm suprised no one else started a thread on this, but Wrigley Field is getting a major renovation done on it. The field is being dug up, and a new drainage system will be installed. This will allow rain water to quickly drain away from the field as well as allow the field to be flattened. Wrigley is the last field to have a modern drainage system installed, and the process is similar to what happened in places like Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park not too long ago.

Many teams would complain about how rainwater wouldn't drain away, and ruin the field. I remember many times when the White Sox would play the Cubs, and there was rain...Sox manager Ozzie Guillen would talk to umpires and show his frustration about how the field was turning out. And this wasn't just a "Sox vs. Cubs" thing...many managers and players from other teams would complain about the field. Heck...even Cubs players would complain about it. And now, the north siders are about to get a decent field. Especially since White Sox groundskeeper legend Roger Bossard is leading the project.

Bossard talked on the radio this past week, and he said he found concrete stumps where football goalposts used to be buried underneath the field. The Bears played at Wrigley from 1921 until 1970, when they would move to Soldier Field.

The following pictures are courtesy of ChicagoSports.com and the Chicago Tribune. Not very suprising...Wrigley's field renovation was front page news on the Tribune. Not suprising since the Tribune Company owns both the Chicago Tribune and the Cubs.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-10/33472111.jpg

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-10/33472097.jpg

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-10/33472106.jpg

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-10/33472100.jpg

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-10/33472110.jpg

Many local sports-talk radio people are commenting that the Cubs could now add an additional row of seats close to the field since when all this work is done, the field will be about 2 feet lower than it was before. There was a chance this project wouldn't be done now because of the Tribune Company's plan to sell the Cubs and Wrigley Field. If there's one drawback, it's that Bossard wants to finish this project in 4 weeks instead of the regularly-projected 2 months. He wants to finish the main part of the work before it gets consistently cold here.

Here's a link to the ChicagoSports.com/Chicgo Tribune story about the renovations. (http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-071025cubs,1,2022578.story?coll=cs-cubs-headlines)

So...what do you think?

[emath2432]

I think it's great, so long as the Sox keeper doesn't plant some land mines in the outfield :D

I am one of the few Cubs fans that wants to see Wrigley go away (blow it up tonight), but as long as they are gonna keep it, they might as well try and keep it up....

[Gary Dunaier]

This will allow rain water to quickly drain away from the field as well as allow the field to be flattened.
Silly question... why do they want to be able to flatten the field?

[sflnyc]

I hope the geologists do their research prior to lowering the field.

I think when Michigan removed the artificial turf and lowered their field at the same time to add more seats at "The Big House", it created a water table problem and that Michigan spends $$$ every year to keep the water off the field. Anybody from Michigan (Wolverine, Spartan, etc. it doesn't matter) can help me on this?

[sflnyc]

Silly question... why do they want to be able to flatten the field?

Football fields usually have crowns running down the center from end zone to end zone, but baseball fields for the most part are supposed to be level. If you can use techology to drain a flat field, it is better than having the field have a crown in the infield, etc. (no matter how slight) that would lead to ground balls rolling outside of the lines due to physics, etc.

[Elvis]

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... the Cubs could now add an additional row of seats close to the field since when all this work is done, the field will be about 2 feet lower than it was before.

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Wait. What?

[Gary Dunaier]

Okay. I was thinking 'why do they want a flat field' when the pitcher's mound obviously means the whole field isn't flat.

[jimmyjimjimz]

Yankee Stadium always had a decent drainage system, but I don't know how modern it was.

[skobabe8]

Roger Bossard is the brains behind the drainage systems at alot of todays MLB venues, including Fenway Park. Wrigley has had a poor playing surface for a long time now and this should help immensly.

[Lafferty Daniel]

Roger Bossard is the brains behind the drainage systems at alot of todays MLB venues, including Fenway Park. Wrigley has had a poor playing surface for a long time now and this should help immensly.

Yeah, I mean ask any infielder that has every played at Wrigley and he'll tell you how poor the surface is for the Majors.

I heard during last night's game that the infield grass in Colorado is actually longer than most parks. I guess the Rockies figure since they have so many pitchers that utilize the sinker, it'll help their chances.

[hsnterprize]

Yeah, I mean ask any infielder that has every played at Wrigley and he'll tell you how poor the surface is for the Majors.

I heard during last night's game that the infield grass in Colorado is actually longer than most parks. I guess the Rockies figure since they have so many pitchers that utilize the sinker, it'll help their chances.I think just about every pro sports stadium in the world that has natural grass has it maintained a certain way to help the home team.

This isn't baseball related, but I saw some analysis on the New York Giants/Miami Dolphins game that took place this past weekend at London's New Wembley Stadium. The ESPN reporter who covered the game said the grounds crew normally grows the grass to be long and slick so the soccer balls that roll on it can slide. It wasn't made for 225 pound running backs and 300 pound linemen to run on like they do at a normal American football game. That slickness to the "pitch" along with the rainy conditions, is why so many of the players had a staunch covering of grass and mud on their uniforms...I'd say more than normal.

[hsnterprize]

Wait. What?I meant to say that when the work is done, the field will be about 2 feet lower to the ground than it is now. With that extra space, the Cubs could possibly add an extra row of seats

[Smirkman]

Football fields usually have crowns running down the center from end zone to end zone, but baseball fields for the most part are supposed to be level. If you can use techology to drain a flat field, it is better than having the field have a crown in the infield, etc. (no matter how slight) that would lead to ground balls rolling outside of the lines due to physics, etc.


Baseball fields usually have the crown beyond 2nd base. It was noted that when playing deep @ Yankee Stadium the CF could only see the top 1/2 of the batter. I assume this was rectified in the rebuilding of the stadium in the 70's as the field was lowered.

[philipthegreat]

Why does Wrigley Field always get every thing last?

If this sounds like an ignorant statement please excuse my ignorance, I am not a Cubs fan nor have I ever been to Wrigley.

[penncentralpete]

Baseball fields usually have the crown beyond 2nd base. It was noted that when playing deep @ Yankee Stadium the CF could only see the top 1/2 of the batter. I assume this was rectified in the rebiulding of the stadium in the 70's as the field was lowered.

when i played at old yankee stadium (1963-64) when standing in the batter's box, if the centerfielder crouched down, he disappeared! only after the pitch, when he stood back up could the top half of his body be seen. sitting in the dugout on the bench (not up on the back of the bench), you couldn't see the leftfielder nor centerfielder, and only half of the shortstop and thirdbaseman!

[sflnyc]

Interesting hearing that about the view from the field at Yankee Stadium. I never knew that.

I know whenever I watched NFL games from Dallas on TV, that they always like to show at least once the camera angle from the ground at one sideline showing only the top half of the players/coaches on the other sideline because of the crown.

[Elvis]

I meant to say that when the work is done, the field will be about 2 feet lower to the ground than it is now. With that extra space, the Cubs could possibly add an extra row of seats

I still don't get it. So the outfield wall will now be 13.5 ft high instead of 11.5 ft. and the dugouts will be at ground level?

[Smirkman]

I still don't get it. So the outfield wall will now be 13.5 ft high instead of 11.5 ft. and the dugouts will be at ground level?

That's what I originally thought too, but maybe they are losing the crown so the only place that actually loses the full 2' is short CF. The fences may not be affected at all. Just a thought.

[dabx]

Yankee Stadium always had a decent drainage system, but I don't know how modern it was.
The Yankee Stadium Field (and drainage) was replaced about 3 years ago

[badbaseball]

Roger Bossard is a fake. the way that he says taht he builds fields is a total scam. He might be a God in Chicago, but in other areas around the country in in MLB, he is a conartist. He has this so called Patent drainage system, but when you search for a patent number, there is one that exist. The reason for that is it is not patent and he is using something that has been utilized long before his time. Roger got into Wrigley becasue of politics. In reality, the Cubs hate Roger Bossard and did not want him to do the renovation if the truth be known. It is true that he had a relationship with past Andy McPhail, but the current groundskeeper was not too encouraged when Roger Bossard was set to do the field. Lets put it this way, does it really look good for cross town rivals to ask an enemy to come and renovate their field? I think that is a very bad move and the way that Roger Builds fields, it has a good chance to fail.

He says that he did Fenway Park, which is true. However, he fails to mention that the field had to be rebuilt after he did it. In Washington, he is not welcomed back because of his screw ups there. I could go on. Just know that he is a fake and the truth will never come out in Chicago.

[badbaseball]

The Yankee Stadium Field (and drainage) was replaced about 3 years ago

Roger Bossard did not do it. The field was done the first time by him years ago and he really screwed it up. If you think he did such a good job, you think they would have asked him back. I will bet tht he does not do either of the new stadiums that are being done in NY over the next couple of years either. If he is indeed the self proclaimed "Sodfather" then why would he not be doing the fields in teh largest market in the world? He has a lot of money backing him in Riensdorf and is hides behind a facade of the company that the Riensdorf's own that goes in and consults on the building of new stadiums. If you do research, you will find that most of the fields taht Roger has done are subpar and have had a lot of problems. :homeplate:

[hsnterprize]

BadBaseball...

Do you have sources for all this discontent teams have for Bossard? Most of the articles and such praise him for his work in building and/or rebuilding fields across the country.