October 18, 2005 [LINK]
While the ecstatic fans on the South Side of Chicago get ready for the Main Event this weekend, construction on the beloved North Side ballpark is already underway. I had been very worried about what the final result of that expansion would look like, but the artists renderings indicate that the New, Improved bleachers aren't too much different from the old ones. It would appear that only about eight rows of seats are being added along the left and right field sides, while the central part of the bleachers will remain pretty much the way they are. Fair enough. Also, there will be a multi-story parking garage in the triangular parcel of land on the west side of the ballpark. (Will they still tow the cars of hapless out-of-town visitors on non-game days?) See the Cubs Web site.
For some photos of the Wrigley Field bleachers being torn out, see Scott Derenger's shaveyourhead.com. (That page has dozens of photos, and may take a while to load completely; via Temporary Bleachers blog, via Technorati.)
Perhaps as part of the bleachers enlargement project, the Cubs have formalized an arrangement with the owners of most of the condo buildings with rooftop bleachers across Waveland Avenue and Sheffield Street. It's "Endorsed by the Chicago Cubs," so the Cubs presumably get some kind of consideration in return, which would be a reasonable accommodation to the erstwhile "freeloaders." It's about time! See ballparkrooftops.com.