First it was the gigantic pictures ruining Wrigley Field, and now it might be a huge Toyota sign. Chicago Cubs new owner Tom Ricketts is looking to add a huge, illuminated red Toyota sign behind the left field bleachers to help generate more revenue. The Cubs organization proposed this idea back on April 19th, and the city’s zoning department gave them their approval. On Thursday, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks will meet to decide whether or not the Cubs will have the green light to put up the sign.
When will the defacing of Wrigley Field stop? The ballpark has been tremendously improved over the last few years. Fans no longer have to worry about rocks falling down and injuring them. And that’s all the park really needed. I’m all about preserving historical landmarks and I feel like this will just ruin another Chicago landmark. Solider Field will never be the same after the “upgrades” it received. The once classic stadium now looks like aliens have landed on Chicago’s lakefront.
The Cubs’ organization is justifying the sign by saying that the team needs to generate revenue anyway that they can, and that Fenway Park has been changing with the times too, without going overboard. All I can say is that these are the nation’s two oldest ballparks — something that is extremely rare these days — and we must preserve them the best we can. Walking into either of these ballparks give you the feeling of stepping into history and watching a game the way people did 100 years ago. You can’t exactly get that old-time feel when you are staring at a giant billboard advertisement for a company that didn’t exist at the time the ballpark opened.
Sources:
Friendly Confines Fired Up over Proposed Toyota Sign [Beyond the Game]
