Wrigleyville Neighbors: 'We Support the Cubs and Their Plans!'

Dear Mayor Emanuel, 

We are writing to you on behalf of the Wrigleyville Neighbors, a local group of Wrigleyville residents who wholeheartedly support the Chicago Cubs’ privately funded redevelopment plan. As residents, we will be directly affected by any outcome regarding this issue, so please carefully consider our position.

The Cubs are a cultural icon for Chicago, and certainly for Lakeview and Wrigleyville. People all over the country travel to see the beloved Cubs, or perhaps just the historic ballpark. The team has the fourth highest average road attendance in major league baseball. Furthermore, 73 percent of fans traveling to Wrigley are non-Chicago residents who spend $282 million on lodging, restaurants, retail and entertainment.

But that’s only the beginning. The baseball organization is an economic engine for Chicago and the ballpark’s surrounding neighborhood, spurring $390 million in annual direct spending; generating $81 million annually in tax collections; and directly or indirectly creating nearly 7,000 jobs, or $244 million in annual personal earnings, for either direct employees of the Cubs or employees of local businesses near the ballpark. The Chicago Cubs were kind enough to supply us with this information.

These contributions don’t even cover the organization’s philanthropic efforts for the community, such as its willingness to donate $750,000 to the School Street park project. And this is just one example. The Cubs have given and given, and we’ve all benefited.

The team contributes to the viability of Chicago, and without the Cubs, Wrigleyville wouldn’t be nearly as viable. It also would not be known as Wrigleyville. The proposed renovation — requiring no investment from the public — will help the Cubs to be a more prosperous team. Shouldn’t we want that for an organization that has allowed our city to prosper?

It is a mistake to think that the team can continue to perform at status quo, while also continuing to draw crowds and provide the area with the benefits it does now. There will be a shift in an unfavorable direction unless the owners are allowed to operate their business without being scrutinized by a few powerful interests whose opinions represent only a small minority of the overall resident population.

Major points of contention to the renovation from opponents seem to center on the potential for increased traffic and congestion, along with later game start times and perceived inconveniences associated with those delays. We disagree that these projected outcomes will occur at all, or that they warrant rejecting the privately-funded renovation.

First and foremost, this is not an expansion of Wrigley Field. It is a renovation. The proposed plan is not encouraging more people to clog the streets, but instead, it encourages those already here to stay for a while, filtering into venues like the proposed retail shops, a designated community plaza, or restaurants and bars—encouraging even more substantial increases in tax revenue for the city.

Further, between the Cubs-funded traffic analyses, the organization’s $575,000 annual investment in traffic aid, and a proposed hotel, we believe it is actually impossible for congestion to worsen. The hotel - as well as proposed formal street closures for family friendly events - will actually give visitors specific direction, and concentrate them in specific areas. Additionally, the hotel will likely alleviate Red Line congestion, as fewer out-of-towners will be heading back downtown for hotel stays. Oh, and the hotel will further increase the amount of tax revenue to the Ward and the City of Chicago - at no cost to the city.

We believe later game start times on Friday afternoon games will also help traffic patterns and flow, as resident’s challenges of trying to reach their homes with a mass exodus of fans will actually be lessened. Many residents will likely already be home when later games let out. If parking is the concern, let’s not dismiss the proposed increase in parking spaces provided by the hotel, and by the Brown Lot (175 spaces) on Eddy Street. We also disagree that night games are a greater hindrance to the area or increase debauchery in the neighborhood.

The time has come to let the Cubs proceed with their renovation efforts. Complaints that the organization is trying to pull a “fast one” on the community and should proceed slowly and more cautiously are absolutely absurd. The Cubs have been discussing such plans openly for at least two years, consistently modifying the plans in attempts to accommodate concerns from biased anti-renovation interests.

How would these special interests feel if the Cubs decided to move out of Chicago? How would you feel as mayor, if one of the largest tax generating entities in the entire city decided that they could not get the support they needed, and moved to the suburbs, when a no-cost solution was so close at hand?

The concessions the Cubs are requesting are minimal considering they are asking for zero public funding and despite the fact they pay a tremendous amount of money in taxes (amusement, property, general revenue); plus additional fees to direct traffic, secure the area and clean up the neighborhood (all the way to Irving Park and Damen) following any event; and generate enormous amounts of money for the city. Further, the Cubs are the only team in professional sports not receiving any public money.

All eyes are on Chicago right now. The course of action that is chosen by the city for the Cubs is not only a local issue. Nearby suburbs are more than willing to create a hospitable home for the team. Nationally, people are waiting to see what happens, and they will make judgments about the city and its leadership — especially a decision to hinder a private organization with a fabulous history, at no financial cost to the city or the public.

The ball is in your court — or perhaps, at home plate. We implore you to allow the renovations to proceed promptly and to protect the interests of the citizens who have chosen to live near the friendly confines of Wrigley Field and all it has to offer, most of whom support the Cubs’ vision for the future. The improvements the Cubs have planned offer tremendous upside, at zero cost to the City of Chicago.  Please do the right thing, and approve all plans that the Cubs have for renovating Wrigley Field, adding a respected hotel in an area needing one, and allowing for vast neighborhood improvements generations of Chicagoans will enjoy.

Sincerely,

Bridget O’Rourke

Mark VerHalen

Dave Nimick

Kristin and Thomas Hunt

Mary Tierney