Wrigley's New Field

For baseball enthusiasts, the team itself is not the only thing that fans are interested in experiencing- it’s the baseball park that has a strong allure as well. One of America’s most oldest and appreciated baseball parks is Wrigley Field. Second to only Fenway Park in age, Wrigley Field
has an incredible history that all baseball enthusiasts find interesting and are passionate about.

Wrigley Field has been home to the Cubs since 1916. Its name comes from William Wrigley Jr, not only the baseball maven, but also of Wrigley gum fame. While the field has gone through many innovations over the last few decades including adding lights to play night games in 1988, this year the innovation has been a new field. After years of using a field that has been deteriorated by concerts, games and other events, Wrigley Field will undergo new turf.

You might think that all fields are created equal, but with competition so fierce and the cost of winning extremely high, new turf at Wrigley Field
might just be what the Cubs needs to put new mojo into their life. A new field can have substantial benefits to the team and Smithsonian Magazine has an extremely interesting article that every baseball enthusiast is sure to enjoy.

For more information regarding Wrigley Field
and its addition of a new field, please visit the following link: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/

Daredevil, Black Holes, Cleopatra, Wrigley Field, Evel Knievel

Wrigley Field: The Pride of Chicago

Chicago’s Wrigley Field is synonymous with baseball history. For many that love the game, Wrigley Field is a ball park that should not be overlooked. Wrigley field, constructed in 1916 when baseball was solidifying itself as the national past time was built by William Wrigley- of the Wrigley chewing gum fame. This park is the second oldest- Fenway Park in Boston holds the title as the oldest ball park in the nation.

Today, Wrigley Field is still one of the best places to play and watch the game of baseball. Home to the Chicago Cubs since the beginning, the field has gone through many innovations recently. One has been adding lights for night games (1988), another change has been the recent renovation of an entirely new field (2007-2008) to fix damage to the field from concerts and shows held on the grounds.

You might be asking yourself what kind of planning and workmanship goes into reviving this treasured ballpark? Well, Smithsonian Magazine was also interested in Wrigley Field's incredible renovation as well. For baseball enthusiasts, there is a ton of information, pictures and insight that is offered on our main website.

For baseball historians and enthusiasts around the US and the world, Wrigley Field has always been one of few great parks. If you are interested in seeing the field’s renovations and learning incredible facts about this park, view our article at Smithsonian’s Magazine site: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/

forbidden city, Wrigley Field, Cleopatra

Renovating Wrigley Field

Chicago’s Wrigley Field is the second oldest ballpark in major league baseball. Named from the founder of --what else?-- Wrigley’s Chewing Gum, Wrigley Field has housed the Chicago Cubs since 1916. During almost 100 years, Wrigley Field has been one of thee best places in America to watch and play baseball. That is, until a few years ago… when one of America’s most famous ballparks began to struggle.

During recent years, Wrigley Field has been used for loud and rowdy concerts which have damaged the entire field. In addition, the summer of 2007 brought with it a fungus that proved disastrous for the turf. This, combined with the field’s old, ineffective drainage system, turned Wrigley Field into a less than perfect place to play a game of baseball. The uneven surface caused weird hops in the ball, and a pronounced hump in the field made it appear that the outfielders were floating above the field-- a decidedly strange sight.

But one of the oldest, most prestigious ballparks in the world can’t go on uncared-for and practically unusable. To solve Wrigley Field’s problems and return it to its former glory, the ballpark had to turn to the competition. Roger Bossard is one of the best groundskeepers in the world-- but he also works for the Cubs’ rivals, the Chicago White Sox. Still, passion for your work is passion for your work, and Bossard agreed to come across town to renovate Wrigley Field.

But… how did Bossard do it? The first order of business, of course, was to even out the surface of the field and eliminate the “crown” that made players appear to float a few strange inches off of the ground. With bulldozer and backhoes at work, Bossard cleared 9,000 tons of dirt from the field.

Next, of course, was turf-- good turf is one of the most important elements of a ballparlk, and Wrigley’s turf has been decimated by fungus. And while Bossard starting off with some great new sod for Wrigley Field was an important step, it might not have been his most important. The last key step was installing a state of the art drainage system. Bossard’s drainage system used pipes nestled in the gravel underneath the turf. Any water coming down on Wrigley Field will be swept directly into Chicago’s sewer system, keeping the field dry and keeping playing going,

The renovations of Wrigley Field were complete in November, and one of America’s most famous ballparks is again one of her best. Want to read more about Wrigley Field and how “the Sodfather” Roger Bossard transformed it into an incredible place to play baseball? Visit the Smithsonian Magazine website at the following link: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/