The Chicago Cubs are one step closer to hosting legal sports betting at Wrigley Field after getting approval Thursday from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks to build a proposed two-story sportsbook adjacent to the historic ballpark.
A partnership with DraftKings, the glass-walled sportsbook would be located at Addison Street and Sheffield Ave. at the southeast corner of Wrigley Field. It still requires approval from the City Council, the Illinois Gaming Board and the National Park Service, after the ballpark’s designation last year as a National Historic Landmark.
Cubs spokesman Julian Green said the addition of a sportsbook at Wrigley Field is important to attracting more fans to the game.
“While the game of baseball has largely been the same for the last 150 years, the fans have changed,” Green said in an email after the commission’s decision Thursday. “The way they consume baseball is different through emerging technology and content platforms. Sports wagering is becoming a big part of that change and this sportsbook will allow us to connect fans to the game in new ways.”
Wrigley Field, which was built in 1914, was designated a Chicago landmark in 2004.
Allowed by the 2019 Illinois Sports Wagering Act, the Wrigley Field sportsbook still requires the City Council to sign off on a proposed ordinance enabling Chicago sports venues to get sports wagering licenses, as well as approval from the state gaming board.
