April 05--Despite appearances, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said Wrigley Field will be ready for its close-up next Monday for the home opener.
"Obviously there's a lot of construction going on around the outside, and there will be a lot of parts that will be fenced off," he said. "But the park will be ready for opening day for the fans. And for the players, the clubhouse, there might be a few things that get done over the next few days, but the players should be pretty happy, too. It's going to be cool."
Last year's opening night fiasco after construction delays featured bathroom issues that caused long lines and forced the Cubs to bring in port-a-potties the first few weeks of the season.
Ricketts reiterated that with the new metal detectors installed at Wrigley's gates, as mandated by MLB, fans should expect a little longer wait and are advised to get to the park early on Monday's opener. The Cubs have also extended the netting behind the plate, as MLB suggested after some scary incidents with flying bats and fouls balls around baseball the last few years.
"The knotless netting is a lot more transparent, so I think people will be very happy," Ricketts said. "We did have to extend (it) down to the dugouts, which will be mixed (reaction). Some people will think it's a good thing, and some will not think it's a good thing. But ultimately it's safer and that's what the league was shooting for and what we want to be consistent with."
Ricketts was in the new clubhouse last Thursday and is eager to show it off. It will be the second-biggest in the majors, and players won't have to bump into the media on a daily basis trying to get to their lockers.
"There are a lot of finishes going up, but it's going to be pretty special," Ricketts said. "You guys know what the old clubhouse was like. It's night and day. It's incredible."
Can a super-sized clubhouse make a difference in how a team performs on the field?
"I don't know," he said. "I hope so, though I think we did pretty well last year with the old clubhouse. I think what it can do is the players will have batting cages, we'll have a better weight room, we'll have different aqua therapy, we'll have room for the Pilates reformers.
"It'll be a better place for them to be prepared for the game, which I think ultimately could lead to some more success. But I don't know how you quantify it."
