Vote on Wrigley signs delayed
Source says Ald. Tom Tunney is demanding big changes.
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks will hold off on outfield signs but give the Cubs the go-ahead Thursday to extend outward the right-and left-field walls of Wrigley Field, build a new western entrance, remodel the dugout and build a new Captain Morgan Club.
Sources said the decision to postpone until a regularly scheduled July 11 meeting a vote on the two most controversial elements of the Wrigley project — a 6,000-squarefoot video scoreboard in left field and a 1,000-square-foot see-through sign in right — is a concession to Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), who is demanding major changes.
In a letter to the Cubs Wednesday, Tunney deliv- ered his demands. He wants: the Jumbotron in left reduced to 4,500 square feet; the seethrough sign in right no more than 600 square feet; no pedestrian bridge over Clark Street connecting the hotel the Cubs plan to build to its new office building and no rooftop bar on the hotel.
The delay gives Tunney two more weeks to try and wring those concessions out of the Cubs — provided Mayor Rahm Emanuel stands behind him.
“As I said time and time again, I want smaller signs than what the Cubs have proposed,” Tunney said Wednesday.
“This is not new news. That’s important. The impact in the neighborhood is not fully apprised yet. The neighborhood is not fully educated about what is being proposed . . . I’m gonna negotiate [and keep negotiating] — like I did with the night games.”
Dennis Culloton, a spokesman for Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, took the two-week delay authorized by Emanuel in stride.
“We look forward to appearing before the Landmarks Commission and working with the city,” Culloton said.
Other sources said the Cubs are now convinced that Tunney’s demands are so extreme, the mayor can’t possibly go along and still expect the team to bankroll a $300 million stadium renovation without a public subsidy.
The mayor did not tip his hand in a statement released late Wednesday.
“All sides continue to work together to modernize Wrigley Field and invest in the surrounding neighborhood,” the statement said. On Thursday, “we will continue to move forward on a number of major items at the Landmarks Commission meeting.”