GOING ... GOING ...
Everything you need to know if you’re heading to ( or near) Wrigley this weekend
No parking
Even if you live there, forget about parking on the streets near Wrigley Field this weekend.
Because of the extraordinary security measures tied to the Cubs’ first World Series appearance in 71 years, even neighborhood residents who’ve paid for residential permit- parking stickers will be required to move their cars off the streets surrounding the ballpark for the entire weekend.
“They’re gonna have to move them out, [ or] they’ll be towed,” Ald. Tom Tunney ( 44th) said Thursday. “If they do not have their own garage, they’re gonna have to take it basically out a mile away, out of the neighborhood.”
From noon Friday until 4 a. m. Monday, there will be no parking on the following streets:
Clark from School/ Aldine to Irving Park.
Sheffield from Roscoe to Irving Park.
Addison from Halsted to South- port on both sides of the street and from Southport to Ashland on the north side of the street only. Racine from Roscoe to Clark. Patterson, Waveland, Eddy, Cornelia and Newport from Racine to Clark.
Clifton, Kenmore and Seminary between Grace and Waveland.
Grace and Waveland from Clark to Wilton.
Inner Lake Shore Drive on the east side of the street between Belmont and Addison.
Waveland on the south side of the street between Fremont and Halsted from 7 a. m. to 5 p. m. Friday.
Tunney’s advice for how those who, because of the “extreme parking measures,” have to park a mile away are supposed to get home? “Uh, public transit, walk, Uber.”
School and other city- owned parking lots aren’t an option, according to the alderman, because, “In our neighborhood, the school lots are be- ing used for Cubs parking.”
The last time Chicagoans faced such a broad order to move their cars off the streets was during the Blizzard of 1979, when Mayor Michael Bilandic demanded that people move their cars to citydesignated lots so snow plows could get through — and the city failed to remove the mountains of snow from those lots. City Hall’s response to the blizzard tanked Bilandic’s chances of being reelected.
Getting there
The CTA will run more Red Line L trains Friday, Saturday and Sunday to accommodate World Series crowds. Also, it will run Yellow Line/ Skokie Swift trains until 2 a. m. and is adding buses on the No. 80 Irving Park and No. 152 Addison lines for the three Cubs home games.
Divvy is offering “valet service” outside the ballpark at Sheffield and Addison, where riders who grabbed one of the blue bikes at stations around the city can hand off their bikes to Divvy employees from 4: 30 p. m. to 11: 30 p. m.
There are two designated spots where Uber passengers will be picked up and dropped off: north of Wrigley Field on Irving Park between Seminary and Clark and south of the ballpark on Clark south of Belmont. Halloween normally is Uber’s second- busiest weekend, behind only New Year’s Eve, according to spokeswoman Molly Spaeth, who recommends that riders check pricing before agreeing to a ride because higher demand for the World Series will mean higher prices. She also urges people to match the license plate of the car they’re about to get into with the plate that pops up on the app.
Ticket prices have soared
As of Thursday, tickets for the games at Wrigley Field have sold on StubHub. com for an average of $ 3,000 for Game 3, $ 3,700 for Game 4 and $ 3,550 for Game 5. The online ticket reseller says the median sale prices for Game 1 and 2 in Cleveland were $ 1,000 and $ 995 — among the highest ever for World Series games.
The average asking prices, ac- cording to StubHub rival SeatGeek. com, for Game 3 seats is $ 3,588, $ 4,446 for Game 4 and $ 4,423 for Game 5.
Both say prices might drop as we get closer to game time.
SeatGeek spokesman Nate Rattner points out that prices dropped for games at Wrigley Field after the Cubs’ dismal 6- 0 showing in Game 1.
For those willing to head to Cleveland if the series doesn’t wrap up Sunday, tickets for Games 6 and 7 are selling for around $ 1,500.
Bars jacking up prices
Don’t be surprised to find cover charges at some Wrigleyville bars topping $ 100 this weekend — with some of them charging an even heftier premium for a table.
Any chance of seeing a 1945 Cub at a game?
No. The last of the 1945 World Series- losing team, Lennie Merullo, died last year, according to team spokesman Julian Green.
How ’bout getting a player’s autograph?
“During the regular season, this has occurred when time permits during warm- ups and BP,” Green says, but he adds that it’s “not likely during WS.”
Are there really people up there in the scoreboard?
Yes, including Fred Washington, 66, who came to work for the team in 1984, has been part of the crew operating the vintage scoreboard since 1990 and will retire after the series.
Can you get some Wrigley Field sod after the World Series?
Probably, though no details yet on when. The Cubs dump 18- inch squares of infield and outfield turf after most seasons and leave it in a parking lot on Waveland Avenue for fans to scoop up on a first- come, first- served basis. Last year, it was all gone within three hours. Green says the team “very likely” will put out the sod again after the World Series.
Best- selling jerseys
Three of the top 10 jerseys sold this season were Cubs, according to Major League Baseball. Kris Bryant ranked No. 2, behind only retiring Red Sox star David Ortiz. First baseman Anthony Rizzo was No. 4, and Jake Arrieta was No. 7. No other club had more than one player in the top 10.
‘ Go Cubs Go’
The song — written by the late Chicago folk singer Steve Goodman, recorded in 1984 and played at Wrigley Field after every Cubs victory — is seeing a surge in popularity at the jukebox, according to TouchTunes, maker of the electronic jukeboxes found in taverns and bars across the United States. The song has been played 28,751 times on jukeboxes so far this year, according to TouchTunes — more than double the total for all of 2015.
Last Saturday, the night the Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to get to the World Series, ” Go Cubs Go” was played on TouchTunes machines 1,494 times, the company says.
‘ CUBS WIN’
The state has issued 1,719 vanity license plates that include the letters C- U- B or C- U- B- S, according to Elizabeth Kaufman, spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office.
Also, Kaufman says Cubs fans have purchased 6,733 Cubs team license plates. That’s the secondfewest among the five Chicago professional teams for which the state issues special license plates and only about half the number of White Sox plates that have been issued. This probably will change over the next few months.
Does Eddie Vedder ever sit down at games?
“I have never seen him sit down for a game,” Green says of the Pearl Jam singer and devoted fan who’s been one of the frequent celebrity presences at Cubs games.
Be patient sending photos
Sharing photos from a cell phone at Wrigley Field could be difficult.
“It really depends on how many people are trying to send at any given time,” Verizon spokesman Steve Van Dinter says “If it’s the end of the game and there’s a home run and everyone is taking photos and video and trying to send, you can expect they might not go through right away.
“That many people texting and Snapchatting and Facebooking, you will see reduced data speeds. But give it a little time, they’ll get there.”
Placing phone calls and sending texts that don’t contain photos or videos hasn’t been a problem, according to Van Dinter and AT& T spokesman Phil Hayes.
Both companies have taken extra steps to increase the coverage in and around Wrigley Field this postseason, including parking trucks near the ballpark that are basically mobile cell towers.