Construction signs linger as 2015 season kicks off at Wrigley

The Wrigley Field faithful flock to their baseball cathedral on Easter Sunday to find their beloved bleachers gone. Barricades, temporary fencing and construction signs outside and inside the ballpark keep the crowd from attempting to pass over a ditch or under a crane. Early this week, a Cubs pitcher compared the exposed steel beams and rubble to a scene out of battle-torn Baghdad. And a few hours before the first pitch, workers wearing hard hats - Hey! Look! It's a bright, shiny object!

Rising out of the dust of the left-field bleacher construction, the Cubs most-expensive off-season acquisition dominates the landscape at the 101-year-old baseball park. The 42-feet-by-95-feet video screen, topped with an advertisement for Wintrust, welcomes a sellout crowd and millions more at home watching the nationally televised broadcast.

Freshly cut plywood - its smell still wafting in the air - covers the corner of the left-field bleachers. Exposed steel support beams fill the right-field corner. Between the two corners. 10 huge photographic tarps featuring Ernie Banks in his prime cover the work going on below. One of the first official duties of the new video screen is to treat fans to a loving tribute of the always upbeat Mr. Cub, who died in January at age 83. The spirit of Banks, who played in an era where Wrigley Field didn't have lights, sets an upbeat mood for the first Opening Night in Wrigley Field history.