Wrigley's field to get needed facelift

If all goes well, the Cubs can begin breaking ground, quite literally, on a new playing field today.

Mark McGuire, the Cubs' executive vice president for business operations, said Tuesday the club was awaiting final approval from the city of Chicago's water department.

If the club gets the go-ahead, it can begin work on a more level playing field.

"What will happen, really, is that the crown will be eliminated and you will have an effectively flat surface," McGuire said. "It's not as dramatic as has been reported or what was talked about a few months ago."

The playing field at Wrigley has been a topic of conversation for some time, especially among players, who have expressed unhappiness with the crown, which causes a severe drop-off from the baselines to the walls.

The upcoming work will shave about 12 inches from the height of the field at its highest point with the elimination of the crown.

After the Cubs' final homestand of the 2007 season, the club re-sodded the outfield after complaints about the surface after summer concerts by The Police.

The new plan calls for the entire field to be torn up, excavation work to be done and a sophisticated drainage system to be put in place for the new, sand-based field, tying in with the existing drainage system.

Roger Bossard, who has won worldwide acclaim as the White Sox' groundskeeper, will oversee the project with hopes of having the new sod put down by early December.

"It's a fairly straightforward project," McGuire said. "The old field drained amazingly well over the years."

When the project was talked about earlier this year, reports were that the Cubs would be able to add additional rows of seating close to the field. McGuire said he wasn't sure how much, if any, new seating would be accommodated.

He also stressed that the field around the perimeter won't be lower, so the height of the outfield wall (11½ feet under the bleachers and 15 feet in the corners) won't be changed.