Wrigley Field in danger?
SPRINGFIELD -- Preservationists want to keep Wrigley Field as it is. The Cubs, not so much.
"I'm sure we could find somebody else to play ball in that stadium," said Landmarks Illinois president David Bahlman Wednesday, when asked if he'd consider it a success to preserve Wrigley even if it led to the Cubs leaving for a new stadium.
On Wednesday, the preservation group named the ballpark at Addison and Clark one of the state's most endangered historic places. Wrigley joined the 45-year-old Assembly Hall on the University of Illinois' campus, Adams Memorial Library in Wheaton and the Gunners' Mates School in North Chicago on the list of 11 buildings and structures Landmarks Illinois is trying to preserve.
The Tribune Co., which has owned the Cubs and the ballpark since 1981, is pursuing a deal that would have the Illinois Sports Finance Authority purchase and rehabilitate Wrigley Field. The agency is the same one that built the new Comiskey Park.
Former Gov. Jim Thompson is chairman of the sports finance authority and involved in trying to broker a deal. He said preservationists have nothing to fear and said some of their concerns are "flat wrong."
The former governor said any Wrigley renovations would be done with "the utmost respect for its character and history."
Aside from the stadium, the team is also for sale.
Bahlman said the preservation group opposes the renovation deal because it would hinge on relaxing Chicago's landmark regulations. Bahlman fears Wrigley becoming the next new Comiskey or Soldier Field -- projects that are nightmares for preservationists.
He said there's enough wiggle room within the landmark regulations to produce a viable ballpark, citing recent renovations that added seats behind home plate and remodeled the batter's eye in centerfield.
"We are not doggedly against any change there," Bahlman said.
Ironically, Thompson has often been lauded by Landmarks Illinois for his past work.
"He's done wonderful things. We trust him," Bahlman said. "We don't' trust the (sports) authority. Let's put it that way."
As for Assembly Hall, supporters called it an "iconic" Urbana-Champaign structure and urged the university to maintain its usefulness. The school is studying options for replacing or renovating the athletic and entertainment venue.