Cubs: Wrigley's right-field bleachers may be delayed until June
T.S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month, but for the Cubs, February was no picnic.
Cubs officials said Monday that extremely cold temperatures during February cost them five of the nine previous days of work in rebuilding the outfield bleachers.
As a result, team president Crane Kenney said the team will be asking the city of Chicago to allow work to continue virtually 24/7 through the April 5 season opener.
“We're about to ask the city to allow us to work beyond just the 8-to-8 hours,” Kenney said. “These next two weeks are really critical for us. The city has been wonderful.”
The bottom line is pretty much what the Cubs said it would be during January's fan convention. The left-field and center-field bleachers will be ready for “occupancy” by May 11, but the right-field bleachers may not be open until early June.
“We got off to a slow start here with a water-main issue, and with the National Park Service, we had a little bit of movement with some of our signage out there that put us behind schedule,” Kenney said. “On May 11, we'll have occupancy of left field and center field in the bleachers. That will be more than enough to accommodate our season-ticketholders. After that we'll bring on the right-field bleachers.
“I talk about 'occupancy' because there will still be work going in the bleachers even after we open. Restrooms will be open. There will be concession services, but you'll still see right field not completed, a lot going on there.”
Media members were given a tour of the construction zone Monday, viewing the steel going up for the left-field bleachers. Reporters and photographers also were allowed inside the left-field concourse, which has been completely gutted as a beginning part of the four-year, $375 million reconstruction process.
“To make this project work and really do it right and support the ballpark for the next 100 years, we had to take out the steel and concrete infrastructure of the ballpark,” said Carl Rice, the Cubs' vice president for ballpark operations and the project leader.
The concourse is supposed to be ready for Opening Night, but work will be ongoing.
“Throughout this season, you're going to see a lot of work going on,” Kenney said. “You'll see these 'pardon our dust' signs. So our fans, as they come in throughout the 2015 season will be co-occupying the ballpark with our team from Pepper (Construction) and our construction group.”
The large video board beyond left field is scheduled to be ready for Opening Day, as the Cubs say the weather needs are different for the video board from what they are for the bleachers.
And weather remains the key.
“These next couple of weeks, we really try to recover a couple of days from last week with the cold,” Kenney said. “The steel construction really gets slowed down because of working outside in the bleachers. “When we had those days last week when it was so cold, they couldn't work. So there's literally nothing happening those days.”
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