WRIGLEY FIELD

The Friendly Confines - the nickname says it all. What a great place to sit back and enjoy a game with fun and knowledgeable fans who have had their hearts broken more times than they care to remember. Wrigley is located right smack in the middle of a neighborhood. The front is at the corner of Clark and Addison. The best way to approach Wrigley is by walking - as you approach from the south along Clark you can see the light standards in the distance, but it isn't until you hit the corner itself that you can see the stadium in all its splendor.

The oldest remaining NL park (Fenway is two years older), Wrigley was originally constructed in 1914 with a capacity of 14,000. Originally used as a Federal League Park, the Cubs took over in 1916 after the Federal League disbanded. It should be noted that the Cubs have not won a World Series in that time. Over the years, Wrigley has been expanded numerous times, but it still retains its traditions admirably. The most famous sight in Wrigley is the ivy on the outfield walls which was first planted in the 1930s. Since then, many a ball has gotten lost and current ground rules call for a double whenever a batted ball disappears among the vines. 

The dimensions of Wrigley also require a comment - at 400 feet to center, it would seem like a normal park. But the power alleys measure at 368 feet, much shorter than average, while the left and right foul poles are 355 and 358 feet away respectively, making them the farthest in the majors. Nonetheless, Wrigley a great place to hit home runs, especially when the wind is blowing out.

Now I must admit that Wrigley has a number of flaws. There are a lot of seats with obstructed views. The concourse is crowded. You can't walk around the bleacher area without a ticket. You can't enter the upper deck area without a ticket. Parking is stupidly expensive or incredibly difficult to find. But all these sins are forgiven when you sit down on a sunny afternoon and watch the Cubs play. There just isn't anything better in the majors. Night games at Wrigley are not the same and in my mind should be avoided. Sunshine and vine and the Cubs'll do fine!

At Clark and Addison is the famous big red sign. Underneath is the main entrance to the park. This is also where the main ticket windows are located. You will also notice a number of famous Cub players have diamonds embedded in the sidewalk here - take the time to read their names and relive Cubs' lore.

From here, you should walk around the park before entering - go down Addison to the right field entrance and you will find ticket windows there as well - they may not be as busy. Just inside the right field entrance are two restaurants that are open to the public:  the Friendly Confines Cafe located to the left of the entrance and the Sheffield Grill located to the right. 

Staying outside the park, you can walk along Sheffield Avenue to Waveland and then take Waveland back to Clark, keeping an eye out for any home run balls that might be hit your way. It seems like most of the condominiums in the area are now owned by private companies who rent out the rooftop seats. But really, why sit so far away when you can enjoy the atmosphere of the best park in the big leagues. The crowds know their baseball, and they are a lot of fun to talk to.

The one thing I would recommend is to avoid sitting underneath the overhang on the first deck - these are terrace reserved seats ($18) and from here the overhang blocks out a good part of the sky and the scoreboard. Fly balls sometime disappear as well. If you can't get bleacher seats ($20), then try for the Club ($30) or Field ($28) box seats in the lower deck. If those are also gone, then go for the upper deck seats, with the lower section going for $23 and the upper for $10.

For a great view of downtown Chicago, head to the concourse behind the terrace reserved seats in the right field concourse. Peek out over Sheffield Avenue and you will see the Sears Tower to your right. Beautiful!

Overall, Wrigley is fantastic - the best park we have seen for atmosphere. We saw the Twins play there and a number of the players were so in awe that they walked around the park after the game. I want to move to Chicago, live within 3 blocks, and become a season ticket holder. If that isn't enough to get you to go, well, I don't know what is.