Even the franchises most resistant to change are seeing the benefit of new video boards. The Chicago Cubs, which didn’t even install lights at Wrigley Field until 1988, were the only team in the league without video screens. The manually operated green scoreboard in center field was suitable for many years.
While that scoreboard still stands, the club added two HD video boards before the 2015 season: a 3,990-sf screen in left field and a 2,400-sf board in right field. The Cubs conducted surveys and held focus groups, and found that fans had a preference of what they wanted to see on the boards: replays of important moments of the game, relevant stats like pitch speed and the official scorer’s ruling, and videos of memorable Cubs moments.
“They didn’t want to see kiss cams or cartoonish effects,” says Julian Green, the Cubs’ VP of Communications and Community Affairs. “They wanted to make sure it was baseball-centric.”
The video boards are part of a much larger redevelopment plan, dubbed the 1060 Project, that is changing many aspects of the 102-year-old ballpark. The Building Team includes VOA Associates, ICON Venue Group, D’Agostino Izzo Quirk Architects, Harboe Architects, and Pepper Construction.
The team renovated its famed bleachers during Phase One last year, stripping away old seats and building anew. The seating configurations weren’t altered substantially—only 300 seats were added, and the rise and run of the rows remained the same—but the key was incorporating more space. The Cubs purchased sidewalks on Waveland and Sheffield avenues, the two streets beyond the bleachers, a move that allowed the team to build porches and standing-room-only decks.
New bathrooms with more fixtures are intended to keep the lines moving, and more concession stands will increase points of sales. A 100,000-sf multi-level sub-basement underneath a planned plaza will eventually house food preparation facilities. A new clubhouse was added this year.
Future stadium renovation plans include improving concourses, expanding the luxury suites, and constructing multiple clubs for season ticket holders.
“While there’s been constant change as part of the evolution of this ballpark over the years, it’s still the same structure that was built in 1914,” says Green. “I don’t think the architects or the builders ever imagined that three million people a year would be coming into this ballpark.”
Photo: Pepper Construction/Chicago Cubs. Click image to enlarge.
Related Stories
| Sep 16, 2010
Green recreation/wellness center targets physical, environmental health
The 151,000-sf recreation and wellness center at California State University’s Sacramento campus, called the WELL (for “wellness, education, leisure, lifestyle”), has a fitness center, café, indoor track, gymnasium, racquetball courts, educational and counseling space, the largest rock climbing wall in the CSU system.
| Sep 13, 2010
Stadium Scores Big with Cowboys' Fans
Jerry Jones, controversial billionaire owner of the Dallas Cowboys, wanted the team's new stadium in Arlington, Texas, to really amp up the fan experience. The organization spent $1.2 billion building a massive three-million-sf arena that seats 80,000 (with room for another 20,000) and has more than 300 private suites, some at field level-a first for an NFL stadium.
| Aug 11, 2010
JE Dunn, Balfour Beatty among country's biggest institutional building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Institutional Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Arup, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest international design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 International Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index flat in May, according to AIA
After a slight decline in April, the Architecture Billings Index was up a tenth of a point to 42.9 in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction employment declined in 333 of 352 metro areas in June
Construction employment declined in all but 19 communities nationwide this June as compared to June-2008, according to a new analysis of metropolitan-area employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The analysis shows that few places in America have been spared the widespread downturn in construction employment over the past year.
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Hensel Phelps among the nation's 50 largest design-build contractors
A ranking of the Top 50 Design-Build Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Bowdoin College has country's first newly constructed LEED-certified ice arena
Bowdoin College's new Sidney J. Watson Arena, dedicated January 18, 2009, has become the first newly constructed ice arena in the United States to earn coveted LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
| Aug 11, 2010
Gilbane, Manhattan Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 50 largest K-12 school contractors
A ranking of the Top 50 K-12 School Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
