Wrigley Field – Everything you need to know
MLB Stadiums Tour Series
Hello and welcome to my Major League Baseball Stadium Tour! Today you will learn about Wrigley Field! I made it a goal of mine a few years back to visit very MLB stadium, why? At the time, I have traveled to cities with baseball teams and went to a few games while visiting. I do love the sport (and its much more fun to watch in person), it’s America’s favorite past time, there’s a lot of history in Baseball, and its an affordable professional sport to watch! At the time of writing this, I have visited 19 out of the 30 MLB stadiums.
In this series of blog posts, I give a brief history/overview of each baseball stadium I visit, share what each has to offer, the food you should try, and my overall review of the stadium. I explain how I personally rank the stadium and why!
My rankings are broken up into the following categories:
–Location (including what is nearby/pre-post game activities)
–Ambiance (how it looks and feels, bonus points if it’s historic)
–Concession offerings (what options are available and price)
The average of the rankings will give the overall score for the ballpark, out of 10.
I hope this gives some good insight for each stadium and will help you to plan your visit!
I’m very excited because today we are looking at one of my top favorite ballparks, Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs!
History of Wrigley Field
The park opened in 1914 originally as Weeghman Park named after Charles Weeghman the baseball executive for the Chicago Whales team of the Federal League. The league ended after the 1915 baseball season, and the Cubs played their first game at the park on April 20, 1916, winning against the Cincinnati Reds. It was named Cubs Park from 1920-1926, and was re-named to Wrigley Field in 1927 after William Wrigley Jr. of the Wrigley gum company acquired the Cubs in 1921. (This is actually the second stadium to be named Wrigley Field, since a ballpark in Los Angeles opened in 1925 with the same name.) The field was the last of the the Major League parks to have lights installed for night games.
Today, the current seating capacity is 41,649. Wrigley Field is a National Historic Landmark, being the oldest park in the National League, and the second oldest in the Major League after Fenway Park in Boston (1912). Wrigley is known for its ivy-covered brick outfield wall (which has a special set of rules for the game, more about that here), it’s red marquee entrance and the hand-turned scoreboard.
Location
This stadium is located on the North Side of Chicago and is easily accessible using the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) L Train public transit system. You can reach Wrigley Field using the Red Line, a 26 minute trip from the heart of Downtown Chicago. Parking in a big city is always tough and there are no large scale parking garages. Parking anywhere nearby will cost over $50, so public transit or uber/lyft/taxi is recommended.
Other than parking, the stadium is in a great location, nestled in Wrigleyville, the neighborhood that surrounds the stadium and caters to the whole experience of Wrigleyfield. The location is great because there are numerous bars and restaurants within walking distance that are lively before, during and after games. Another cool part about some of these establishments nearby have (paid) rooftop seats that allow you to watch the game from outside of the stadium.
The location is a 9/10 because of the walkability to things nearby (with a point knocked off for parking).
Ambiance
Well first off, this is the second oldest MLB stadium so it automatically gets bonus points for the historic ambiance of field. It was fun walking around the stadium and getting to take a picture with a lookalike green outfield wall. The Green Wall adds to the feel of this stadium making it unique to all others. I absolutely love the hand-turned scoreboard, it’s so cool to watch it be changed manually. Seeing the iconic red marquee, gives me all the feels, and so does seeing the white W flag being raised after the Cubs win!
I love Cubs games because they are exciting because the crowd is into the game! It’s rowdy no matter where you are sitting. Especially in the bleachers with the “bleacher creatures” (where I want to sit next time). The fun starts early with many fans out before the game, and continues late after the games in Wrigleyville.
I have to give the Ambiance a 10/10!
Concession Offerings
Wrigley serves all the must have baseball game basics as well as some Chicago staples! Some must try foods in the stadium are Chicago Dogs, Twisted Taters, BBQ from Lillie’s Q, Maxwell Street Style Pork Chop Sandwiches, and of course some Garrett Popcorn. As for drinks, they are serving up local craft beer, domestic beer, and cocktails, as well as local coffee. Prices were normal for stadium pricing, not cheap but nothing outrageous.
A decent selection of food and drinks, with Chicago staples, 8/10.
Wrigley Field Overall Ranking
Location: 9/10
Ambiance: 10/10
Concession Offerings: 8/10
Average = 9
Total Score: 9/10
I hope this article taught you more about the Wrigley Field and helped you plan for your visit! Let me know what you thought, and how you would rank this ballpark in the comments! For more on Chicago see more posts HERE!
