March 13, 2003
Cubs, Selig slam Wrigley landmarking
Chicago Cubs CEO Andy MacPhail and MLB kingpin Bud Selig both lashed out this week at proposed landmark designation for Wrigley Field's historic elements, including the scoreboard and bleachers. At a public hearing on Wednesday, MacPhail dropped vague threats to move if landmarking is approved, saying, "Ballparks that don't respond to their fans' needs - particularly 89-year-old ballparks - soon become endangered." (Though the chances of a Cubs move out of Wrigley seems remote at best, the mere threat is already pissing people off.) Selig chimed in with a letter asserting that "No city in America has ever used a landmarks designation as an effective means to preserve a ballpark. Modern ballparks must be flexible to address the changing desires of fans if they are to remain competitive."
Though Chicago Mayor Richard Daley had intended the selected landmarking as less restrictive than full landmarking of Wrigley, the Cubs tore into the plan, with club attorney Ted Novak slamming the proposed landmark protection of the ballpark's ivy-covered walls as history's "first-ever landmarking of vegetation." It'd be funnier if it were true, Ted.
