New advertising at Wrigley?

but probably inevitable. We held out a very long time.

Actually, physically sick.

What a sad turn of events. I guess this is what we receive with McDonut at the helm.

I was just hoping we could hold on a little longer. The article basically says "hey, if you want us to keep paying the big bucks, we have to do this." Too bad.

You could be it in terms of Soriano or the advert. But it wouldn't be the truth. It's not "one or the other". Think about it in terms of Marquis, or maybe Blanco's new contract.

There are always different ways to make money. It didn't have to come to this, but the Cubs will be slowly degrading Wrigley to the point of every other obnoxious ballpark.

n/t

Rotoworld's take:

I for one love Wrigley Field and wish it could forever stay in the past, but it just won't happen.  It doesn't really bother me that they will have under armour ads on the doors.  At least this is a product that most all of the players are already wearing and not some casino or telecommunications company.  We all want the Cubs to spend and be competitive, so please don't freak out and get all righteously indignant when they make extra money.  If this helps them pay "Big Z" then so what!?  
I am not crazy about the rotating ad behind home plate, but it has never bothered me to the point that I don't enjoy watching a ball game.  We live in a day in age where marketing literally makes the world go round.  We can't escape it.  If other teams are using it to pay the players then teams that don't will fall behind.  I just hope that the Cubs will keep doing it tastefully and the charm of Wrigley Field will remain.  
As long as the ivy is still there and the scoreboard is still standing tall Wrigley Field will continue being a very special place.  

At least the ads are sports-related.

And it's better than having ads on the bases (remember the "Spiderman 2" debacle?).

And a lot better than playing in a ballpark named after a cell phone company.

ads in wrigley but i'd prefer they be off the more "historic" parts of the field, such as the ivy and scoreboard. the under armor ad is tacky imo--looks like a big ugly zit on the nose of a supermodel.

but I'd be willing to bet that this was in place before the convention or was in the works but they chose to wait till after to announce it cause they knew what would happen.

Same as last year when they changed the centerfield restaurant was turned into a skybox.

Just my belief.

Personally, I always thought the doors were ugly, so I don't mind advertising on them per se....

However, Under Armour?

That's where I have a problem.  The Cubs should have gone for a more established, long-lasting company....Budweiser, or Coca-Cola (well, I guess Pepsi is their soft-drink sponsor, but still), or even Wrigley gum, and had them design an advertisement that was "nostalgic" or somehow "retro" so that it would fit with the park.

That would have looked beautiful, been an advertising boon for the Cubs and the sponsor, and appeased fans who like the old-time charm....

Under Armour, however, fails the test.

All I can say about this is "Welcome To the 21st Century." Or, wait a minute -- baseball parks have
sported advertising since the turn of the 20th Century, and that includes Wrigley Field -- before it's 'rebuilding' in the 30's. There was a strip ad on the RF wall (This was  before the  'modern' bleachers were built, and ironically enough, the ad was for the Tribune.) I'll search for the picture later on)  This image, with this huge billboard in RF has been used many times in illustrating Wrigley's history. (I don't belive I'm confusing this with images of the West Side Grounds, but that is a possibility. I'll search later on. But, in any event, a Cubs baseball park has been adorned with advertising, albeit in antiquity)

98 years of futility bothers me infinitely more than a damn sign. This is of little concern.
(MLB's attempted 'sell' of the bases to the Spiderman movie  some time back is a bit more intrusive, and stupid. And FYI, someday the unis will sport ads. That's standard in minorleague sports, and it will eventually make its's way to all Major League Sports. It's just a matter of time.

And some day even Wrigley Field might be replaced.
Could happen. Perhaps either The Trib, or a future owner will not want to pour millions into an ancient infrastructure. (But I don't think this will ever happen == but it's always a possibility.) I love the park. We all love the park. It's great to be able to attend games in a historic spot. But as far as I'm concerned, the team comes first. Change is constant, nothing lasts forever -- there are worse things in this world to worry about.

The Cubs are fortunate that the Ivy was 'grandfathered' in, since outfield walls are now supposed to sport some sort of 'protection' for the players, be it padding, or a wire fence that 'gives' somewhat. The brick walls could have been covered with protection years ago, and the ivy ripped off by decree from MLB. The new scoreboards placed on OF walls in new parks are covered with mesh fencing. (However, I don't see how that offers protection like a padded wall would....)

I have no problem with these ad's.  It's just the way things are now and an all white ad for an athletic equipment manufacturer actually won't look that bad.  It's not like we're cutting down the ivy and replacing it with the kind of thing you see in the minor leagues.
However, don't kid yourself about this paying for any salaries.  According ESPN's Darren Ruvel(sp?), this deal is only worth $1MM-$2MM.  That's not even going to cover the minibar tabs that Soriano racks up in his private suites while they're on the road.
Also, we haven't even seen anything yet in terms of adverstising.  My prediction is that we're 5 years away from some teams having large logos on the fronts and backs of uniforms, just like you see with European soccer teams.  It won't start with the "traditional" teams like the Cubbies or Yankees, but don't be surprised to see the Marlins or D-Rays do something like that.  And just like everything, we'll be shocked at how it all looks at first, but by the end of the first season, nobody will care about it anymore.