This isn't exactly what you might expect to see when you read the headline "Wrigley Field Renovation," because as you can see in David Sameshima's photos, not a single brick, piece of concrete or steel, nor blade of grass or leaf of ivy has been touched in Wrigley Field itself.
Nevertheless, you can count Thursday, August 28, 2014 as the beginning ... of the beginning, I suppose, because Thursday was the day that crews from the city of Chicago brought their heavy equipment to begin sewer and other infrastructure work on Sheffield Avenue adjacent to the right-field bleachers. This is being done so the outer wall of the bleachers can be moved east (and on Waveland, north) to make room for the expansion of the bleachers, the first stage of the renovation/restoration project. Here, in a repeat of what I posted here Wednesday, is what they're doing:
The City of Chicago Department of Water Management, Peoples Gas and Commonwealth Edison will be performing work to relocate underground water, sewer and gas lines. This work will take place under the street and the parkway on the east side of Sheffield Avenue.Sheffield Avenue will be completely closed from Thursday (8/28) through Sunday (8/31) for excavation and installation of a new main and service to the residences and businesses. Beginning Tuesday, September 2, the parkway and east lane of traffic will be closed from 8 am until two hours prior to the start of each Wrigley Field event. CDOT will allow work to proceed on game days but all work, equipment and personnel will be off site a minimum of two hours prior to the start of each Wrigley Field event.The utility companies do not anticipate any major service disruptions. If there are disruptions to service, the utility companies will attempt to contact property owners directly.
These photos don't really need captions as you can clearly see what sort of work they're doing, and where. Through more photos and other information, I'll keep you updated on this project through the offseason.
So yes, it's happening.