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Monday, the Cubs posted the timeline of 2017-18 offseason construction at Wrigley Field at wrigleyfield.com:
To continue playing Cubs baseball at the corner of Clark and Addison streets, the majority of construction work will occur during the offseason. Here's a list of projects that will be executed during this offseason:
Structural Improvements
• Continued Terrace Reserved Seating Replacement
• American Airlines 1914 Club (to be completed by Opening Day 2018)
• Maker's Mark Barrel Room (to be completed by Opening Day 2019)
• The W Club (to be completed by Opening Day 2019)
• Catalina Club (to be completed by Opening Day 2019)
• Enhancements to the Suite Level
The following Hickory Street Capital projects will take place during the offseason:
• Hotel Zachary
Almost all of those changes will happen out of sight. As you can see above, only one of those clubs will be finished for the 2018 season, and the rest will be complete for the 2019 season. You can find out more about those clubs at this cubs.com page.
The team wasn’t specific about “structural improvements,” though I note that last year, concrete was reinforced on the left-field side of the lower deck in a similar way that the concrete in the new bleachers was reinforced. I’d assume that similar work will be done on the right-field side this winter, as well as possibly in the upper deck.
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I have heard rumors that the visitors’ clubhouse, perhaps the smallest in the major leagues, will be re-done this winter, although previously it had been stated that this would be among the last things done in the renovation project, which has at least one more offseason beyond this one to go.
The Hotel Zachary is scheduled to open sometime in 2018; last week when I went by, the exterior structure was nearing completion.
Since most of the construction won’t be visible (it’s almost all interior to the ballpark and much is underground), we will continue to post updates here, though they might not be as frequent as in recent years. It’s pouring rain in Chicago Monday afternoon and is likely to be Tuesday as well; perhaps later this week I’ll head over there and take some photos.
UPDATE: The Cubs say there will likely be additions to the timeline later this week. When they are posted, I’ll make another post here.