One of the places at Wrigley Field that wasn’t included on the media tour given April 6 was the right-field corner. Some of that area was still being worked on at the time.
So during the last homestand, I decided to take a walk over there and see what the new seating looks like. The first four photos in the gallery above were taken Saturday, April 6 — I include those so you can get an overview of the area that’s inside. The rest were taken before the game Wednesday, April 24.
The walkway behind the bleacher patio in right field leads to stairs that you can walk down, or an elevator that will take you down to ground level. The elevator has only two stops — patio level and ground level. As you can see in photo 9, there is a walkway behind the elevator that stops at the area that you can see in the exterior photos, an area that’s currently still under construction, as explained at wrigleyfield.com:
Due to ongoing construction in this area throughout the season, the club will not be available in 2019. The new space, which is scheduled to be completed in advance of the 2020 season, will feature an enhanced design and elevated food and beverage offerings while continuing to deliver best-in-class service. We will share additional details as they are finalized in the coming year.
It’s not clear whether this “club” will be members-only, or open to anyone.
I rode the elevator down from the bleacher patio level to the ground floor, where it lets you out in a concession area that stands where the Decade Diner/Sheffield Grill used to be. Later in the season this area will host the “Chef Series,” which was popular in 2018. That series will resume in June and when the team has specific information on what will be offered, it will be posted at this link.
Apart from those things, there’s a new bar area inside the right field gate (photo 14) and another elevator on that side (photo 15) that’s not currently available for use. The upper deck patio on the right field side, which will have additional concessions and restrooms, is not yet completed, and is expected to be open in the next few weeks.
When the work noted in this post is finished, that will complete the 1060 Project, sometime during this season. After that, there will still be work done on the ballpark most offseasons. Some of it will be simple maintenance, but there’s also still the question of what the Cubs will do with the press box, which likely won’t be answered until the Marquee Network goes on the air.
At some point in the future, probably next offseason, I’ll try to do a retrospective on the entire 1060 Project, which has preserved and enhanced Wrigley Field and, hopefully, will keep it around another 100 years.