Cubs Say Wrigley Field Renovations Will Take Extra Year to Complete

In the latest bit of bad news in what's increasingly become a nightmare renovation, Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said construction on Wrigley Field will take at least one more year than initially expected.  

“There will be four more years,” Ricketts said Wednesday, per David Just of the Chicago Sun-Times. “The way we project it now is four more years of construction.”

The initial phase of construction, bleacher reconstruction, has been fraught with delays that will leave many fans displaced once the regular season begins. Chris De Luca of the Sun-Times showed a photo that depicted the disappointing state of Wrigley's right field bleachers with only two weeks remaining before Opening Day:

Mood toward the renovation, which was tepid even before it began, has continued to sour as Chicagoans prepare for a regular season in which the Cubs will play in a half-finished building. The bleacher reconstruction and addition of new restrooms were initially expected to be in place—or at least close—by Opening Day.

Ricketts indicated the Cubs plan to go forth with the project as expected, chalking much of the delays up to "construction process."

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

“Obviously it’s not our intent to inconvenience anyone,” Ricketts said. “As they know, I’m out in the bleachers all the time and I have a lot of friends out there. I’m disappointed that we can’t service them a little better. But, that said, once every 100 years someone fixes the park, and we want to make sure we do it right. At this point, that has to be our priority.”

Under the new plan, construction will now likely not finish until the 2019 offseason. The $375 million renovation calls for new video screens, dugouts, clubhouses and luxury boxes, among other amenities. 

The Cubs open their regular season on April 5 against the St. Louis Cardinals. It is still unclear what percentage of the bleachers will be open to fans.

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