Back in April 2011, Peter Gammons, one of the most well respected baseball journalists in the country, came out and called Wrigley Field a dump. I wrote a blog about my feelings about Wrigley Field and finished it by saying that  the issue would not go away anytime soon. Sure enough, last week a rumor surfaced that the Cubs would move to Cellular Field while Wrigley was being renovated. However the Cubs denied it by saying the renovation would take place over 4 winters and the team wouldnt be going anywhere. But it has sparked new debate about the future of the ball park on Clark and Addison. First of all, the Ricketts seem committed to making some changes. They recently purchased some property around the ball park that will be used for expansion purposes.  I think the Ricketts are thinking ahead, but at some point they will need to deal with an aging ballpark. I have some history from my original essay about the ballpark.

Wrigley Field was opened 97 years ago during a period when state of the art(for 1910 that is!) ballparks were being built. The Original Comiskey Park, Fenway Park, Tiger Stadium, Cleveland Memorial Stadium and several others were all built  around this time. I could be wrong, but I believe that Weeghman Park was built to hold around 14,000 people originally. The park has had basically the same configuration since the late 20s, the ivy alone is 75 yo and the basic scoreboard without the additions was built in 1937, almost 75 years. The last major renovations before this year was about 40 years ago. Aside from some minor repairs by the Tribune, it has remained basically unchanged since the Wrigley era. A few years ago some concrete fell. Chances are more will fall. This is an old ballpark. The question is, what would be better, continuing to upgrade every few years or to build a new ballpark that should last 20, 30 years without much additional cost? And there are other issues. In this day and age, with 40, 000 being shoehorned into this little ballpark, I think they need to find a way to increase capacity. Im not sure if they can add capacity to the existing structure without changing the basic ambiance of Wrigley. A new ballpark might be more practical. 
Believe me, I love Wrigley Field. Watching a game in the bleachers on a sunny day is about as close to the perfect baseball experience. It is a beautiful place with great exciting memories. But there are  also a lot of negative memories. There has never been a World Championship celebrated here. I just wonder why people can cling so hard to a  place where so much losing  has taken place. Lets face it, theres been a lot of heartache here.....a lot of sad ghosts..... If I had a choice between seeing a game in Wrigley Field or winning a World Series, one or the other, I would have to choose the World Series. Winning is supposed to be the whole point. A great ballpark should just be a bonus. Back in the 60s when the Cubs were losing and PK Wrigley was playing silly games with his College of Coaches, Im willing to bet you that if you asked most fans of the day, most of them would have chosen the winning team over the more comfortable fun experience Wrigley claimed the fans liked. 
Im as much of a purist as anyone, but I am also practical. I want to see the Cubs win a World Series in my lifetime. That has always been my main goal.. Just an observation, but it might be time to think realistically. Since Wrigley Field is like a museum piece anyway, perhaps they can keep it as a museum and use it as a revenue stream, then build a new ballpark somewhere else. 
Nothing lasts forever. My dad was the main influence on my becoming a big Cubs fan. I treasured the time we had together. But when he passed away in 2004 I realized that it was time to let go. The same with my mom. I was very close to her, but when she passed away, even though it took some time I knew I had to let her go. There have been many iconic ballparks that were great places to see a game, filled with historic moments, but each one outgrew its time. The reason Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds, Forbes Field, Connie Mack Stadium and even the original House that Ruth Built, Yankee Stadium, no longer exist is each outlived its usefulness and lets face it, I think Wrigley has outlived its usefulness.......I have so many great memories of Wrigley Field I will treasure forever, Ernie Banks 511th HR, Milt Pappas' no hitter, Bruce Sutters 9 consecutive SOs, Sammy Sosas 3 homers in 1998, Andre Dawson, Rick Sutcliffe, Billy Williams, I can go on, but you see no one can take those memories from me, even if they take the ballpark away.......and thats okay......