Giving Wrigley a new Field (2007–2008)
The turf replacement in progress through Wrigley's right field fan window.
After view of the turf replacement.At the end of the Cubs' 2007 season, two different efforts were undertaken to upgrade the playing field at the old ballpark. A few years earlier, a Sports Illustrated poll found that the players considered Wrigley's playing field to be one of the poorest in the Major Leagues. The renovations should go a long way toward fixing that situation.
First, as reported on the Cubs web page[8] and also reported and pictured in the November issue of Chicago Cubs Vine Line, the Cubs official fan magazine (p. 4), the outfield and portions of the infield were replaced by turf purchased from an Oswego, Illinois, firm. This was accomplished in the 13 days between the last home regular season game and the first (and last, as it turned out) post-season game for the year. The project was supervised by Roger Bossard, who is the head groundskeeper for the Chicago White Sox.
Then, following the post-season, as reported on the Cubs web page[9] and also reported and pictured in the December issue of Vine Line , a more ambitious project began, to install a state-of-the-art drainage system. The entire playing surface at Wrigley was removed, which required digging down 14 to 28 inches. The underlying base material was replaced by a system of 6,000 feet of piping buried in a special clay. The drainage system capable of holding 60,000 gallons of water was installed, on top of which a new playing surface of Colorado-grown sod was unrolled. This renovation, replacing a system installed in 1935, makes Wrigley the last Major League field to move away from a crown-based water management system. The infield had been at a somewhat raised elevation relative to the shallow part of the outfield and the far edge of the foul ground around the infield, hence the gutters in front of the box seat railings.
As of 2008, the infield now sits lower than it did, by 14 inches, eliminating the slight downhill slope that runners had to contend with upon rounding third base, and also allowing the managers in the dugouts to see the opposite-field outfielder in full, not just his "top half". The system allows for much shorter rain delays, while also controlling the flow of water toward the storm sewers. The ballpark sits on a block that has a noticeable downhill slope from the northwest corner to the southeast corner. The left field (northwest) corner of the playing field is several feet below street level. The natural drainage direction is toward the right field (southeast) corner, and the new system directs all the water through an outlet under the right field corner.
As part of the excavation, the crew found and removed the foundations of the goal posts from the Bears' playing days. The crew also reported that they left a "time capsule" buried somewhere under the new turf. Lowering the infield by 14 inches also effectively raises the outfield barrier by 14 inches, from the standpoint of the batter. It remains to be seen whether that factor will have any effect on home run production.
A fan site shows some amateur photos of various stages of progress.
