Osborn is pleased continue a two-decade old tradition of working for the Chicago Cubs with more planned upgrades to the 'Friendly Confines' of Wrigley Field. Our current design project includes an expansion to the existing bleacher structure. The proposed expansion will increase capacity of the historic ballpark by approximately 1,600 seats and provide a significant upgrade to handicap accessible seating accommodations.
The new construction will blend in with the existing seating deck structure. The project design is challenging because the stadium's superstructure is highly irregular with little uniformity of the existing steel framing system. Other aspects of this renovation project include the restoration of the cast-in-place concrete seat deck structure that was constructed over 50-years ago.
Along with additional seating capacity, the project includes improvements of restrooms and concessions areas throughout the bleachers. The project incorporates a pair of concourses that will enable the baseball fans to have convenient access to all seating deck areas in the bleachers (unlike what currently exists). One of the concourses will be located at street-level; with the other being an elevated concourse near the top of the new seating deck. The elevated concourse will cantilever out over the City sidewalk and will provide exceptional views of the unique neighborhood that surrounds the ballpark.
Project improvements include significant upgrades to the existing utility infrastructure both within the ballpark and the adjacent City sidewalks. The sidewalks will utilize decorative paving bricks that will be selected so as to integrate with the surrounding neighborhood.
One of the more interesting aspects of the project involved the extended negotiations with the neighboring businesses that have, for many years, had unobstructed views of the ballgames at Wrigley from the vantage point of the seats mounted on top of the roofs across both Waveland and Sheffield Avenues. The proposed expansion will accommodate those site lines and allow for the continuation of those related businesses.
The project, expected to be completed before the 2006 baseball season, will enable fans of all ages to continue to enjoy the Cubs from the most storied ballpark in the country, Wrigley Field.