CHICAGO-The Chicago Cubs and city leaders reached an agreement on a framework of a deal to spend $500 million to renovate Wrigley Field. The plan also calls for the development of a hotel and an office building adjacent to the storied ballpark.
If the deal is finalized, in addition to $300 million earmarked for ballpark renovations and improvements, the plans also calls for $200 million to be spent on a 175-room hotel, Cubs offices and an adjacent plaza, according to the Chicago Tribune. A walkway over Clark Street would connect the hotel and office building, which also would contain hotel meeting rooms.
“For nearly a century, Wrigley Field has been a cherished institution in Chicago and the Wrigleyville community, as well as a cathedral of baseball,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. "This framework allows the Cubs to restore the 'Friendly Confines' and pursue their economic goals, while respecting the rights and quality of life of its neighbors. … It will have a long-lasting positive effect on Chicago.”
The plan must obtain approval from the City Council. The Cubs and the Emanuel administration are hopeful approvals can be secured by the end of the baseball season, so construction could commence shortly thereafter. See story in the Chicago Tribune.
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