Neighbors on Wrigley Party Deck: ‘It’s a Terrible Idea’

Plans for the Chicago Cubs to explore a floating patio over Sheffield Avenue fell flat Tuesday night as neighbors vehemently shot down the idea, some saying the deck would be “devastating.”

Residents gathered for the monthly East Lake View Neighbors meeting to discuss the patio with input from both the Cubs and Ald. Tom Tunney’s (44th) office.

Wrigley Field’s outer wall has already been approved to move outward 8 feet onto Sheffield, so the patio would allow the 650-square-foot sign in right field to move closer to the Wrigley rooftops, no longer blocking views. The move would also lessen the chances rooftop owners would take the Cubs to court for blocking their views. 

But team spokesman Julian Green says the mere idea has sparked some concern, but at this point, nothing is set in stone.

“The patio deck—that was an idea that was brought up prior to the City Council vote, and there’s a rendering that many have seen in the newspapers,” Green said. “(It was) an idea to see if we could come up with an alternative plan because there’s been a lot of opposition about the bridge over Clark Street.

“There are some of you that are warming to the idea, and there’s opposition, but again, it’s an idea,” Green continued. “I would fall short of saying it’s a fully baked proposal.”

Green repeatedly said the party deck is just an idea at this point, and if the Cubs were to seriously consider it, a full plan would be presented at the ward’s Community Directed Development Council.

But for neighbors with ELVN, it was a non-starter.

“I would say one of our non-negotiables is a structure of any fashion over Sheffield,” ELVN board president Chester Kropidlowski said. “… We should not be negotiating the use of a public way.”

“It’s terrible idea, in my opinion,” added resident Jim Spencer.

Tunney’s Chief of Staff Bennett Lawson said even the alderman is concerned about the structure, saying although it was briefly mentioned before City Council’s approval of the development, there are still issues with the plan.

“This idea of using Sheffield came up as a swap or perhaps another amenity,” Lawson said. “Again, there are so many moving pieces to this. You’ve seen the drawings of the very large deck that goes across Sheffield. The alderman has not signed off on that. He’s concerned with any kind of alcohol over the public way, and that was one of his issues with the deck on Patterson and the Clark Street bridge.”

As for a potential connection between the CTA Red Line station at Addison and Wrigley Field, some liked the idea and thought it could help alleviate pedestrian congestion. Many others, however, said it was an excessive move for the short baseball season, and would still arch over Sheffield.

And although the party deck is very preliminary, the idea alone was enough to make some neighbors put their foot down.

“You asked us what we’d like: Leave Sheffield the hell alone,” said ELVN treasurer Terie Kata. “Don’t move out the wall, don’t put anything up there, don’t have street festivals there. Leave it alone.”