Tunney Opposes Wrigley Field Deck Over Sheffield Avenue

Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) is speaking out against a proposed Wrigley Field party deck over Sheffield Avenue, joining neighbors who say the block-long patio is a bad idea.

The Lake View alderman addressed the topic on Wednesday, saying he opposes it for the same reason he opposed a bridge over Clark Street.

“I’ve been opposed to liquor over a public street. … I have not been supportive of decks over any street—Patterson, Clark and/or Sheffield,” said Tunney, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Tunney says a majority of the community has been opposed to bridges over any public space, a response still ringing from a heated neighborhood meeting in early August. Residents called the deck “devastating” and “a terrible idea.”

Wrigley Field’s outer wall has already been approved to move outward 8 feet onto Sheffield, so the proposed 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. Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said construction at the ballpark wouldn’t begin until rooftop owners agreed they wouldn’t sue.

But now the Sun-Times is reporting that the Cubs have previously threatened to put the right-field sign up immediately if the agreement with the Wrigley rooftops remains at a stalemate. And that threat apparently remains valid.

“As we go into the off-season, this is the time when we talk to our corporate partners,” Cubs spokesman Julian Green told the Sun-Times. “If there is an interest and a potential suitor for that right-field sign, we might find an opportunity to pull the trigger.”

The Cubs have said in the past the Sheffield Avenue deck is merely an idea and not set in stone. It was in response to eliminating the planned pedestrian bridge over Clark Street.

Neighbors call it a non-starter.