Wrigley renovations get City Council approval

The Chicago City Council approved a $500 million renovation of Wrigley Field on Wednesday.

The renovation includes updated facilities for players, a 5,700-square-foot Jumbotron in left field, one advertising sign in right field and a hotel across Clark Street.

The Ricketts family, which purchased the team in 2009, has been pushing for renovations to the 99-year-old ballpark since taking over the franchise.

The City Council's final approval came one day after the council's zoning committee and Alderman Tom Tunney approved the deal.

Tunney's initial reservations about the Jumbotron and other signage disrupting neighborhood residents were put aside after the team made concessions. Among those are no additional future signage and indefinitely postponing the proposed bridge over Clark Street that would have connected the hotel and ballpark.

Despite approval, the biggest concern remains how the Jumbotron and right-field sign will affect views from the surrounding rooftops. Rooftop owners have a contract that calls for them to share a portion of their revenue with the Cubs, and they have threatened to file suit if any signage negates their business.