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Cubs Fans Flock to 'Transforming' Wrigley Field on Opening Night

By Tanveer Ali | April 6, 2015 6:00am | Updated on April 6, 2015 8:11am
 The Cubs 2015 season started Sunday against the division rival St. Louis Cardinals.
Cubs Opening Night
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WRIGLEYVILLE — It's time to play ball at Wrigley Field

The 101-year-old stadium is undergoing a multiyear overhaul that started last year but progressed slowly due to the rough winter.

The bleachers aren't open yet, and a second video board isn't complete, but that didn't keep throngs of Cubs fans visiting "the friendly confines" Opening Night.

Before Sunday's game against the National League Central Division rival St. Louis Cardinals, some fans said they were encouraged by the changes so far.

"It's modernized. It feels like they're not playing baseball in the 19th century anymore," said Reggie Thompson of Beverly. 

Thompson joined a crowd watching the game from a sidewalk on Sheffield Avenue, peering in for a view of the massive new video board in left field.

"I'll be going to a lot more games this year," said Thompson.

Other fans welcomed some of the changes to the historic park, with hopes of seeing changes to the experience of watching a game inside.

"It's interesting to see the process of it," said Thomas Quinn of Bucktown, who brought his 3-year-old daughter Zoey to her first opening game. "It's a unique opportunity to see one of the old-school parks transform."

Cubs fans on Sunday night took several opportunities to peer into the fenced-off construction site around Wrigley where work will continue for months .

Some documented the transformation, snapping photos on their phones.

"As long as they keep the bricks, do it. I love this video screen," said Julie Premer, a 53-year-old Batavia resident who said she's been a Cubs die-hard since age 11.

"I hope they have this done by September," Premer added. "I plan to come to another game then."

The Cubs and Wrigley Field are 95 percent owned by a trust established for the benefit of the family of Joe Ricketts, owner and CEO of DNAinfo.com. Joe Ricketts has no direct involvement in the management of the team.

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