WRIGLEYVILLE — Fans are going wild for the Cubs in their hearts as well as wallets, with usage of ATMs near Wrigley Field seeing a near 1,000 percent increase, says a spokesman for PNC bank.
"We analyzed ATM transactions in the surrounding areas to Wrigley Field, six days before and then during the World Series. Two PNC ATM’s in the Wrigleyville vicinity experienced a 938 percent increase in transactions during the World Series. Transactions in a third ATM increased almost 1,000 percent," said Saul Boscan, a spokesman for the Pittsburgh, Penn.-based bank.
Boscan said the number of transactions at three PNC cash machines went from an average 35 per day in the six days previous to the World Series games at Wrigley to 335 a day during the three World Series games.
Around 11 a.m. Friday, Edgebrook residents Kyle Kosicki and John Norkett who'd walked from Sluggers, 3540 N. Clark St., in search of cash, were waiting in a line to use a PNC ATM at the intersection of Sheffield, Newport and Clark.
"It's cover charges for the bars that's driving this," Norkett said.
Norkett said there was a $20 cash-only cover at Sluggers on Friday.
And while a Cubs fan ahead of Norkett and Kosicki in line was able to withdraw money, Norkett was greeted with an "out of service" message.
The machine appeared to have gone cash dry.
Boscan said he is investigating the matter but acknowledged it was "likely" the machine ran out of cash.
"One of the struggles we have is that we had less than 24 hours’ notice for when and where the parade was going to be and the city also closed most of the streets around Wrigley making it difficult to service the machines. I don’t know — yet — if that was an underlying issue here or not, but it is generally a challenge," Boscan said.
It is unknown how much cash fans were withdrawing on average. Boscan said the analysis did not include withdraws amounts for security and safety reasons, only transactions volumes.
"Withdrawals are typically limited to $500 a day but it could vary depending on the type of account. Other industry analyses point at $60 as the average ATM withdrawal," Boscan said.
Along with the three PNC cash machines included in the study, according to the Wrigley Field website, Wintrust bank operates seven ATMs in the ballpark, and there are some 35 ATMs (both standalone ATMs and bank branches with ATMs) in about a 1.5 mile radius of the field at 1060 W. Addison St.
Boscan said PNC's regional economists believe that apparel retailers, restaurants and hotels will get a one-off boost to revenue from the World Series.
"The boost to morale and the positive energy could support consumer confidence locally at a time when election politics has dampened sentiment," he said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here.
