Wrigley Cubscast: Opening Day
CHICAGO—Win or lose, nothing beats Opening Day at Wrigley Field. Though the Cubs were unable to finish off Ryan Dempster’s 10-strikeout Opening Day gem, falling 2-1 to the Nationals, the excitement over the 2012 team was palpable. The Wrigley faithful packed the streets by 8 a.m. to check out the new offerings at the Friendly Confines, including the LED scoreboard in right field, the Budweiser Patio, and the Cubs Store on the corner of Clark and Addison. Vine Line was there along with Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, Hall of Famer Billy Williams and Manager Dale Sveum to kick off the baseball season in style.
Cubs 6-Game Pack on sale today
This season, the Cubs are offering two great ways to check out some of the best games of the season at historic Wrigley Field.
The Cubs 6-Game Pack, which goes on sale today, provides a choice of 10 different preselected, six-game plans, each headlined by some of the schedule’s most popular games, including Opening Day against the Washington Nationals, rivalry matchups with the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox, and rare visits by the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers.
If you want to customize your plan, the Cubs 9-Game Pack features tickets to Opening Day; weekend series with the Red Sox, Cardinals and White Sox; and matchups with the Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds.
Both deals include the Budweiser Bleachers and the reserved seating bowl. To purchase tickets, go to cubs.com.
1000 Words: Happy New Year!
Happy holidays and a winning 2012 from the Cubs family to your family.
Holiday tree lighting at Wrigley Field on Saturday
If you can’t wait until April to make your first 2012 visit to the Friendly Confines, lace up your skates and join the Cubs at Wrigley this Saturday to ring in the holiday season.
Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, pitcher Matt Garza and a crowd of Cubs faithful will welcome the holidays with a tree-lighting ceremony by the famed Wrigley Field Marquee this Saturday at 5 p.m. The 30-foot decorated holiday tree, donated by Patch Landscaping and Snow Removal Inc., is the start of a new holiday tradition and will welcome guests to the Friendly Confines throughout the holiday season.
The tree-lighting ceremony will be followed by a free hour of ice skating at The Rink at Wrigley. The full-size skating rink is open to the public and located in the Cubs’ parking lot at the corner of Clark and Waveland. Full press release below:
CHICAGO – The Friendly Confines will add another iconic symbol this holiday season: A 30-foot decorated holiday tree will welcome visitors and ice skaters to Wrigley Field when The Rink at Wrigley opens for its third consecutive year. On November 25, the rink will once again open for public skating due to the generosity of the Ricketts family and the Chicago Cubs, the City of Chicago, the Chicago Park District, local businesses and community groups. Patch Landscaping has donated the 30-foot holiday tree.
The full-size skating rink will be available in the Cubs’ parking lot at the corner of Clark and Waveland. The Rink at Wrigley is sponsored by the Ricketts family and the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago Park District, Westrec Marinas management and Patch Landscaping.
“This ice rink continues to be a popular attraction and we’re happy to open our home again to families across Chicago,” said Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts. “We know Wrigley Field can be active all year, and with partnerships like these, we can continue to provide fun and innovative activities that enhance the quality of life for residents.”
The Rink at Wrigley will be open beginning November 25, 2011, through February 26, 2012. The rink is open Monday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission to The Rink at Wrigley is $5 per adult and $3 per child Monday through Thursday, and $10 per adult and $6 per child Friday through Sunday. Season passes are available for $60. Skate rentals will be available for an additional fee of $5 for adults and $3 for children Monday through Thursday, and $10 for adults and $5 for children Friday through Sunday. Proceeds help offset the cost of the rink.
A Grand Opening celebration is planned in coordination with the lighting of the decorated holiday tree near the Wrigley Field Marquee on Saturday, December 3, at 5 p.m.
For more information, visit www.rinkatwrigley.com.
1000 Words: More from Movie Night
One group attended as Cameron, Ferris and Sloane for Movie Night at Wrigley Field, presented by Groupon.
1000 Words: A night at the movies
The first Groupon Presents Movie Night at Wrigley Field was a huge success on a beautiful fall night this past weekend. Stay tuned for more photos and comments on the experience directly from our fans in the coming issue of Vine Line.
Now Playing: Larry King returns to Wrigley Field
Click image to play video interview with Larry King.
The CNN talk show legend of 25 years treasured his second visit to the Friendly Confines and shared a bit of his own background with the sport of baseball. You can read the full interview in the October issue of Vine Line.
Take your day off at Wrigley Field: Movie Night is Saturday
Last warning before they’re all gone: A few tickets remain for Saturday night’s Groupon Presents Ferris Bueller at Wrigley Field. Get your bleacher seats for just $10.
And if you missed it earlier this summer, Larry Granillo at Baseball Prospectus did some investigative work to figure out the game that Ferris watched at the Friendly Confines:
The movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was released on June 11, 1986. The ballgame then must have been filmed either real early in the 1986 season or sometime during 1985. Looking at game logs from those seasons, we see that there was no game in 1986 in which Lee Smith (#46) faced the Braves at Wrigley Field. There were four such games in ’85, though Smith left the Braves hitless in one of those. Of the remaining three games, it isn’t hard to find the game we’re looking for.
Ferris Bueller and his pals were at the June 5, 1985, tilt between the Cubs and the Braves. The foul ball that Ferris caught was hit by Atlanta rightfielder Claudell Washington (#15) in the top of the 11th inning. The game was tied at two (not scoreless, like the pizza guy claimed) and backup second-baseman Paul Zuvella (#18) was being held on first by Leon Durham (#10) after a leadoff single (the fourth hit of the game, and Atlanta’s first hit since the fifth).
Thank you, Cubs fans!
As the home schedule winds to a close today, Marlon Byrd and the entire Chicago Cubs family thanks our fans for their support all season long. (2010 Photo by Stephen Green)
Coming Up: Seventh-Inning stretch singers for Sept. 19-21
The Wrigley Field grounds crew sings the stretch in 2010. (Photo by Stephen Green)
Here’s a current listing of the seventh-inning stretch conductors for this week:
- Monday, Sept. 19. Kurt Busch / NASCAR driver
- Tuesday, Sept. 20. Gale Sayers / Former Chicago Bears running back
- Wednesday, Sept. 21. Cubs Grounds Crew / 2011 team
While you’re at the ballpark this week, be sure to pick up a copy of the September issue of Vine Line, featuring left-hander Sean Marshall.
