Wrigley Field
 

Hi all,

Will be in Chicago in late September and would like to go to Wrigley Field to see a game. We’d be there the weekend of the St Louis games, which already seem to have sold a lot of tickets. While cost is an issue to an extent, we’re willing to pay a little bit more than we have in the past for baseball games (it’s been designated a ‘platinum’ series, so prices are higher than for some other games). Do you get a decent view from just about anywhere, even relatively high up? I usually like sitting between home and 1st, but it seems unlikely that tickets are going to be available there, likewise between 3rd and home.

The alternative is to juggle our schedule and go earlier in the week when they play San Francisco, which is a lower category game and has more tickets available, but the weekend would be more convenient.

Any thoughts on best places to sit/places to avoid/good places to eat and drink before/during/after the game much appreciated!

As long as you're not behind a column or something you should have a decent view. Obviously as you get higher/further from the field it gets harder to see by virtue of things getting really small.

This link seems to have a decent guide - http://chiblogo.wordpress.com/2008/0...-in-the-house/. You'll want to get this taken care of ASAP though as those games will certainly sell out well in advance I'd expect.

For afterwards, if you walk about three or four blocks west on Waveland to Southport, you've got a block North of you and perhaps five or six blocks south of you of restaurants and bars to choose from. There's stuff right by the ballpark on Clark and Sheffield as well although personally I'd walk a few blocks over to Southport.

You do know the Cubs are abominable this year and won't be contending for anything in Sept.

It will still be sold out
 

The Cubs are rarely in contention in September but with the hated Cardinals in town it will still be a relatively tough ticket. That being said you will see some near face value tickets on the street or on stubhub as the game gets closer.

There actually are a number of obstructed views, and it's not readily apparent looking at a map of the park. In addition to the poles, if you're sitting high up on the main level, you may have the back of a skybox blocking your view of any ball hit in the air. There's also the matter of "fans" standing and blocking your view, though this is less of an issue during a Cardinals series due to the sheer number of Cards fans in attendance. As for drinking before and during the game, I'd recommend doing that as little as possible. The bathrooms are terrible and few in number. If I described them, you wouldn't believe me.

The bottom line is that it's a very old facility, and the limited space makes it very difficult to retrofit the park with modern amenities like clean sight lines and mid-20th century plumbing. By all means, go and soak up the experience . . . but temper your expectations.

Thanks for the replies guys. We've ended up going to a game against the Giants on a Thursday evening - the price difference was significant!

Got seats in the 2nd row of the upper deck, which aren't quite what I wanted but seem to offer the best price/view compromise!

Yuck.

This is so true - I went a couple of weeks ago for a Nationals game. It seemed that many of the "fans" arrived about the bottom of the third, left after the seventh inning stretch and bobbed up and down in true ADD style during the time they were there. I appreciate that people "need" to go get a beer, but what happened to waiting until the play had stopped??

And that is it's true charm.^

...except the imminent Toyota sign in leftfield. :td: :cool:

preaching to the choir here, if they don't know, I'll teach them.:)

Kind of amusing (not) when the non-fans/Sox fans chime in to try to intimidate or make a visitor feel like he'll not have a good experience. Assuming decent weather, the op will have a great time. :)

I'm sorry I have been out of town and didn't notice this thread earlier. I could potentially have offered some advice on where to sit and other options for getting tickets. As a season ticket holder myself, I'll be happy to answer any questions the op may have about the ballpark or the neighborhood. Feel free to PM me.

Here's a travel-related question:

I've got tickets for a 7:05 start, and we're staying a short taxi ride from Glenview Metra, so we intend to use the Milwaukee District-North line for most of our commuting during our visit to Chicago.

Given that taking the Red Line back in, I'd get back to Union Station postgame too late for the 10:35 PM outbound, what's the best way for me to get back out to Glenview? Does it make sense to short-hop a taxi over to (say) Grayland and try to intercept the train there? Or would I be better off just getting up to Skokie via CTA Red to the Skokie Swift and picking up a taxi from there?

Hot Deal on Wrigley Experience
 

5/27 LAD v. Cubs 2@$9 each

http://www.stubhub.com/chicago-cubs-...7-2010-896552/

Wonder if seller is a season's ticket holder who can't stand the pain any longer?

Does the truth hurt, Luv?

:p

Tickets for both Cubs and White Sox games have been below (sometimes way below) face value on Stubhub a few days before the game - all year long, so far, and I think that will continue unless a big name opponent comes into town (Cardinals, Yankees, etc.) It is what it is.

When you get advice from people (about anything), it might be good to find out if they attend more times than once a year when their cousin from Nebraska comes to town. :) I constantly hear people say "I hate US Cellular Field", but when I ask them how many times they went last year, the reply is "why would I go there, I hate it." ILuvParis hears the same thing about Wrigley too.

For this reason, unless and until things turn around, the savvy ticket buyer will look to Stub Hub before purchasing on the team's website or going to their box office.

wrigley/glenview
 

I would redline back downtown and take metra back from down there cabs will be stuck in traffic, but the redline will get you back downtown I would not want to be at grayland late at night also, i am not sure how late the skokie swift runs

About 2 weeks ago - and I cannot remember who the Cubs were playing, tickets were as low as $1. The weather was good that day also.

This reminds me of when Bonds was chasing Aaron's record. When he was about to tie - then break the record, someone (I believe ESPN) sent a reporter out to interview fans at the concession stands. Whatever you think of Bonds, this was a historic moment and during his at bats, fans were at the concession stands buying peanuts and beer. The reporter asked them why they were not watching this possible historic at bat, and they explained they "needed a beer" or they "just got a craving for Cracker Jacks". Watching the interviews was very funny.

In some ballparks, the ushers won't let you into the box seat area until the end of a half inning. However, the design of Wrigley Field doesn't allow for this and would result in fans standing in front of seated fans and/or blocking aisles.

Which parks?

A courteous fan does not stand up while a pitch is being delivered or something is happening on the field, and crouches down upon return to the seat during the inning, if play is happening. I was taught this when I was a kid.

100% correct. Even today, an absolutely beautiful day for baseball, Cardinals are in town, and many Stubhub tickets are near face value.

I'm not completely sure but I'm pretty clear that Baltimore was the first time I experienced this. Maybe San Diego and Denver?

I was at the Padres a few weeks back and don't think they did, but then the design of PetCo is such that one person standing only blocks the view of a few people directly behind them. That said, the locals seemed a lot more aware and generally only moved between plays.