http://www.chicagobusiness.com/arti...-revised-ordinance-heads-back-to-city-council
<header style="font: 14px/normal Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: normal; box-sizing: border-box; widows: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">January 08, 2016[h=1]
Drink up—Wrigley Field beer plaza one step closer to reality[/h]
Comments Email
Print
DANNY ECKER ON SPORTS
</header><aside style="border-style: solid none; font: 14px/normal Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: right; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 20px; word-spacing: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; white-space: normal; min-height: 40px; box-sizing: border-box; widows: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="toolbar">
SHAREFacebook
TwitterLinkedIn
0
Google +
0
</aside>
Photo by Chicago CubsA rendering of the plaza and office building being built next to Wrigley Field.
A special liquor license that would allow Chicago Cubs ownership to sell beer and wine in a plaza next to Wrigley Field will land in front of the City Council next week. This comes two years after the team floated the idea as part of its ongoing stadium renovation plan.
Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, will introduce an amended version of that ordinance to the City Council at its Jan. 13 meeting. The latest version (embedded below) includes some slight tweaks to the original, including an earlier cut-off time for serving alcohol on the plaza. This version also narrows the ordinance's application to Wrigley Field alone—as opposed to plazas next to other big stadiums such as Soldier Field or U.S. Cellular Field.
Under the proposal—which is subject to change—beer and wine could be served until 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, except during Cubs games or other events at Wrigley Field and for one hour after such events end.
The original plan allowed for alcohol sales until 11 p.m. on weeknight and midnight on weekends and during events inside the stadium. That version was similar to liquor rules at Navy Pier, with some elements of the regular restaurant outdoor patio license wording mixed in.
In addition, the new proposal specifies its application only to Wrigley Field by defining a "sports plaza" as an outdoor open area that is "immediately adjacent to a sports stadium that is subject to section 4-156-430," which is the ordinance governing night games at stadium.
The previous version defined the plazas more broadly as sports stadiums with a capacity of more than 30,000, which would have included the Bears and White Sox home venues.
Fans drinking in the plaza would only be able to buy specially marked cups, with drinks no larger than 16 fluid ounces.
Four alcohol points of sale would be allowed in the beer garden under the revised ordinance, though a spokesman for Tunney's office said there is a possibility that fans also may be able to bring drinks onto the plaza from specific restaurants elsewhere on the plaza or in the stadium.
"The goal is to boost year-round positive economic activity in the Wrigley area," Tunney wrote on his website. "Events on the plaza will assist our local small business community throughout the year and provide neighbors and families with community based activities and events to enjoy."
Alcohol sales in the plaza would not be an extension of Chicago Cubs concession sales, but, rather, a separate business of Hickory Street Capital—a Chicago-based venture owned by the Ricketts family, which owns the team. Keeping those entities separate helps protect certain Cubs revenue streams from being subject to Major League Baseball revenue-sharing rules.
A Ricketts family spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Changes to the amended ordinance could be made as it goes to the Chicago Committee on License and Consumer Protection. This will likely happen next month.
Some bar owners in the Wrigleyville area are wary of the city allowing the Cubs to create a massive beer garden that could steal some of their business. But many could benefit from increased foot-traffic around the area during the off-season or when the Cubs are on the road.
The plaza liquor ordinance was one of the final outstanding city approvals the Cubs were seeking when the City Council greenlighted final plans for their Wrigley Field renovation project in late 2014.
The ability to sell alcohol in the plaza was key to the deal the Cubs struck with the city to privately finance their $575 million ballpark renovation and neighborhood redevelopment. The Cubs plan to use the area to host everything from farmers' markets and live music to movies and an ice rink.