Chicago mayor open to Wrigley Field expansion

CHICAGO -- Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said he is open to a possible Wrigley Field expansion project, but he said the Chicago Cubs and the community will have to work together before the plan can win city approval.\nA die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, Daley said Tuesday that he was so impressed by the recent addition of 200 new box seats behind home plate that he thought the Cubs would treat additional renovations with the same architectural sensitivity.\n"When you looked at the two or three new rows, you thought they were always there," Daley said. "They cherish that landmark just as much as anybody else."\nA deal this year between the Cubs and the city to add night games proved the club is willing to work with neighbors, Daley said.\nThe city gave the Cubs permission in February to add up to 30 night games over the next three years after the club agreed to spend more money to address congestion, litter and other game-related problems.\nIt "shows you that once you (get) the process moving along, people come back with suggestions and work it out," Daley said.\nThe club now has to work with Wrigley's neighbors to craft a ballpark complex that both sides can live with, Daley said.\n"I bet there will be changes, but that's what they have to present," he said.\nThe Cubs unveiled a renovation proposal Friday that included a 1,980-seat expansion of the bleachers, renovation of the exterior outfield walls and a new multipurpose building on the west side of the ballpark that would include a restaurant, parking garage and underground batting cages and pitchers' mounds.\nThe Cubs also want to build an open-air pedestrian walkway between the building and the stadium.\nThe renovation plan has to be approved by the city's plan commission, the city council and the landmark committee.