Below are two recent aerial photos showing Wrigley field and U.S. cellular field in Chicago. Both photos are shown at the exact same scale. I thought it was interesting to juxtapose these two sports facilities as they both address and fit within the city in radically different ways, yet they exist only 10 miles from each other in the same city.
At Wrigley, we can see some small surface lots around the stadium (players parking, VIP parking, etc), but for the most part, it is intergrated very well into its urban neighborhood. We can see the L tracks running just west of the stadium and there’s not an expressway in sight. Wrigley is the type of ballpark that does not cater to automobiles in the slightest. You can drive to Wrigley, but expect to sit in massive traffic jams, pay exhorbitant parking rates in the precious few and small lots or be prepared to park about a mile or 2 away and walk. For these reason many cubs fans choose to simply walk or take transit to the stadium. As a result, the neighborhood around Wrigley has bars and restaurants and clubs and stores,etc. all this commercial activity combined with the fact that most people are on foot anyway, means that the neighborhood stays alive with sports fans for hours after the ballgame has ended.
Below at U.S cellular, we see a dramatic difference. The stadium sits in a veritable sea of parking lots and is smashed between a large railroad ROW/switching yard and a 12 lane expressway. This park caters to suburbanites who want to drive in, watch the game, then escape back to suburbia after the game. There is L line service from the red line which runs down the middle of the expressway, but when they make it so easy to park a car, many people will simply opt to drive. And this drive in-drive out mentality means that the area is absolutely dead about an hour or so after the game, there’s no patio restaurants or bars or clubs that stay packed with sports fans who drink on into the middle of the night. Hanging out around the cell is just lame.
