But I like how its open year round, in an unrelated topic does anyone have any pics of the new sportscorner? I just moved to southern california at the end of last year and when I was back for christmas I noticed that it had been demolished but someone said it was going to be reopened for opening day.
The Captain Morgan marketing campaign is sure genius
They’ve hit on something that the frat boys can’t get enough of. It is sheer marketing genius that is generating huge revenues. It’s funny how the beer and booze companies are so masterful at creating a brand image that younger people can’t get enough of.
Not that I’m a beer snob, but I formally gave up drinking mass-marketed beers and consciously only buy micro-brews and craft beers via a niche liquor store in my area. I don’t drink very much, but when I do I’ll be damned if I’ll drink a Miller or a Bud that is very inadequate and where at least 1/3rd of the price paid goes to marketing investment.
My latest kick is Capitol Brewery out of Madison. They have a few really terrific beers.
CAP BREW? VERY GOOD STUFF. You should go on a tour some time. They are actually in Middleton, but it’s close enough to Madison. IIRC, their tours are only on weird days of the week, like weekends or Thursdays or Fridays. Good job, BLou.
that I just tried the Fat Squirrel this past weekend and though I normally don’t like Nut Brown I thought it was pretty good. I’d also suggest Lakefront Brewery. Their tour is also a pretty good time.
My favorite tidbit from one of the tours “Anheiser-Busch will spill more Budweiser in one shift than Lakefront brews all year!”
You will not find a better root beer. It comes in bottles. Actually for opening day that is what I picked up to enjoy during the game. (and am bring to a bbq later on this afternoon)
We may curse the Buds and Millers of the world, but these
companies are the engines that drive a lot of the sports the we all enjoy. I agree that their products are inferior to a lot of the microbrew products on the market. These big dogs are great at marketing. They’re not selling beer, they’re selling an image and people lap it up like thirsty dogs. They know exactly what market brings in the bucks and they zero in on that demographic and really drive the image home.
It’s not about the product quality at all. Rather it is about perception of being part of the right crowd. Drink a Bud and you too can go home with the hot chick at the end of the bar !!!
Watch those Captain Morgan commercials. They are absolute marketing brilliance. The nation now has eight bazillion frat boys walking around in Captain Morgan apparel and doing that step up pose.
So they’ve managed to bilk frat boys out of money — better yet, they’ve got their brand image lodged in their minds. Big deal. Frat boys have almost by definition bought into mainstream consumer culture. These are people that want to be the target market, that want to find brands to be loyal to. The idea to market at them, especially when they’re young, is obvious. Meanwhile the mechanics are pretty trivial too. They mostly involve objectifying women and associating with sports and already-popular music. All they have to do is follow the trends right along with the herd of people that consciously has decided to also follow them. It’s shooting fish in a barrel.
Not a drinker anymore, but Capitol Brewery has some good beers. Also if you make it to Madison, Great Dane has some excellent beers. It’s a shame that JT Whitney’s closed.
For my bachelor party 2 weeks ago we toured the breweries of Colorado: New Belgium, Avery, O’Dell, Left Hand, Breckenridge, Great Divide, Cooper Smiths. 22 guys in a hummer limo drinking dark craft brews. Can you imagine the smells? On our private tours of NB and Avery we got the drink La Folie and Meph Addict out of the wooden cask as it aged.
You must run with an unusually posh crowd of truckers. And a bunch of lushes, too! I hope the police are outside making sure they don’t have too much Captain in ’em before they hit the road. Checks handle. Ah, yes, California. I think what you meant is that it looks like a “mass affluent”-marketed suburban strip mall joint.
And I will tell you that if that is what they are passing off as a diner for truckers — I am severely dissapointed! You need about 45 years worth of grime on the joint.
but luckily its not. Curly’s is good, the Hall of Fame is excellent, and it allowed their offices to move. If the Cubs were smart, they’d do something almost exactly like it (the banquet halls can go somewhere else). The Atrium made Lambeau a year-round destination, something I’m sure the Cubs would love to happen.
Rapidly slapped together stucco appendage to Wrigley Field. God willing it will be torn down when/if a major renovation of Wrigley Field ever takes place.
Yuck! I meant to say that the awnings, lettering, and lighting looks decent. The building itself is absolutely awful.
Looking at the pictures again I’m hoping that on second look that maybe the building doesn’t stick out as far as I thought. That would be the best we could hope for.
My crappy attempt at sarcasm. I will be very happy when those things are gone. Those things were all the rage for Government buildings…but geez. Thats all a person wants, walking into Wrigley and feeling like its Metro Court.
a grand old park like Wrigley. The Cubs are trying to squeeze every penny they can out of the park and adding eyesores like this club is just one of the many ways they can accomplish that aim. Expect to see more of the same in the future.
One with bricks and ivy and old-fashioned scoreboard that is state of the art modern and attractive. Sell Wrigley to MLB for conversion into a baseball museum where special events are held. Allow the residents of Wrigleyville the ability to rent out the joint for their kum-by-ya meetings.
The new Wrigley could be just as great as Camden Yards and would make people not miss the old Wrigley for even a second. Especially if we can coronate the new ballpark with a World Series Championship banner.
Not a ‘Wrigley Hater’, but a new stadium would be incredible. Cub fans deserve the best, and the recent stadiums in St. Louis and Washington are nothing less than FRIGGIN’ AWESOME.
These "old-fashioned NEW" ballparks aren't much better than the cookie-cutter
They are all, when you boil down to it, basically the same thing. Fancy seating area behind home plate, tons of suites, gimmick seating area in one outfield, lots of ways to make money. Throw in a old fashioned scoreboard or building to make it complete.
Why copy everyone else when we already have what everyone else is trying to copy? The answer is to modernize Wrigley – build the triangle building, gut the interior, and rebuild the upper deck if you so choose. You can still have everything in the new parks and keep what makes Wrigley Wrigley.
So lets not be hypocritical on the sanctity of the place. To be competitive in modern major league baseball means clubhouse suites and personal seat licenses and all manner of revenue generating gimmicks like the Captain Morgan Pancake House. Renovation of Wrigley would include all this stuff and more. Why then not build from scratch a state of the art ballpark with ample parking (that makes money for the Cubs and not the parking vendors), modern lockerrooms and facilities for the ballplayers, etc. And that carries over the bricks, ivy, scoreboard, etc.
I’ve been a lot of new ballparks. Camden Yards is drop dead awesome. And though it was built on a budget, PNC Park in Pittsburgh is also very nice. Therefore there are definitely ways to build a new Wrigley that is state of the art modern but carries over all those things that people find important about Clark and Addison.
Of course it can be done, but the question is "It renovating the best couse of action?"
There are several issues that cannot be addressed just by renovating, such as parking, neighborhood interference and access from other parts of the city. These issues may seem like minor annoyances to those who live in the neighborhood, but they are important to those of us who live in the suburbs and have to travel to the park. Perhaps if there were just a bit more available land around the park it would not be an issue, but any renovation plan seems to have to be shoe-horned into an area that is not quite big enough to satisfy all of the needs.
My first inclination would always be to keep the park exactly where it is. However, before any major renovation are decided upon, I hope that all available options would be considered and all off the parties would have a voice in the discussion.
I notice that the two pictures are not of the same thing as one has three awnings and the other two. I’m just trying to figure out how this all lays out.
The three awning portion is adjacent to the RF corner gate, near the Harry Caray statue. There used to eb an entrance/exit there for the stadium club (or whatever it was called). The other portion, w/ two awnings, is down a bit further down the 1B line, towards the main entrance of Wrigley. Both are on the same side of the building, maybe 20-30 yards apart.
It makes slightly more sense now. So instead of this only being something they built onto the stadium the inside “club” portion already existed in the form of the stadium club?
The Harry Caray team that runs the small empire of it’s restaurants . Thats what it looks like to me being a outsider ….We will have to see the price structure of what they sell…
thinking why didn"t they feature Budweiser his favorite beer for many years …..Bet anyone a Bud that Harry never knew who Capt Morgan was …Nor would he care ….
What time is the early-bird special at the pancake house?
BLou - April 9, 2009
I suppose they'll be serving Grand Slam breakfasts
Shanghai Badger - April 10, 2009
It kind of looks like an eyesore
But I like how its open year round, in an unrelated topic does anyone have any pics of the new sportscorner? I just moved to southern california at the end of last year and when I was back for christmas I noticed that it had been demolished but someone said it was going to be reopened for opening day.
ryanbrixenivy - April 10, 2009
Approves!
Fukudometer - April 9, 2009
The Captain Morgan marketing campaign is sure genius
They’ve hit on something that the frat boys can’t get enough of. It is sheer marketing genius that is generating huge revenues. It’s funny how the beer and booze companies are so masterful at creating a brand image that younger people can’t get enough of.
Not that I’m a beer snob, but I formally gave up drinking mass-marketed beers and consciously only buy micro-brews and craft beers via a niche liquor store in my area. I don’t drink very much, but when I do I’ll be damned if I’ll drink a Miller or a Bud that is very inadequate and where at least 1/3rd of the price paid goes to marketing investment.
My latest kick is Capitol Brewery out of Madison. They have a few really terrific beers.
BLou - April 9, 2009
THATTA BOY!
CAP BREW? VERY GOOD STUFF. You should go on a tour some time. They are actually in Middleton, but it’s close enough to Madison. IIRC, their tours are only on weird days of the week, like weekends or Thursdays or Fridays. Good job, BLou.
dtpollitt - April 9, 2009
Yep, I'm a big fan...
I’ll have to see about getting a brewery tour. I may be up in Madison next week for a couple days.
BLou - April 9, 2009
After you're done with Cap. Brew.
try out New Glarus. Spotted Cow is my favorite, followed closely by Fat Squirrel Brown Nut. Great stuff. I haven’t done that tour, however.
http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/
Dan
dtpollitt - April 9, 2009
I'm just going to interject
that I just tried the Fat Squirrel this past weekend and though I normally don’t like Nut Brown I thought it was pretty good. I’d also suggest Lakefront Brewery. Their tour is also a pretty good time.
My favorite tidbit from one of the tours “Anheiser-Busch will spill more Budweiser in one shift than Lakefront brews all year!”
CubFan81 - April 10, 2009
If you're REALLY nice at the Lakefront tour...
You might get to slide down Bernie Brewers slide! They bought it after County Stadium closed. Good Beer!
I would also rec’ Central Waters Brewery. They have a Muddy Puppy Porter and a Ouisconsing Red Ale that I would kill for.
http://centralwaters.com/
MikeOxbyg - April 10, 2009
Can't go wrong with
http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/index.php
lostinthevines - April 10, 2009
Their root beer is AMAZING
You will not find a better root beer. It comes in bottles. Actually for opening day that is what I picked up to enjoy during the game. (and am bring to a bbq later on this afternoon)
Madison Cub Fan - April 10, 2009
That was a great tour
Love me some good brews and ability to keep the glass I technically paid for!
TkGoUWGB - April 10, 2009
We may curse the Buds and Millers of the world, but these
companies are the engines that drive a lot of the sports the we all enjoy. I agree that their products are inferior to a lot of the microbrew products on the market. These big dogs are great at marketing. They’re not selling beer, they’re selling an image and people lap it up like thirsty dogs. They know exactly what market brings in the bucks and they zero in on that demographic and really drive the image home.
willie mays hayes' gloves - April 9, 2009
They do indeed sell image...
It’s not about the product quality at all. Rather it is about perception of being part of the right crowd. Drink a Bud and you too can go home with the hot chick at the end of the bar !!!
Watch those Captain Morgan commercials. They are absolute marketing brilliance. The nation now has eight bazillion frat boys walking around in Captain Morgan apparel and doing that step up pose.
BLou - April 9, 2009
You can people to do just about anything if you associate it with booze and sex. No one
will ever go broke by overestimating the stupidity of the American public. Is this a great country or what?
willie mays hayes' gloves - April 9, 2009
Let's not get carried away
So they’ve managed to bilk frat boys out of money — better yet, they’ve got their brand image lodged in their minds. Big deal. Frat boys have almost by definition bought into mainstream consumer culture. These are people that want to be the target market, that want to find brands to be loyal to. The idea to market at them, especially when they’re young, is obvious. Meanwhile the mechanics are pretty trivial too. They mostly involve objectifying women and associating with sports and already-popular music. All they have to do is follow the trends right along with the herd of people that consciously has decided to also follow them. It’s shooting fish in a barrel.
aldimond - April 9, 2009
Now thats an opinion I can agree with
Not a drinker anymore, but Capitol Brewery has some good beers. Also if you make it to Madison, Great Dane has some excellent beers. It’s a shame that JT Whitney’s closed.
Madison Cub Fan - April 10, 2009
Best beer in the world
For my bachelor party 2 weeks ago we toured the breweries of Colorado: New Belgium, Avery, O’Dell, Left Hand, Breckenridge, Great Divide, Cooper Smiths. 22 guys in a hummer limo drinking dark craft brews. Can you imagine the smells? On our private tours of NB and Avery we got the drink La Folie and Meph Addict out of the wooden cask as it aged.
Fukudometer - April 10, 2009
Man that place went up FAST. Thanks David for the pix.
I wish it wasn’t sponsored, but so it goes.
dtpollitt - April 9, 2009
Yuck!
It looks like a diner in the middle of the desert for truckers.
calicubfan - April 9, 2009
Trucker diner?
You must run with an unusually posh crowd of truckers. And a bunch of lushes, too! I hope the police are outside making sure they don’t have too much Captain in ’em before they hit the road. Checks handle. Ah, yes, California. I think what you meant is that it looks like a “mass affluent”-marketed suburban strip mall joint.
aldimond - April 9, 2009
Hey I live in the desert!
And I will tell you that if that is what they are passing off as a diner for truckers — I am severely dissapointed! You need about 45 years worth of grime on the joint.
StevenABQ - April 10, 2009
What time will it open for 2pm games?
I am going to opening day
11am? Noon?
AppleCub - April 9, 2009
Have no idea.
Why don’t you call the Cubs and ask?
Al Yellon - April 10, 2009
I'll never say anything bad about the Captain.
Not my rum of choice anymore, but we’ve had some good time.
chitownhawkeye - April 9, 2009
not me... Barcardi was my rum of choice
Madison Cub Fan - April 10, 2009
So you no longer have a little captain in ya?
100yearitch - April 10, 2009
It looks a little inconguous to me.
I also think that it DOES look like a strip mall in anywhere USA.
I think the lettering and logos look pretty decent though. It could have been worse.
cubsgirl2 - April 9, 2009
I went to Lambeau Field after their renovation...
I thought the Atrium felt like a suburban shopping mall. Needless to say I wasnt welcomed back.
MikeOxbyg - April 10, 2009
I'll agree it's got that feel
but luckily its not. Curly’s is good, the Hall of Fame is excellent, and it allowed their offices to move. If the Cubs were smart, they’d do something almost exactly like it (the banquet halls can go somewhere else). The Atrium made Lambeau a year-round destination, something I’m sure the Cubs would love to happen.
TkGoUWGB - April 10, 2009
Well...
…I resemble those frat boy comments!
And next, is it just me, or does this “club” just look like one big room? I have to be honest, I don’t really get the point.
ErnieBanks - April 9, 2009
The point is the Cubs want
some of that $$ that is being spent at Murphys, Bernies, etc. Who can blame them?
SonnyJ9 - April 10, 2009
Isn't this supposed to be temporary?
Looks pretty permanent to me.
halfblindcubbiegirl - April 9, 2009
Are you sure they didn't just roll this thing up Addison and take the wheels off?
I’m thinking FEMA trailer
Employee22 - April 10, 2009
Doesn't like good
but it doesn’t look as bad as I originally figured it would.
mjk83 - April 10, 2009
It looks like garbage
Rapidly slapped together stucco appendage to Wrigley Field. God willing it will be torn down when/if a major renovation of Wrigley Field ever takes place.
BLou - April 10, 2009
It sure does
Matches those god-awful concrete panels quite nicley. I love a little cookie-cutter stip mall, with my mid-century moderne concrete panels.
StevenABQ - April 10, 2009
As encore to this atrocity maybe they can haphazardly attach a Mrs. Field Cookie Store next the turnstiles
BLou - April 10, 2009
and a Jamba Juice & Starbucks.
Yuck! I meant to say that the awnings, lettering, and lighting looks decent. The building itself is absolutely awful.
Looking at the pictures again I’m hoping that on second look that maybe the building doesn’t stick out as far as I thought. That would be the best we could hope for.
cubsgirl2 - April 10, 2009
Look again.
I don’t think it does. In any case, the concrete panels will eventually go. Maybe this thing won’t look so bad then.
Al Yellon - April 10, 2009
Yeah
My crappy attempt at sarcasm. I will be very happy when those things are gone. Those things were all the rage for Government buildings…but geez. Thats all a person wants, walking into Wrigley and feeling like its Metro Court.
StevenABQ - April 10, 2009
what would they
replace the concrete with? if they replace the concrete panelling, i think it would like quite nice.
laidbackliam - April 10, 2009
Hopefully, wrought iron...
… as was on Wrigley originally.
Al Yellon - April 10, 2009
i would like that as well.
but as is, i have no problems with the concrete panels.
laidbackliam - April 10, 2009
no class, but no surprise
I’m not shocked at the look of the thing- it looks like the parasite that it is- it would be a lifeless mass without the healthy Host.
See you at Murphy’s!
baked mcbride - April 10, 2009
NAH
Clutche - April 10, 2009
This is what you get when you try to modernize
a grand old park like Wrigley. The Cubs are trying to squeeze every penny they can out of the park and adding eyesores like this club is just one of the many ways they can accomplish that aim. Expect to see more of the same in the future.
willie mays hayes' gloves - April 10, 2009
Build a NEW ballpark
One with bricks and ivy and old-fashioned scoreboard that is state of the art modern and attractive. Sell Wrigley to MLB for conversion into a baseball museum where special events are held. Allow the residents of Wrigleyville the ability to rent out the joint for their kum-by-ya meetings.
The new Wrigley could be just as great as Camden Yards and would make people not miss the old Wrigley for even a second. Especially if we can coronate the new ballpark with a World Series Championship banner.
BLou - April 10, 2009
+1
Not a ‘Wrigley Hater’, but a new stadium would be incredible. Cub fans deserve the best, and the recent stadiums in St. Louis and Washington are nothing less than FRIGGIN’ AWESOME.
malicedoom - April 10, 2009
These "old-fashioned NEW" ballparks aren't much better than the cookie-cutter
They are all, when you boil down to it, basically the same thing. Fancy seating area behind home plate, tons of suites, gimmick seating area in one outfield, lots of ways to make money. Throw in a old fashioned scoreboard or building to make it complete.
Why copy everyone else when we already have what everyone else is trying to copy? The answer is to modernize Wrigley – build the triangle building, gut the interior, and rebuild the upper deck if you so choose. You can still have everything in the new parks and keep what makes Wrigley Wrigley.
sanantonecub - April 10, 2009
Respectfully disagree.
malicedoom - April 10, 2009
Wrigley is already being whored out
So lets not be hypocritical on the sanctity of the place. To be competitive in modern major league baseball means clubhouse suites and personal seat licenses and all manner of revenue generating gimmicks like the Captain Morgan Pancake House. Renovation of Wrigley would include all this stuff and more. Why then not build from scratch a state of the art ballpark with ample parking (that makes money for the Cubs and not the parking vendors), modern lockerrooms and facilities for the ballplayers, etc. And that carries over the bricks, ivy, scoreboard, etc.
I’ve been a lot of new ballparks. Camden Yards is drop dead awesome. And though it was built on a budget, PNC Park in Pittsburgh is also very nice. Therefore there are definitely ways to build a new Wrigley that is state of the art modern but carries over all those things that people find important about Clark and Addison.
BLou - April 10, 2009
Agreed.
Rec’d.
Al Yellon - April 10, 2009
I thought Fenway did a decent job of keeping Fenway Fenway while modernizing
So it can be done.
Emelie - April 10, 2009
Exactly!
Al Yellon - April 10, 2009
Of course it can be done, but the question is "It renovating the best couse of action?"
There are several issues that cannot be addressed just by renovating, such as parking, neighborhood interference and access from other parts of the city. These issues may seem like minor annoyances to those who live in the neighborhood, but they are important to those of us who live in the suburbs and have to travel to the park. Perhaps if there were just a bit more available land around the park it would not be an issue, but any renovation plan seems to have to be shoe-horned into an area that is not quite big enough to satisfy all of the needs.
My first inclination would always be to keep the park exactly where it is. However, before any major renovation are decided upon, I hope that all available options would be considered and all off the parties would have a voice in the discussion.
willie mays hayes' gloves - April 10, 2009
Valid points
but keep in mind that Fenway is located smack dab kin the middle of Kenmore Square, one of the most congested parts of a congested city.
Emelie - April 10, 2009
+1
mjk83 - April 10, 2009
Can someone tell me where these pictures are?
I notice that the two pictures are not of the same thing as one has three awnings and the other two. I’m just trying to figure out how this all lays out.
sanantonecub - April 10, 2009
yup
The three awning portion is adjacent to the RF corner gate, near the Harry Caray statue. There used to eb an entrance/exit there for the stadium club (or whatever it was called). The other portion, w/ two awnings, is down a bit further down the 1B line, towards the main entrance of Wrigley. Both are on the same side of the building, maybe 20-30 yards apart.
dmlichte - April 10, 2009
Thanks
It makes slightly more sense now. So instead of this only being something they built onto the stadium the inside “club” portion already existed in the form of the stadium club?
sanantonecub - April 10, 2009
Drove by Wrigley this morning......sticks out like sore thumb.
…. It looks like they attached a generic chain restaurant from Schaumburg to the side of Wrigley…
I guess that is what you get when you feel like you have to rush this so its ready for opening day.
JB 23 - April 10, 2009
I THOUGHT THAT......
There were more than enough Bars right around Wrigley ..Did they really need to do this ?? Yes it’s all about $$$ isn’t it ??
cubs north - April 10, 2009
Well, of course it is.
What did you expect?
Al Yellon - April 10, 2009
Well, when I open a business, it'll soley be for the joy it brings to my customer base
/sarcasm
Shanghai Badger - April 10, 2009
The Captain Morgan Pancake House will be yet another cash cow revenue stream for the Cubs
They’ll charge $10 bucks for a cocktail and the lines will perpetually be 20 people deep. It’s money from heaven.
BLou - April 10, 2009
No, it's money from idiots!
Shanghai Badger - April 10, 2009
I'd link the two.
But it’s Good Friday. Today would be a bad day for me to go to Hell.
TkGoUWGB - April 10, 2009
You know, my father used to put a little bit of Jack Daniels in pancake batter when I was little
I’d bet Captain Morgan Pancakes wouldn’t be too bad – maybe even have a hint of vanilla.
Thanks for making me want pancakes now.
Bill Potter - April 10, 2009
If they do wind up serving those...
… I think everyone at BCB should get a cut of the profits for suggesting this.
Al Yellon - April 10, 2009
So much about so little
Welcome to the 21st Century. Business tries to make money. At least somebody was employed to build the structure.
No one was laid off, furloughed, or fired.
Lighten up. This is not important.
San Diego Smooth Jazz Man - April 10, 2009
I'm not opposed to the idea.
But it appears they messed this thing up. It looks far too modern next to the old stadium.
cubswynn - April 10, 2009
I'll reserve judgment until I see it in person.
Al Yellon - April 10, 2009
Ditto. Monday can't get here soon enough!
cubswynn - April 10, 2009
Now there's a comment not often heard/read on a Friday
Shanghai Badger - April 10, 2009
OT: More tickets released for Opening Day
flachimesa - April 10, 2009
WHO IS GOING TO MANAGE IT ??
The Harry Caray team that runs the small empire of it’s restaurants . Thats what it looks like to me being a outsider ….We will have to see the price structure of what they sell…
cubs north - April 10, 2009
Yes it is the Harry Caray's team running it.
cubswynn - April 11, 2009
HARRY'S GOTTA BE
thinking why didn"t they feature Budweiser his favorite beer for many years …..Bet anyone a Bud that Harry never knew who Capt Morgan was …Nor would he care ….
cubs north - April 11, 2009
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