Walk into the new "spacious, avant garde clubhouse below Wrigley Field, and the dim blue lighting, combined with the circular design, leaves the impression you are standing in a stylish European nightclub rather than a 102-year-old ballpark," according to David Haugh of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein said, "I've seen a lot of clubhouses. This is, by far, the nicest one I've seen." Haugh notes on the day his family bought the team in '09, Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts "vowed to do whatever was necessary to make the Cubs the best organization in baseball." Building "one of the swankiest, most state-of-the-art clubhouses in the majors, a year after winning 97 games, brought Ricketts another step closer to delivering on that promise." Only the Yankees' clubhouse "is larger." Players will see an "expanded strength and conditioning center, a gourmet dining area, a room for steams and saunas and a display full of 'Cubs artifacts.'" There also is a "barber shop, a quiet room with three beds, a players lounge ... and a special area specifically for postgame dance parties" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/12). The Cubs posted video of the new clubhouse on Facebook (THE DAILY).
SAFE & SOUND: In Chicago, Burt Constable notes the new metal detectors outside Wrigley Field "should protect" Cubs fans, but the "more useful protective device might be the new netting" inside the ballpark. Cubs fan Kenneth Given, who was sitting directly behind the Cubs dugout at yesterday's home opener, one section over from the seats of Ricketts and just beyond the new protective netting that will shield the fans, said sarcastically, "I'm glad that Mr. Ricketts is protected." Constable notes fans "aren't as thrilled with the metal detectors outside Wrigley, but they accept them" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 4/12).
