JUAN CASTILO / CHICAGO CUBS
The Cubs’ plans for the Illinois-Northwestern game
extend beyond Wrigley Field’s walls.
The Chicago Cubs have developed a street festival outside Wrigley Field with heavy sponsor activation tied to the ballpark’s first college football game in 72 years.
The Cubs, in conjunction with Northwestern University, their partner for producing Saturday’s Allstate Wrigleyville Classic, created Wildcat Way along Sheffield Avenue on the east side of the stadium.
Starting Friday, officials will close a one-block stretch of Sheffield between Addison and Waveland and set up several booths, games and activities geared to families and college football fans in general.
Wildcat Way will operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. The game, featuring Northwestern and Illinois, kicks off at 2:30 p.m.
“This is the first college football game at Wrigley since 1938, so we really wanted to create an exciting atmosphere not only inside the park but with a fan fest throughout the entire day,” said Wally Hayward, the Cubs’ executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer.
Game title sponsor Allstate will have a large presence on Wildcat Way, parking its traveling College Football Legacy Museum trailer with displays of autographed jerseys and football helmets dating to the 1930s.
Its brand will also be exposed through the Allstate Fan Club, where fans can create personal signs; a football toss challenge; a Plinko board game; and a green-screen photo area where people can have their pictures taken and retrieve them online after the game.
Anheuser-Busch, one of the Cubs’ beer partners, is sponsoring the Bud Light Music Stage, where four bands will perform before and after the game. Budweiser, Bud Light and Shock Top brands will be served in addition to PepsiCo products. Pepsi holds the Cubs’ pouring rights.
Levy Restaurants, the Cubs’ concessionaire, has exclusive rights to sell food and drink on Wildcat Way. A large video screen above the music stage and 16 additional televisions on the street will show other college games throughout the day.
Clear, a high-speed Internet provider, and Lexus will have displays on Clark Street in front of the ballpark, Hayward said.
Back along Wildcat Way, the Cubs will set up a 6,900-square-foot heated tent that can fit about 800 people and protect them from the elements on what could be a cold November day in Chicago, Hayward said. Last week’s extended forecast called for a high of 44 with a chance of snow showers.
WGN Radio, Northwestern football’s broadcast partner, will have a live remote from the Captain Morgan Club on the corner of Addison and Sheffield. The Big Ten Network will have a game-day crew reporting from Wrigley with live cut-ins through the day. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Wildcat Way will be a good test for the Cubs to see whether developing further fan fests on Sheffield during marquee baseball games makes sense, Hayward said. “We obviously have to work closely with the neighborhood as we move forward,” he said.
