The Chicago Cubs are one step closer to hosting legal sports betting at Wrigley Field after getting approval Thursday from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks to build a proposed two-story sportsbook adjacent to the historic ballpark.
A partnership with DraftKings, the glass-walled sportsbook would be located at Addison Street and Sheffield Avenue at the southeast corner of Wrigley Field. It still requires approval from the City Council, the Illinois Gaming Board and the National Park Service, after the ballpark’s designation last year as a National Historic Landmark.
Cubs spokesman Julian Green said the addition of a sportsbook at Wrigley Field is important to attracting more fans to the game.
“While the game of baseball has largely been the same for the last 150 years, the fans have changed,” Green said in an email after the commission’s decision Thursday. “The way they consume baseball is different through emerging technology and content platforms. Sports wagering is becoming a big part of that change and this sportsbook will allow us to connect fans to the game in new ways.”
Wrigley Field, which was built in 1914, was designated a Chicago landmark in 2004.
Allowed by the 2019 Illinois Sports Wagering Act, the Wrigley Field sportsbook still requires the City Council to sign off on a proposed ordinance enabling Chicago sports venues to get sports wagering licenses, as well as approval from the state gaming board.
The team is already reviewing the proposed sportsbook design with the National Park Service.
At the Chicago landmarks hearing, Wrigleyville Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, expressed concerns about potential logistical problems related to trash pickup, but did not have a problem with the proposed sportsbook from a historical preservation perspective.
“This, as far as landmarks is concerned, has my support,” Tunney said.
The 22,350-square-foot building replaces a previously approved but similar design earmarked for the corner as part of the massive $1 billion renovation in and around Wrigley Field. Started in 2014, the multiyear makeover by the Cubs’ owners, the Ricketts family, included everything from giant video screens and new restrooms to a new office tower, hotel and other adjacent amenities.
All of the changes have passed muster with the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, and Wrigley Field’s designation as a National Historic Landmark last year was seen as an endorsement that the integrity of the 107-year-old ballpark had been preserved. It also makes the team eligible for millions of dollars in historic preservation tax credits.
“We continue to work to balance the interests of preservation and of our building, which we know is a treasure to the city, with continuing to make it an exciting destination for our fans and to be able to add amenities that allow them to continue to enjoy it,” Cubs Vice President Mike Lufrano said at the hearing.
Last month, a proposal to allow sportsbooks at Chicago sports venues was introduced at City Council. Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, who sponsored the bill, said Thursday a revised version of the proposed ordinance is being worked up, and it may take a while to get it approved.
“The mayor’s office is going to introduce it,” Burnett said. “It might change.”
The Illinois Sports Wagering Act allowed the state’s 10 casinos, three horse tracks and the seven largest sports facilities to acquire a sports gaming license at an initial fee of no greater than $10 million each.
On Thursday, the Illinois Gaming Board opened up applications for three online-only licenses available at $20 million each, which were also authorized under the sports wagering act. The board will accept applications for the online-only licenses through Dec. 3 and will announce the three winning bidders within 90 days after that.
Gamblers bet about $447 million on professional, college and other sporting events in June through the state’s nine active sportsbooks, 95% of which was wagered online, according to revenue totals published by the gaming board.
The gaming board, which has licensed sports wagering at seven casinos and two racetracks, has yet to receive any applications for a sportsbook at a sports venue. Other Chicago venues that would qualify include Guaranteed Rate Field, Soldier Field and the United Center.
Launched as a fantasy sports platform in 2012, Boston-based DraftKings is already partnered with the Casino Queen in East St. Louis. In June, DraftKings and the Casino Queen maintained their hold as the highest-grossing sportsbook in Illinois, generating about $160 million in bets, with 98% of it wagered online, according to gaming board data.
The Cubs announced their partnership with DraftKings last September. A DraftKings spokesman did not return a request for comment Thursday.
