CHICAGO -- The protective netting in place to protect fans
from falling concrete at Wrigley Field must be replaced with a
permanent solution if the Chicago Cubs want to play at the stadium
next spring.
Building Commissioner Stan Kaderbek said at a news conference
Saturday that the most recent inspections at the 90-year-old
ballpark had not uncovered any surprises, although the city will
not decide until noon Monday on whether the Cubs can play their
home game that night against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The city of Chicago hired an independent company, Construction Technology Laboratories, to evaluate the ballpark over the weekend.
Regardless of that decision, Kaderbek said the nylon netting
draped underneath the upper deck is not a permanent solution to the
ballpark's crumbling concrete. Chunks of concrete have fallen from
Wrigley's upper deck on at least three occasions since June.
"Clearly, we're not going to tolerate having nets up next
spring," Kaderbek said. "We need to figure out what's causing the
problem. It's just not acceptable to have nets up there for the
rest of 2005."
Kaderbek said he ordered the inspections after a reporter noted
during an interview Wednesday that some repairs at the ballpark
were "shoddy."
The Cubs have been working since last month to retroactively
obtain building permits for work done on the ballpark since 2001.
Cubs officials have said it is impossible to fix the problem
during the season but they plan to do a complete repair job during
the offseason.