On Saturday, “Go Cubs Go” will become “Go U Northwestern.”
Wrigley Field has undergone a transformation into a football stadium in preparation for the Allstate Wrigleyville Classic between Northwestern and Illinois Saturday.
It will be the first football game hosted at the Friendly Confines since 1970, and the stadium’s first college football game since 1938, when DePaul University, now without a football team, called it home.
“When they were first talking about it we weren’t sure if it would happen,” said Randy Stoneberg, NU’s head groundskeeper. “But now that it’s happened it’s an experience. It’s all I can say. It’s Wrigley Field.”
The process of making a football field at Wrigley began more than three weeks ago under the direction of Roger Baird, head groundskeeper for the Chicago Cubs. It has involved everything from laying down sod on the infield and warning track to digging a hole filled with concrete to support the goalposts. One set of goalposts is in front of the third base dugout, while the other one is attached to the fence in right field.
The east-west layout is in contrast to the north-south orientation used by the Chicago Bears when they played their games at Wrigley from 1921 to 1970. According to Stoneberg, they looked at both layout options for Saturday’s game and felt that the east-west setup worked better with the box seats that have been added since the Bears moved to Soldier Field.
NU’s takeover of Wrigley extends beyond the playing surface. The trademark marquee over the main entrance has been painted Wildcat Purple-the first time it has been changed from its usual red since the mid-1960s. In a ceremony on Monday, representatives from NU, the Cubs and the game’s sponsor’s made the ceremonial first paint strokes on the marquee.
“It’s really a special moment when you think about the history of Wrigley Field and think about that marquee changing colors,” said Jim Phillips, NU’s director of athletics and recreation, who made one of the first marks on the marquee.
The conversion of Wrigley Field, albeit grand in nature, is temporary. Baird said the field will begin to be dismantled next week to avoid the winter elements. He also said while the pitcher’s rubber and home plate will be replaced with new pieces, the pitcher’s mound will be restored with about 80 percent of the old material.
Baird said preparing for this weekend’s game was more work than installing an ice rink for the 2009 Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. In addition to leveling the field and laying down sod, he said it takes a lot more painting than he is used to.
“They use a lot more paint … than baseball, I’ve learned that much,” Baird said. “I just gotta put two white lines down, you know, a fair line down the line.”
Because this is their last home game, NU’s normal home field has already been torn down for the winter. The winterization process is already underway at Ryan Field.
“If you went up there today, you wouldn’t even realize we had a football season,” Stoneberg said.
The only concern with the field at Wrigley is the proximity of the end zones to the outfield fences. The right field end zone is situated a little bit over a foot away from the padded wall. Plays like junior superback Drake Dunsmore’s circus catch at Penn State would be impossible at this field.
The close fence is daunting, but players trust their teammates to not leave them out to dry.
“Hopefully it’s not like arena (football),” sophomore wide receiver Demetrius Fields said. “We trust each other to not put each other in situations where we’ll be killed.”
