Cubs exec Crane Kenney fires back at alderman on ‘tent’ issue, street closures

MESA, Ariz. — The heavy machinery should be pulled off the dirt at Wrigley Field by the end of this week; workers will start laying in a new field in the week to come. There will be eight new concession stands — four of them ready for the Cubs’ home opener April 9 — along the main stadium concourse. Cell service and Wi-Fi throughout Wrigley will be, the team promises, “vastly improved.”

But enough with all that nice news.

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The prevailing themes when Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney met with reporters Thursday were rancor and danger.

Indeed, there’s no letup to the issues between the Cubs and Ald. Tom Tunney (44th). The issues du jour include the giant white tent that covers the Blue Lot, which is the parking lot at 1102 W. Waveland, to the west of the local firehouse, used by Cubs players, coaches and their families. The last three years, Tunney signed off on a permit enabling the Cubs to cover the lot with a tent for security and privacy reasons. Now, after receiving complaints from residents, Tunney plans to oppose the permit.

“Since October of 2015 and the subsequent two seasons, the erected tent has been the cause of many problems,” a group of residents wrote in a letter to Tunney. “Neighbors have been burdened with difficulty accessing their garages, dangerous traffic encounters, exorbitant noise created from the tent on windy days and the unsightly nature of it.”

But the Cubs counter that the lot, uncovered and visible to the public, could be accessed on foot by anyone. Club spokesman Julian Green used manager Joe Maddon’s usual parking spot as an example.

“You can pretty much walk through the bushes and get to him and the car,” Green said. “That’s how the Blue Lot is; there’s no barrier around it. Yes, there would be some issues with people walking up — especially after night games.”

Or as Kenney put it: “The world hasn’t gotten safer.”

“This, for me, of all the things we’ve had to address, to think that putting up a tent on our own property would be something we had to address with our alderman is kind of hard to believe,” he continued. “But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at this stage.”

Kenney also expressed the team’s desire to have Addison and Clark streets closed around the perimeter of Wrigley Field, ideally from two hours before game times until one hour afterward. This wish has been expressed — and shot down by Tunney’s office — before, the sticking point being the surrounding traffic congestion that would occur.

This time, Kenney’s reasoning was dark and ominous. He described the crowds gathered outside the park’s main entrance, as well as the entrance at the intersection of Addison and Sheffield, as targets.

“Vehicles as weapons have become the more popular thing than, really, live shooting,” he said. “You guys know how far it is from the Addison side of the ballpark to the curb. It’s probably eight feet.”

Kenney pointed to Boston, where the streets surrounding Fenway Park are closed for Red Sox games. That was an initiative that emanated from that city’s mayor’s office, according to Kenney. As for potential traffic nightmares around Wrigley, Kenney suggested that CTA buses could be rerouted up and down Racine Avenue during such times.

“It’s not perfect,” he said. “It’s not simple. But we think if we’re really trying to secure the ballpark, it’s something that would be important.”

Also touched on: the Cubs’ desire to host an upcoming All-Star Game. Only the Dodgers have gone longer without hosting one. But there might be a few too many outstanding issues to make a winning pitch just now.

“The mayor has tried to help as much as he can,” Kenney said. “We obviously have an issue with our alderman. The problem is it’s pretty well-known how little help we’ve gotten from our alderman.”

Follow me on Twitter @SLGreenberg.

Email: sgreenberg@suntimes.com