Wrigley Field

Chicago, IL

Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)

14 miles/25 minutes to Wrigley Field

Midway Airport (MDW)

16 miles/30 minutes to Wrigley Field

 

Hotels

 

Unlimited budget– all 4 are within 1.5 miles of Wrigley Field

Majestic Hotel

Willows Hotel

Best Western – Hawthorne Terrace

City Suites 

 

Moderate budget

Days Inn- Chicago  1.5 miles from Wrigley Field

Chaser budget traveler

Old Chicago Inn
 

Ballpark Chasers Tip: be careful when reserving a motel in downtown Chicago. There are several “bargain motels” close to Wrigley; however, they are not recommended by Ballpark Chasers unless you see them above.

 

Parking

Wrigley Field is one stadium that you don’t want to drive to. The Chicago Cubs and Ballpark Chasers everywhere recommend finding public transportation to and from the game. If possible, hop on the CTA Red-Line, one of Chicago’s many train lines. The Red Line train provides direct access to Wrigley Field via the access station at Addison. Otherwise, the Purple, Blue and Yellow Line trains connects to the Red Line. Talk to your hotel front desk for the closest option. 

 

Dining

There is a battle happening in Chicago's north-side other than the one at Wrigley Field. The Wrigleyville restaurant owners are fighting for your attention before and after every Cubs home game. No other ballpark in the country can compete with the sports bars that you will find outside of Wrigley Field. After extensive hands-on research (including pain staking food sampling and bar hopping), Ballpark Chasers have narrowed down the top 4 sports bars in Wrigleyville.

 

The Cubby Bear, Murphy’s Bleachers, Harry Caray's Tavern and Sluggers World Class Sports Bar are all unique in their own way. The Cubby Bear offers size (over 30,000 sq. ft), Chicago sports memorabilia and over 70 satellite televisions broadcasting tons of sports throughout the day! Murphy’s Bleachers gives you more of an authentic Wrigley Field experience, located directly across the street from the entrance to the bleacher section. Harry Caray's Tavern gives you a taste of Chicago Cubs history. Sluggers is the entertainment spot, offering a second floor filled with batting cages, trampoline basketball, virtual driving games, air hockey, electronic basketball, and football, ski and golf simulators! In addition to those activities, Sluggers is also home of the dueling piano bar. With so many awesome restaurants and bars around Wrigleyville, why bother eating inside the park? Besides the Chicago Dogs and sausages, the 4-pound pretzel (Northside Twist), Italian sandwiches and Buffalo Dogs,  there isn’t much worth purchasing inside Wrigley Field. Do yourself a favor and pick from one of the four restaurants featured and let us know your favorite!
 

Ballpark Chasers Tip: if you want to find a seat at one of these Wrigleyville sports bars on game days, make sure to arrive 3 hours before the first pitch. Otherwise, head over to the original Billy Goat Tavern (about 5 miles from Wrigley Field). The Michigan Ave. location is home to the original bar of William Sianis and his infamous billy goat.  Stop by to learn about the curse of the billy goat that still haunts the Cubs to this day.

 

Tickets

On average, Wrigley Field was 99% full during every game of the 2008 season! Needless to say, we recommend purchasing Cubs tickets from your favorite online dealer or through the Cubs website once you reserve plane tickets. Otherwise, you can always count on scalpers all over Wrigleyville.

Ballpark Chasers Tip: “standing room only” tickets mean that you will be standing to watch the game and there is a good chance that you will not have a full field view. Don’t let scalpers fool you into thinking that you will be able to find a seat to sit-in.

 

Weather 

The Chicago area is known for its extreme climates and seasons. During the baseball season, you can expect temperatures gradually increasing through the summer months with the peak coming in July and August. Thunderstorms are quite common in the summer. June typically gets the most rainfall, so don’t forget to pack a light jacket.

Local Attractions

The windy city offers so much to do and see that the toughest part is deciding. From the world renowned Art Institute of Chicago to the Magnificent Mile, tourists can easy spend an entire week here. One stop not to miss is Millennium Park, located roughly 6 miles from Wrigley Field. The newly opened 24 acre park is home of amazing and unique art, music and architecture. Don’t leave without checking out the Crown Fountain, a 50 ft. tower that projects facial images with an opening that shoots water out of the image’s mouth! Another attraction at Millennium Park is the Cloud Gate sculpture. Imagine a gigantic 66 ft. long upside-down jelly bean that looks like mercury and has a mirror-like finish which reflects the viewer’s image back in weird shapes. Sounds pretty cool, huh?

Another quick, fun and inexpensive destination in the Chicago area is the Sears Tower, North America’s tallest building (110 stories tall). On a clear day, the view from the sky deck allows you to see over 40-50 miles out, including Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin! Try and time it so you can catch a sunset by arriving at the sky deck about 30 minutes before the sun sets.   

 

Ballpark Chasers Trip Suggestion

Wrigley Field is part of Ballpark Chasers Midwest Extravaganza! Plan your trip to allow visits to the south side of Chicago for a game at US Cellular Field and then off to Milwaukee to see the Brewers at Miller Park. Only 10 miles separate Wrigley from US Cellular which makes it possible to take in a day/night double header! Miller Park can be reached by car in just under 2 hours from Chicago.

If you have a rental car and want to escape the city limits, head west to Geneva for some Kane County Cougars Minor League Baseball. The cougars are the Class A Affiliate of the Oakland Athletics and are only 1 hour from Wrigley Field. Another close Minor League park is Alexian Field, home of the Schaumburg Flyers. The Flyers are located in Schaumburg, Illinois, about a 45 minute drive from the Chicago city limits.