Renovated Wrigley Field still has same charm ahead of Winter Classic

CHICAGO -- The Wrigley Field that will host the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues will look much the same on New Year's Eve as it did on Jan. 1, 2009, when the home of the Chicago Cubs first hosted the game, a 6-4 victory for the Detroit Red Wings against the Blackhawks.

"The event itself was a big success, other than the score for the Blackhawks," said Crane Kenney, president of business operations for the Cubs. "The players loved it, our guests had a great time and most important for me, it proved we could make Wrigley a year-round event center."

For fans attending this season's game between the Blackhawks and Blues on Dec. 31 (5 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS), they will be greeted by several Wrigley Field constants, which have been part of the park for the better part of a century.

The iconic marquee at the home-plate corner still welcomes fans to the Friendly Confines.

The manually operated scoreboard that towers above center field looks much the same as it did when it was installed in that spot during the summer of 1937.

The vines on the outfield walls are dormant, but the brick wall provides the perfect backdrop below the bleachers.

But thanks to a five-year, $740 million restoration project that began after the 2014 baseball season, much about Wrigley Field -- both inside and out -- is new and different, providing fans and players alike with a more comfortable experience.

The bleachers have been rebuilt and expanded. Unlike in 2009, when relatively small temporary videoboards were set up, Wrigley Field now has two large permanent boards, above the left field and right field bleachers.

There are new clubs and restaurants inside the park. Outside, Gallagher Way is an open space for Cubs fans to play catch during summer. Ticket holders will be able to gather in Gallagher Way and take part in several planned activities.

For the players, Kenney points out, the Blackhawks will dress in a clubhouse of 39,000 square feet and the Blues in a clubhouse of 8,000 sq ft compared to 4,800 sq ft and 2,500 sq ft, respectively, in 2009.

The new home clubhouse is a circle, with a diameter of 60 feet, 6 inches, the same distance from home plate to the pitchers mound.

Visiting baseball players long complained about the cramped quarters in the old clubhouse, located behind the first-base dugout. For hockey players with all of their equipment, it must have been an even bigger challenge in 2009.

"I do remember the one thing about Wrigley Field," said Paul MacLean, an assistant coach for the Red Wings in 2009. "We're in the visitor's clubhouse and thinking, 'Wow, Willie Mays was in here,' and all those NL players that would've been there, and I was so amazed at how basic it was. It was not plush, it was not something where you were like, 'Oh wow, this is exciting.' It was really bare-bones and basic. I was like, 'Wow, I wonder what the Cubs (room) is like if this is this bad.' But it was fun. It was certainly a lot of fun. You knew it was going to be different."

Former Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster, who dressed in both clubhouses in his 16-year major league career, spent nine seasons with the Cubs from 2004-12 and was at the Winter Classic in 2009. He said players from both the Blues and Blackhawks will be wide-eyed over the new digs.

"Oh, my God, what a treat for those guys to be able to have that," said Dempster, who recently hosted Blackhawks players Nick Foligno and Alex Vlasic on a tour of the park. "Just showing them, they were blown away by how incredible all the facilities are.

"I guarantee you, there are going to be guys leaving there and going back to the Blackhawks and being like, 'You're going to have to step it up a notch because what the Cubs have is pretty unreal.' It's unlike anything they're going to get. You're not having locker rooms like that."

Since Wrigley Field opened for the Chicago Whales of the Federal League in 1914 (the Cubs moved in for the 1916 season), it has hosted baseball, hockey, soccer, lacrosse and football in addition to such other events such as ski jumping, rock concerts, rodeos and circuses.

Whether early in the 20th century or early in the 21st, the charm of the ballpark has been its appeal, no matter the amenities.

"The fact that Wrigley itself out of all the ballparks is so unique," Dempster said. "You're in this neighborhood. It's almost like the really cool version of having pond hockey in your backyard, in a weird way. These guys are going to be playing outdoors in the middle of a neighborhood. It's just so cool.

"The vision that the NHL had of doing this (first Winter Classic) in 2008 in Buffalo, and I was at the first one at Wrigley, with all the things they've done, it's just different. Wrigley is unlike any other stadium, arena, ballpark, you name it around the U.S. The uniqueness is what make it so special. The stuff around it, Gallagher Way. The park has been refurbished and all that kind of stuff. I think the integrity of it is still the same. That's what's so great. When they did all those renovations, it still feels like the old Wrigley when you're in there, which is really cool."

Kenney echoed those sentiments.

"Today, seeing the plans for the Winter Classic, with live music from the Smashing Pumpkins and Chance (the Rapper), multiple ice rinks, elaborate field pageantry and an amplified Gallagher Way, the original game feels like watching a rerun in black and white. Simple stuff.

"The NHL has really upped their game for the players, fans and media partners. Their level of sophistication and game production rivals the biggest rock shows that have come through our gates. Amazing talent there. Our fans are in for a [heck] of show."

If Wrigley Field is indeed a field of dreams, Kenney concluded with a soliloquy that sounded like the character Terence Mann in the movie "Field of Dreams."

"But the one constant is Wrigley Field," Kenney said. "It's now a federal landmark and restored for the next generation, with new amenities and an expanded campus. But the essence of the Friendly Confines remains the same. She's still the unrivaled home of lifetime memories. More will be made on New Year's Eve."

NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this story