First Time Attending a Baseball Game at Wrigley Field
First Time Attending a Baseball Game at Wrigley Field
On our USA bucket list: experiencing sports that don't exist in New Zealand (at least not at the major league level). When we visited Chicago, a baseball game was a must-do activity. This was our first time going to a baseball game at Wrigley Field and we hope this will help if you intend on going to a game there too.
The historic Wrigley Field stadium is nestled in North Chicago and was named after William Wrigley Jr, who you may recognise as the founder of the chewing gum company. Although there have been renovations over the years, Wrigley Field has maintained its original baseball charm, including a hand operated score board.
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When does the season run?
Major League Baseball runs from late March/early April to late September/early October every year. The games can run any day of the week, during afternoons and evenings.
How much are tickets?
Ranging from $9 to $100’s, it can depend on the day, time, and how far in advance you purchase. We would recommend buying tickets directly from the Cubs website. The price makes it perfect to go to a baseball game at Wrigley Field for the first time as it can be relatively inexpensive.
How to get there?
There are lots of ways to get to Wrigley field including car, taxi/uber, walking, biking, and public transport. We took the Red Line train from Lake to Addison, which was easy and cheap.
What’s Wrigleyville?
This is the neighbourhood that surrounds Wrigley Field. It’s super lively before and after Cubs home games with lots of pubs, restaurants, and baseball themed shops. Get amongst it!
Going to the Game – Our Experience
This was our first time in Chicago and our first time going to a baseball game at Wrigley Field. As we hadn’t used public transport in Chicago before, we caught the train early to Wrigleyville. We had also heard the atmosphere was worth going for – and it was! It was nice catching the train slightly earlier as it wasn’t totally packed. The train was super easy to buy tickets for and only took around 15 minutes from The Loop.
We disembarked at Addison Station and headed down W Addison St towards N Clark St. If you feel a bit lost, follow the crowds! As we had just finished a 5-day road trip around Lake Michigan we were pretty tired and not looking for a rowdy night. Instead of heading to a bar, we went to Shake Shack which did not disappoint, we love that place!
After a good burger and a beer, we headed a little early to the game. There were already loads of people there and there are different areas you can go to depending on your ticket type. It was such a fun vibe! We bought our drinks and snacks and headed to our seats. There was pre-match entertainment, and it was cool to watch the seasoned fans roll in.
The game itself was great, we weren’t always sure what was going on, but it was still fun! The crowd was awesome, getting ever more animated as the game went on. Singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ in the middle of the match was the cherry on top. The game started at 7:00pm and we enjoyed watching the sunset, with the game ending around 10:00pm.
After the game we headed back to the train – this was more hectic! But it was totally fine and the wait wasn’t too long. We were back at our hotel before midnight excited for Lollapalooza the following day. You don’t have to go straight home though! You could definitely stay out to enjoy the vibrant atmosphere of Wrigleyville instead.
This was such a fun experience as first-time attendees of a baseball game. We would love to go back to Wrigley Field again – go Cubbies!
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