If You're Planning On Partying In Wrigleyville This Weekend Get Ready To Spend A Lot Of Money On Cover Charges
WRIGLEYVILLE — And you thought World Series parking in Wrigleyville was expensive.
Bars near Wrigley Field are charging as much as $250 — per person — to get inside this weekend to watch the Cubs play in the World Series … on TV.
At several bars, the steep charge gets you drinks and a buffet, but no guarantee of a seat.
To guarantee a four-seat table, that’ll cost you an extra $500 at bars like Old Crow Smokehouse, Deuces and The Diamond Club and John Barleycorn. Casey Moran’s and Moe’s Cantina have similar watch party packages for home games Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Internet lit up last weekend with people aghast that The Cubby Bear was asking a $100 cover charge to watch the National League Championship Series across the street from Wrigley Field.
But that’s chump change compared to this weekend’s asks. Tickets for the packages range from $225-$250 on Hastickets.com.
HVAC Pub, 3530 N. Clark St., is hosting a watch party Saturday from 7 to 11 p.m. Tickets are $250 for all-you-can-eat pizza and wings, plus beer, wine and well drinks. Pay an extra $1,000 and get seating for six during the game, plus a bottle of Grey Goose vodka and a bottle of champagne.
T-Box, New Years, and St Patrick’s Day combined. You ready for this weekend, Chicago? You know what’s crazy is I can’t even get mad at any of these bars. I know the knee jerk reaction is, fuck them this is outrageous, but why wouldn’t they take advantage of this? Bars that went through some really lean years a few seasons ago are finally getting to make good on this run. Fuck as recently as 2014 you could walk up Clark on a Saturday in July and see almost every bar half full. Those that survived are getting their just dessert. It sucks for regular fans but I really don’t get what the alternative is for the bars. If you were up in Wrigleyville on Saturday for Game 6 of the NLCS you saw how insane it was. I actually left Johnny O’Hagans an hour and a half before first pitch because I knew I would get faster service inside the stadium than at a bar that was well over capacity. If you aren’t going to the game this is the perfect get a bunch of your friends together and watch at an apartment situation. Go out after the games but don’t worry about paying 250 dollars so that you can stand in a sweaty bar for 10 hours. Maybe it’s my age showing but I’d rather have a seat on a couch with a full refrigerator then stand at a bar and wait 20 minutes for a lukewarm beer.