Wrigleyville will awaken from its offseason slumber Thursday with the Chicago Cubs' opening day game against the Washington Nationals.
This year's season will bring with it some big changes for fans hitting Wrigley Field that will revamp both the menu available to patrons, and the 98-year-old stadium itself.
If the famously-cursed team's plays don't sicken Cubs fans, they'll be able to drown their mid-game sorrows in a host of new menu offerings from Levy Restaurants, according to NBC Chicago. The stadium vendor announced a host new snack varieties that include healthy alternatives, like a vegan, tempeh-filled "Sloppy Jane," a high-protein bison products that will rotate from game to game, and beef, chicken or pork meatball skewers, as well as a new, open-faced take on the staple Chicago-style hot dog.
The stadium itself reportedly has some equally tasty renovations in development.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Tuesday that plans to renovate Wrigley Field are in their "final stages," in response to years of lobbying from team owners for the stadium to update amenities including bathrooms and kitchens, WGN reports. While sources say the city is far from breaking ground on renovations, Emanuel and Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts are reportedly close to closing a deal that would allow the stadium to reinvest some amusement tax funding in exchange for a guarantee that the development will in some way benefit the general public.
(See above video for more on the renovation developments.)
Another change in the works for Cubs fans? Perhaps, forgiveness. Chicago-based rapper Serengeti released a new music video Monday urging Chicago Cubs fans not "blame Steve" Bartman for their World Series woes.