:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/4062837/142680769.0.jpg)
The Chicago Cubs will be implementing some changes to Wrigley Field for the 2013 season, including a complete renovation of the field itself, according to David Kaplan of CSN Chicago. The on-field improvements come after numerous Cubs players complained to the club about the poor quality of Wrigley's playing surface.
Once the 2012 season ended, the Cubs proceeded to do significant research on every field in baseball, focusing on how those fields were used for "non-baseball activities," which are known to cause significant wear and tear. Wrigley Field hosts more of those events than any other baseball-only stadium used by MLB, which explains the poor field quality.
In response to that, the Cubs decided to completely redo the entire field this offseason, replacing it with new dirt and sod to appease the players, at the cost of about $400,000. Additionally, the team plans to limit the number of non-baseball events hosted at Wrigley in 2013, which should prevent deterioration of the new field's quality.