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Toyota Stirs Wrigley Field Debate

Struggling to regain the customer confidence after the recall madness of the beginning of the year, Japanese carmaker Toyota announced it has signed a sponsorship agreement with Major League Baseball team Chicago Cubs.

 The carmaker and the club just received approval from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks to put a Toyota sign on top of Wrigley Field’s left-field bleachers. The approval is, however, contested by the city’s Wrigleyville community.

 “It is not in keeping with the character of the neighborhood,” Tom Tunney, the representative of the Wrigleyville community told the landmarks commission. He was backed by most of the 100 people who attended the commission’s hearing on Thursday.

“There’s nothing nostalgic about encouraging me to buy a Toyota,” Matt Garard, one of those attending said. “If I want to buy a Toyota, I know where to get one. This sign will mark the beginning of the end of the integrity of our ballpark.”

Others, however, like Thomas S. Ricketts, chairman of Incapital LLC, the team’s owner, says the Totota sign is an opportunity not to be missed.

“It’s more than just a sign to us,” Ricketts told Autonews. “It’s a multimillion- dollar revenue opportunity.”

“We consider it a privilege to have such a visible presence at Wrigley Field,”
added Curt McAllister, a spokesman for Toyota.

The Cubs has not won a championship in 102 years, a longer than that of any other major North American professional sports team. The Wrigley Field was built in 1914 and served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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