Wrigley Field first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Whales of the Federal League, which folded after the 1915 baseball season. The Cubs played their first home game at the park on April 20, 1916, defeating the Cincinnati Reds with a score of 7–6 in 11 innings. Chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. of the Wrigley Company acquired the Cubs in 1921. It was named Cubs Park from 1920 to 1926, before being renamed Wrigley Field in 1927. It is actually the second stadium to be named Wrigley Field, as a Los Angeles ballpark with the same name opened in 1925.

In the North Side community area of Lakeview in the Wrigleyville neighborhood, Wrigley Field is on an irregular block bounded by Clark and Addison streets to the west and south, and Waveland and Sheffield avenues to the north and east. Wrigley Field is nicknamed "The Friendly Confines", a phrase popularized by "Mr. Cub", Hall of Fame shortstop and first baseman Ernie Banks. The oldest park in the National League, the current seating capacity is 41,649; it is the second-oldest in the majors after Fenway Park (1912), and the only remaining Federal League park. The park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2020.

Wrigley Field is known for its ivy-covered brick outfield wall, the unusual wind patterns off Lake Michigan, the iconic red marquee over the main entrance, the hand-turned scoreboard, its location in a primarily residential neighborhood with no parking lots and views from the rooftops behind the outfield, and for being the last Major League park to have lights installed for night games, in 1988. Between 1921 and 1970, it was the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League, and was also the home of the Chicago Cardinals (now Arizona Cardinals) of the National Football League from 1931 to 1938. The elevation of its playing field is 600 feet (180 m) above sea level.

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