Chicago mayor rejects Cubs' plea for more night games at Wrigley Field

If you were hoping to watch more Chicago Cubs games under the lights at The Friendly Confines, you might be out of luck.

Cubs president of baseball operations Crane Kelly asked Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel to allow the team to play the standard 54 night games at Wrigley Field, but Emanuel said that when the North Siders were offered more "evening opportunities," they decided to host more concerts instead, limiting the number of evening contests on their home field.

" ... They could have used it for night games," Emanuel told the Sun-Times' Fran Spielman. "But then, they would have to share it with Major League Baseball. The concerts they keep all for themselves like they do the beer on the plaza.

"They made those choices. Now, they want to change the consequences of the choices they made."

Emanuel's comments come as the Cubs host crosstown rivals the White Sox for a four-game set, though the first two games of the series on Monday and Tuesday kicked off in the early afternoon, just after 1 p.m. CT.

In an interview with 670 The Score's Matt Spiegel and Danny Parkins earlier this week, Kenney revealed the Cubs are limited to only 43 night games at Wrigley per season, a restriction he said no other owner in baseball comprehends.

"Quite honestly, it should be lifted at this point," Kenney said. "We're one of the few teams that not only has to beat everyone in our division, we also have to beat the city that we play in to try and win games.

"It's a very odd situation for us, and it's one that I got to be honest, four times a year I go to the owners' meetings, and the other team presidents and owners watch what's happening in Chicago, and they can’t understand it. Because in those cities, they're getting a new ballpark built for them, and they're getting street closures and ... there's no night game limitations. They look at Chicago and say they just can't understand it."