Cubs single-game tickets go on sale February 24

The Cubs announced Wednesday afternoon that single-game tickets for games at Wrigley Field for the 2023 season would go on sale Friday, February 24 at 10 a.m. CT.

You know, the first day of ticket sales used to be a mad rush. I can remember back in 2004, when the Cubs were coming off a division title and NLCS appearance, they handed out wristbands for getting in line at the Wrigley ticket office. The line to get wristbands was a 90-minute wait and some people sat online or in phone queues all day and failed to get tickets. That year, 66 of the 81 games sold all bleacher tickets on the first weekend of sales. I used to run “Tales from the Virtual Waiting Room” here at BCB for stories of woe from people who couldn’t get tickets.

Well. With higher ticket prices and the team coming off two bad years, the demand for tickets is likely to be down this year, at least at first, even though the team has made moves toward improvement.

The team says you can buy games you really want to go to before the first day of single-game sales by purchasing a “Build Your Own Baseball” Pack (BYOB) or an eight-game ticket pack at www.cubs.com/packs. The BYOB Pack starts at 12 games and allows you to add additional games to customize their pack to best fit your schedule and desired games. The preset eight-game ticket packs are set around various themes including Fridays, Sundays, coveted rival matchups and summer games.

I’ll have more information on the single-game sale, which also includes a presale for season-ticket holders on Wednesday, February 22, when it becomes available. It would seem likely that tickets will be available online and by phone only for the first weekend of sales. It’s certainly good news that baseball is getting closer; Opening Day at Wrigley Field, March 30 against the Brewers, is nine weeks from tomorrow.

Somehow, though, I think “Tales from the Virtual Waiting Room” won’t make a reappearance here.