Fun Fact: Soldier Field Was Stripped Of National Landmark Status

Now Chicago's number of National Historic Landmark stadiums is back to 1.

Wrigley Field was awarded National Historic Landmark status earlier this week.

While this is definitely cool for anyone who goes to a Cub game to say they are also inside of a National Historic Landmark, it also has pretty significant financial ramifications for the Cubs.

The Cubs applied for the designation in 2013 (why the Tribune Company never did this is probably a financial reason, but I can't figure out why) but needed to complete their renovations before they could be awarded a National Historic Landmark. Now that they have been approved of the name, they qualify for millions of dollars in federal money to repair and maintain the park. It seems to be a good move by the Ricketts and the Cubs.

One of the fallouts of the whole announcement was people remembering that Chicago already had a National Historic Landmark in Soldier Field but it was stripped away when they did their remodeling and decided to install a spaceship inside the historic columns of Soldier Field.

It remains one of the worst decisions Chicago ever made (and that's quite a feat.) Not only did the remodel make Soldier Field look ugly, but it just wasn't using the public park to maximum efficiency. The limited capacity (smallest in the NFL) and lack of a roof, meant that Chicago would never be considered for a Super Bowl or many other national and international events.

It's nice to see one organization in Chicago get it right.