Tuesday's storm in Iowa blows down Principal Park centerfield wall, damages other features

Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register
·2 min read
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Principal Park, the home of the Chicago Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate the Iowa Cubs, suffered significant damage when the team’s new and temporary batter’s eye fell into and brought down the park’s centerfield fence during Tuesday night's storms.

Iowa Cubs vice president and assistant general manager Randy Wehofer said team officials found out around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday about the damage that includes the outfield wall structure between the stadium’s suites in left field to the party deck area in right field. Wehofer said rain got under the batter’s eye which “gave way and hit the back of the outfield wall,” causing the damage.

Wind gusts at Des Moines International Airport were in the low 50s on Tuesday, and the storm had sustained winds of nearly 40 miles per hour. 

“It’s just unfortunate,” Wehofer said. “So, we’re working on getting it cleaned up and had crews from the city and different partners for electric, the scaffolding and all kinds of things.”

The batter’s eye, made of scaffold and a wind screen, was put up last month so the team could adequately meet the facilities standards set forth in the Professional Development License between the Iowa Cubs and Chicago Cubs. The PDL, which kept Iowa an affiliate of Chicago, outlined requirements including stadium upgrades that teams had to make.

The centerfield wall at Principal Park came down during Tuesday night's storm.
The centerfield wall at Principal Park came down during Tuesday night's storm.

The addition of the batter's eye, to block out the Iowa State Capitol building, was one of the requirements. The team planned to address it in the offseason but decided to move forward with a temporary one during this season. Another area the team planned to address was the park’s old wall. Wehofer said the wall, which still had painted signs on it underneath the padding, is part of the first phase of renovation plans.

“It’s old,” Wehofer said.

Iowa Cubs employees were at the park at 8 a.m. Wednesday, cleaning up the damage. Wehofer said. The plan is to build a new temporary batter’s eye and a chain-link fence with some padding and a wind screen. Wehofer didn't provide any estimates for how much the damage may cos. But the hope is that it won’t impact Iowa’s schedule. The team is on the road and doesn’t come back to Principal Park until July 12.

“Everybody seems to have a good understanding of what our deadlines are,” Wehofer said.

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Storm in Iowa batters Principal Park, home of Chicago Cubs' affiliate