Wrigley Field has a rich history. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman’s Chicago Whales of the Federal League. This makes it the second-oldest ballpark in the MLB behind Fenway Park (1912). 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.

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 neighbourhood with no parking lots and views from the rooftops behind the outfield.

A tradition of Wrigley Field is the flying of a flag bearing a W or an L above the scoreboard after a game. A win is signalled by a white flag with a blue W and a loss is signalled with a blue flag with a white L.

Wrigley Field is easily accessed from Downtown Chicago. There are 2 airports serving Chicago,  Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), which is about 12 miles from Downtown, and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), which is about 13 miles away. You can fly direct into Chicago O’Hare International Airport from London, but Chicago Midway International Airport would require a layover. Both airports have Metro stations to get you to downtown.

If you are already in the US and looking to travel to/from Chicago, then you have the choice of either airport as well as most US domestic airlines including Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, American Eagle, Frontier Airlines, Jet Blue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airways and WestJet.

It is also quite easy to travel to and from Chicago by train. Chicago’s Union Station is the Midwestern corridor gateway to a national network of trains connecting the continental United States. Amtrak’s Midwestern hub connects passengers not only to major cities in Illinois and to the surrounding states of Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin, but from coast-to-coast as well. You can buy train tickets direct from Amtrak.com, from the Amtrak app, at an Amtrak kiosk or from a ticketing agent at any Amtrak station or via the travel website www.omio.co.uk.

The Cubs encourage the use of public transportation to Wrigley Field, including Metra Trains, Pace shuttle buses and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) buses and trains.

The nearest station to Wrigley Field is Addison, which is on the CTA Red Line. Fans can transfer to Red Line trains from all other CTA rail lines and from most east to west bus routes. Addison is an accessible station.

As Wrigley Field is in a residential area, parking is a premium, so if you plan to drive, leave plenty of time to find your space. There are a few pop up parking lots which come at a price or you can pre book using SpotHero.

There is a convenient Park & Ride at Howard, which has more than 550 parking spaces, costs $5 and connects to the Red Line.

See www.transitchicago.com for the most up to date information, and apps such as Moovit could be a valuable tool to assist in finding the easiest public travel options.

Rideshare services are also available in the area, the designated drop off points are at Addison Street between Broadway and Halsted Street, and at Irving Park Road between Clark Street and Seminary Avenue.

Airbnb and Sonder would be useful tools when looking for accommodation in the area, as Wrigley Field is located in a heavily residential neighbourhood with few hotels nearby.

One option is to stay in the surrounding neighbourhood of Wrigleyville, which is within walking distance of the ballpark. There are holiday rental options and boutique hotels in this area. Another option is to stay in the River North/Magnificent Mile area, which is farther out but still convenient. The Red Line subway is under State Street and will get you to Wrigley Field at the Addison St. Station.

The Chicago Cubs sell their tickets via mlb.tickets and the MLB Ballpark App.

SeatGeek has replaced StubHub as the official ticket resale partner for MLB.

Baseball fans can still use other resale ticket marketplaces to buy and sell tickets to MLB games. MLB will verify those tickets so buyers know they’re getting a legitimate ticket.

Here are links to the main ticket resale sites. Click on the link, which will open up a new window, and you can compare the prices on the different ticket resell sites, bearing in mind that the prices shown are before the selling platforms fees are added, so take time to have a read of my tips to Buying Tickets in North America.

• SeatGeek
• SportsEvents365 (Click on the Search Button)
• StubHub International
• StubHub US
• Ticketmaster US
• TicketNetwork
• Viagogo
• Vivid Seats

I recommend downloading the Ballpark App to your phone as it contains a lot of Gameday information for the Ballpark you are visiting and a place to check in and record all the baseball games you have been to.