Wrigleyville prepared for chaos in case Cubs clinch division Thursday

FOX 32 NEWS - The magic number is down to one.

There was just a handful of Cubs fans in Wrigleyville Wednesday watching the Cubs thrash the Cardinals in St. Louis. But on Thursday night, bars and this neighborhood will be packed as the Cubs return to Wrigley with the chance to celebrate a playoff clinch at home.

44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney says they'll be ready for a big Cubs party.

"With phase one, because we thing we're gonna get deep into the playoffs, we had a dress rehearsal last year where we did some parking restrictions. Obviously working with our local businesses and our residents. So I think we tweaked that pretty well,” Tunney said.

Last year, the city flooded Wrigleyville with police and mounted patrols, and even shut down several blocks around Clark and Addison, allowing fans to celebrate in the streets.

Sam Sanchez owns three popular bars near the ballpark and says they'll be prepared as well.

"We'll get some extra security. We'll have some off duty police officers to be on the street. They'll help the Chicago Police officers if needed,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez says his biggest concern isn't partying fans, but gangbangers and drug dealers who he says have recently been flooding the Wrigleyville area late at night.

"They don't fear the police. They don't fear security people. They don't fear us. They're fearless,” Sanchez said.

Complicating security plans this year is the massive amount of construction going on around the ballpark, which has drastically narrowed streets that were tight to begin with.

"And so we are going to be working very closely with FBI, Homeland Security…to stake out boundaries,” Tunney said.

But for fans like Armand Aguirre, who flew in from Denver to attend Thursday’s potential clincher, it's all worth it.

"I'm very excited. First experience. It'll be a moment where I've definitely waited for a long time,” Aguirre said.

And it looks like the Cubs are getting ready as well. A truck from Binny's made a large delivery of champagne to the ballpark Wednesday afternoon.

FOX 32 checked the box office and found some scattered tickets for Thursday night's game, but most have an obstructed view.