The Friendly Confines just notched a different kind of milestone. Wrigley Field has been named Major League Baseball’s first Certified Autism Center, a designation the Cubs and the certifying body rolled out this week. The label caps a multi-year push to make the North Side ballpark calmer and more welcoming for autistic and sensory-sensitive fans, from a KultureCity-designed sensory room to sensory bags and assisted-listening tools on game day.
First MLB ballpark to earn the certification
The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards has granted Wrigley Field Certified Autism Center™ status, making it the first big-league ballpark to clear that bar, according to IBCCES. "Creating the world’s best guest experience starts with understanding that fans experience the ballpark in different ways," Cubs Chief Operations Officer David Cromwell said in the announcement. The credential follows an on-site review and a round of staff trainings intended to upgrade how the venue greets and supports neurodivergent guests.
Sensory room, bags and other supports already in place
Many of the changes have been in play for a while. Since 2024, Wrigley has offered a sensory room designed in partnership with KultureCity and has stocked complimentary sensory bags, noise-canceling headphones, tactile walls, assistive listening devices and captioning throughout the ballpark, as laid out in the Cubs Accessibility Guide. The sensory room sits on the main concourse behind home plate and features soft lighting plus interactive LED elements meant to give guests a place to decompress when the crowd or the noise gets overwhelming.
Training and certification standards
To reach Certified Autism Center™ status, the club reports that a substantial portion of guest-facing staff completed autism and sensory-sensitivity training, and that IBCCES carried out an on-site assessment and offered additional recommendations to keep pushing accessibility forward, per IBCCES. The Cubs’ Spring Training home, Sloan Park, earned its own Certified Autism Center™ designation back in 2020, a sign that the organization has been test-driving these adjustments for several seasons.
What the club and fans are saying
Jessica Nugent, the team’s director of guest experience, walked through the upgrades on Good Day Chicago, outlining new supports and how staff are using them to better serve neurodivergent fans, according to FOX 32 Chicago. The club is also lining up a pregame resource fair at Gallagher Way on Wednesday, July 22, featuring local groups such as The Chicago Lighthouse and GiGi’s Playhouse, based on the team’s media release shared by CubsHQ.
How to plan a quieter game day
Fans who need accommodations can borrow sensory bags or noise-canceling headphones from the Fan Services Booth, request assistive listening devices, or connect with the Accessibility Services team for help before or during the game, as detailed in the Cubs Accessibility Guide. The club says it will keep fine-tuning its approach and is urging guests with questions to email [email protected] for the latest information.
