Will Illinois Taxpayers Take Wrigley Field Off Tribune's Hands?

By: E&P Staff After weeks of little news about Tribune Co.'s long-ago announced plans to sell the Chicago Cubs baseball team and its beloved Wrigley Field -- to the point some would-be buyers wondered how serious the sale was -- possible deals are hopping like a line drive to third.

On Wednesday, Tribune made clear that it expects to sell the Cubs and Wrigley by June.

And on Thursday, the company's flagship Chicago Tribune reported that Cubs executives have been talking with Chicago and Illinois officials about selling Wrigley to the state agency that owns and operates the cross-town rival White Sox's park, U.S. Cellular Field.

Citing unnamed sources "close to the Cubs," Tribune staff writer Jim Kirk, in an article with contributions by media columnist Phil Rosenthal reported that the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA) -- created in 1987 when the Sox were planning to replace its old Comiskey Park with a new ballpark across the street -- is looking at ways to come up with the big bucks for the 93-year-old landmark Wrigley.

Among the ways being bruited about is selling naming rights to the park, although sources told the Tribune it would likely retain the Wrigley Field name as well. In 2003 the IFSA and White Sox renamed Comiskey U.S. Cellular Field in a 20-year, $68 million deal.

Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell, who is leading the $8.2 billion deal to take Tribune private, has made no secret of his desire to be rid of the Cubs, and its ballpark. "Maybe (the Cubs) is a business, " he said at the Inland Press Association convention back in October. "But it's not a business I understand. So I think I'll pass it on to someone who understands it as a business or to someone who gets enough psychic income that they don't give a shit."

Estimates for the sale of the Cubs and Wrigley have ranged as high as $1 billion, an important chunk of change for Tribune, which will be even more highly leveraged when the going-private deal closes, likely next week.

The Chicago Tribune report said that selling Wrigley separately "actually could help Tribune secure a better price overall." Sources told that a combined bid for both the park and ball club likely would be lower, given the major renovations Wrigley would need.