Cubs may seek more night games, concerts

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-wrigley_28feb28,1,1982475.story

Cubs may seek more night games, concerts, Wrigleyville alderman says
'Everything on the table,' concerned alderman says
By Gary Washburn
Tribune reporter
February 28, 2008

Chicago Cubs management has floated informal proposals for additional night games and more concerts at Wrigley Field to generate new income and increase the team's value, the alderman whose ward includes the ballpark said Wednesday.

Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th) said he is resigned to a naming rights deal for the historic stadium -- another revenue-producing concept under consideration -- but he takes a dim view of changes that would affect the surrounding neighborhood.

"Without specifics, they are throwing everything on the table ... 'We want to revisit this, revisit this, revisit this,'" Tunney said. "Why? So that the value and the sales price is as lucrative as it possibly can be. The question is ... at what cost to the community, what cost to the city, what cost to the neighborhood?"

Tribune Co., which owns the Cubs, Wrigley Field, and the Chicago Tribune, put the Cubs up for sale last year as part of an $8.2 billion transaction led by billionaire Sam Zell to take the company private. In an attempt to maximize value, Tribune officials have been pursuing a strategy to find a buyer for the team while separately seeking to sell the ballpark to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which would renovate the stadium.

After long and sometimes bitter negotiations, the Cubs struck deals with the city in recent years to add 12 night games to the schedule, expand seating and develop a building with a parking garage and restaurant next to the park, while agreeing to provide money to address traffic congestion and other neighborhood problems.

Over the team's objections, the City Council made Wrigley an official landmark in 2004, a designation that requires special permission for proposed alterations.

Team officials now "want to get out of the landmark [designation], period," and they want to increase the density of the proposed commercial project, Tunney said.

Special City Council approval has allowed the Cubs to stage concerts by Jimmy Buffett and The Police in the last three years, but team officials now want "more concerts, more extracurricular activities," including a return by Buffett, the alderman said.

Mike Lufrano, Cubs vice president for community affairs, insisted that any proposed changes would be pursued only after listening to Wrigley's neighbors. "I think there are a lot of ideas being tossed about while the ownership of the team and stadium are being discussed, but everything we have done here at Wrigley Field of late has been done in a way that is sensitive to the community," he said.

David Winner, president of the president of the Lake View Community Council, a neighborhood group, said the proposed changes are "all news to our organization." He said he expects the Cubs to honor a city ordinance limiting night games and hold only one concert per year.

The Wrigley name has been on the ballpark since 1926 in honor of chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr., the team's owner at the time. Zell contends that Tribune Co., like other owners of professional sports teams, should get money from naming rights.

Tunney said he foresees a new name unless the Wrigley Co. agrees to come up with cash. But, he added, "I think there are much more critical issues in terms of what the community has to deal with than the ultimate name."

Landmark status means that the signature Wrigley Field sign on the ballpark's exterior will stay even if a new company obtains naming rights, the alderman said.
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gwashburn@tribune.com