Wrigley Field

[cubs161]

did anyone hear anything about Wrigkleys name being changed? my brother said something about it to me yesterday but i cant find anywhere where it says that theres any plans on doing so, im thinking hes full of it

[TheBenjamin]

Old news, Zell was thinking about selling naming rights.

However, it was brought up on the radio yesterday that Ricketts may do it, and Cub fans should just accept it, because it is still a business

[cubs161]

i knew that zell was tempted to sell the naming rights but i didnt hear that ricketts was thinking of doing it

[TheBenjamin]

no one said he was thinking of it, just that he could do it to help with revenue

[cubs161]

ok sorry i was wrong

[ryno4ever]

From what I have read and heard, this guys is a very Old School Die Hard Cub Fan, so I THINK changing the name of Wrigley would only be a last resort of revenue.

Here is the only statement he has made to the press right now... he wants to wait until he has actually negotiated a deal with the Cubs before doing anything:

My family and I are Cubs fans," he said. "We share a goal of Cubs fans everywhere to win a World Series and build the consistent championship tradition that the fans deserve."


It really sounds as if we fans are getting what we have been calling for for YEARS in an owner... one of us to step up and take over...someone who shares our heart and passion for this team, thirsts for that championship in our lifetime... someone who knows the history of the team, the magic of Wrigley...

[ryno4ever]

Here's a really good story from the Sun Times:

It was the 1984 campaign that cinched it, the kind of exhilarating, heartbreaking season that becomes a generational touchstone for Cubs fans.

That was when 18-year-old Thomas Ricketts came to town from Omaha to attend the University of Chicago. With his older brother Pete, he rented an apartment above a bar at Addison and Sheffield.

They went to a lot of games at Wrigley Field, cheering a veteran squad that seemed destined for glory, then despairing when the team couldn't close the deal in the playoffs.

Ricketts had an utterly appropriate baptism to life as a Cubs fan. Twenty-five years later, his heart is still with the team, and his fortune may soon follow.

Tribune Co., owner of the Cubs since 1981, has selected Ricketts and his family as lead bidders in the negotiations to sell the team, acing out two other contenders. Sources say the Ricketts offer is around $900 million, arranged to help Tribune avoid a massive sum for capital gains taxes.

Structuring a deal is second nature to Ricketts, who got an MBA from the U. of C. and went on to success as a trader and bond dealer. He is chairman of a Chicago company, Incapital LLC, that helps corporations raise money by issuing bonds.

While he's the point person, the family bid also includes Pete and two other siblings and their father, Joseph Ricketts. The patriarch founded the Ameritrade brokerage, now part of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. The family's 22 percent stake in the company is worth about $1.5 billion, and it has other investments.

Thomas Ricketts, 43, declined to be interviewed, preferring not to court media attention until his bid is accepted. Tribune could still drop him, or Major League Baseball, which has the final say, could refuse his family's bid.

Tribune has filed for bankruptcy, so it's possible that a judge will need to sign off on the sale. The issue is unclear because the Cubs were not part of the bankruptcy filing.

Perhaps remembering the grounder that scooted between the legs of the Cubs' Leon Durham in the '84 playoffs, Ricketts is keeping his eye on the ball. His bid covers ownership of Wrigley and Tribune's 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

In his only public statement, Ricketts thanked Tribune for overseeing a "fair and competitive process" and said he looks forward to a prompt closing.

"My family and I are Cubs fans," he said. "We share a goal of Cubs fans everywhere to win a World Series and build the consistent championship tradition that the fans deserve."

Friends say he's smart and competitive, not given to strutting for cameras like a onetime prospective buyer, Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. They said fans will like Ricketts' style and his respect for the ballpark's aura. He met Cecelia, his future wife, in the Wrigley bleachers. They have five children and live in Wilmette.

"He does not fancy himself as the general manager," said James Bianco, president of financial analysis firm Bianco Research LLC and an investor with Ricketts. "He's a business manager, and he will let the baseball people do their jobs."

Fans worry that the cost of the team will lead to huge increases in ticket prices or even "personal seat licenses" -- the dreaded extra fee for just the right to buy a season ticket. Others wonder about profit-driven renovations that could spoil Wrigley.

Ricketts, though, is said to be concerned about baseball's affordability. He has not endorsed personal seat licenses and is believed to be looking at ways to foster development outside the ballpark. One possibility is a commercial and parking structure on triangular property just outside the park.

Bianco said Ricketts also is interested in more team revenue from licensing overseas. The Cubs employ Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome and could sign more foreign players in the name of global trade.

But, with Ricketts, it would also need to further the cause of winning. In Ricketts, Cubs fans would have an owner who knows the score.

Bianco remembered spotting Ricketts after the second game of the Cubs' execrable playoff series against the Dodgers last year. The game was over, and the crowd was shuffling home. But there sat Ricketts a few rows from the Cubs' on-deck circle.

"He was slumped in his chair just like he had watched his own son strike out," Bianco said.


http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll160/ryno4everr/ricketts.jpg

[TheBenjamin]

i love the fact that the 19th and 20th words out of his mouth were World Series

[cubs161]

i didnt think he would ever, a die hard cubbie fans not going to change that, he blew 900 million on the team, hes gotta have enough money that hes not worried about that,

[Jimmy Nordon]

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll160/ryno4everr/ricketts.jpg
He is a great looking guy...Love him.

Cardinals win the Superbowl.

[cubbyfanforever]

A while ago I was cheering for Cuban to be the owner, but now I feel that Thomas Ricketts and his family are a perfect fit as owner of our Cubbies, I know that they will do anything in their power for the Cubs to win it all.

[ryno4ever]

He's got Cuban money and Cubbie blood! He's perfect!

[LeeEila's/rant]

If I paid almost $1 billion for something , damn right my name would be on it !!!

Look to my signature for what to expect to see.

[ICcubfan]

I would think that is not going to happen based on the statements the family has made.

[TheBenjamin]

he could do what they do at Camden Yards, it is fully called

Oriole Park at Camden Yards

maybe we will see Ameritrade Park at Wrigley Field

[ARAM16_03]

I am like many other Cubs fans. I will always cal it Wrigley Field just like I will always call The home of the Bears "Solider Field!"

[cubs161]

either way they put im fine with it just as long as Wrigley Field is left in the name its known all over and will never be called anything else

[ICcubfan]

As a rule I don't recognize corp sporting venues- I think it is silly- What's next Tostitoes field where the bears play I don't think so-

[TheBenjamin]

actually isnt it Chase now? Didnt they buy naming rights a few years ago

[LeeEila's/rant]

either way they put im fine with it just as long as Wrigley Field is left in the name its known all over and will never be called anything else

Yea , it really don't mean anything. It is just a few more words the TV guys have to say when they come out of a break.

" This is Len and Bob coming to you from Wrigley Field , brought to you by AmeriTrade "

[ChiCubs1984]

Chase bought advertising rights so they can put their banners and whatever around the field. Soldier Field still belongs to the Chicago Park District not the Bears.

[cubbie_kern]

If they do it'll piss me off, but it will always be Wrigley