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Cubs Settle On Buyer; Sam Waterston to Pitch Tickets

The Tribune Company has settled on a buyer for the Cubs, Wrigley Field and the Cubs' interest in Comcast Chicago. The apparent winning bidder is the Ricketts family. Although the family does not live in Chicago, they do have business interests there and have pursued the Cubs for some time. Family patriarch J. Joe Rickettts founded what became T.D. Ameritrade and is estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.2 billion.

The purchase price is said to be $900 million, which would be a record for Major League Baseball far eclipsing the $700 million for which the Red Sox, Fenway and an 80% interest in NESN sold in 2002. Nevertheless, Tribune had wanted to get $1 billion but that was before the global credit crisis hit. While the Ricketts family resources are substantial and in any normal credit environment financing this purchase would not be an issue, these are not normal times. Don't assume this is a done deal until all the papers are signed and the wire transfers are completed and the Trib has received its money. While I would expect the Ricketts to be able to finance this deal, in this environment one never knows.

In addition, at this point all that has happened is that the family has been designated as the buyer and has been given an exclusive right to negotiate a definitive agreement with the Tribune Company within a certain period of time, probably 90-180 days. During that time, a final purchase agreement will be hammered out and the approval of the MLB owners will be sought. The Ricketts will also look to finalize commitments for financing so that the deal can close as rapidly as possible once the agreement has been ironed out and MLB has approved the sale.

So, what will the new buyer mean to the Cubs? Will they bring the long awaited, ever hoped for but never dreamed would actually come about World Series? Will they break the curse? Hard to say how they'll handle player acquisitions and team payroll, although I suspect that the push for a winner will continue unabated if not accelerate. The one thing that can be predicted with reasonable certainty is that Wrigley Field is due for a substantial facelift. What has long be deferred will be undertaken by new owners soon after any deal is closed. The Trib has a $250 million modernization plan known as Wrigely 2014, in honor of Wrigley's centennial, that could be handed to the new owners and undertaken right away. It involves substantial work on both the fans' side of park and the players' side. Consistent with Wrigley's designation as a historical landmark, any renovation will of necessity preserve the exterior fairly well intact.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on January 23, 2009 (boomark / email).