Potential Wrigley purchase by state holds up Cubs sale

By Michael Oneal | Tribune staff reporter

December 21, 2007

Sam Zell, Tribune Co.'s new chairman and chief executive, indicated Thursday he's serious enough about trying to sell historic Wrigley Field to the Illinois State Facilities Authority that he's holding up the sale of the Chicago Cubs to see if the concept has legs.

"We have delayed, although they are ready, sending out the [offering] books on the Cubs until we had a better understanding of where this stands," Zell said of the potential stadium deal.

"It's hard to send out the books unless you know what you're going to put in them."

Zell and Tribune Co. put the Cubs up for sale in April, along with Wrigley and the company's one-quarter interest in Comcast SportsNet.

Potential buyers, including a group led by Madison Dearborn Partners Chairman John Canning, Omaha's Ricketts family, and Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, have been circling for months, waiting for the offering memorandum.

But a couple of months ago, Zell and Tribune representatives met with Gov. Rod Blagojevich to discuss a state purchase of the stadium. Last week, they met with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who would also need to approve a deal.

The ISFA is a government unit created by the Illinois General Assembly in 1987 under then-Gov. Jim Thompson to help keep the White Sox in Chicago by building U.S. Cellular Field on the city's South Side.

The two sides have worked on a concept in which the ISFA would issue bonds to finance the purchase and sign the Cubs to a 30-year lease. Naming rights for the stadium would be used to help defray the cost of Wrigley renovations.

"We believe that transaction, when completely vetted, is very beneficial for the city of Chicago, it's very beneficial for the Cubs and for the future of a Major League Baseball team in this city," Zell said.

"The governor originally approached us on this, we studied it, we thought it was really an interesting concept, we started meeting with mayor's people on it. We will see where that goes."

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mdoneal@tribune.com