There are 4-6 MLB approved buyers of the Cubs!

Clint Eastwood · Post #1 » by **Clint Eastwood** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:29 pm

according to sam zell in a recent interview, MLB has approved 4-6 ownership groups. i wonder if this means he then can sell to who he likes, ie cuban?

from espn.com and associated press:

CHICAGO -- The chief executive officer of the Tribune Company said Wednesday he won't hesitate to sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field -- even if baseball purists don't like the idea.
During an interview on CNBC, Sam Zell said despite Wrigley Field being known worldwide, he didn't get a discount because he wasn't going to use the naming rights that the field represents.

Zell said he plans to sell the Cubs and Wrigley separately and in his own time frame. He also disclosed that Major League Baseball has approved "four or six" potential ownership groups and that any one of them would be fine.

The sale of the team has been delayed by Zell's plan to sell the team and the stadium separately, and to have a state agency acquire and renovate Wrigley.

Howling Mad · Post #2 » by **Howling Mad** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:31 pm

Granville Colter wrote:a state agency acquire and renovate Wrigley.

That just spells out doom!

thanks for the info granville.

The Sheik · Post #3 » by **The Sheik** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 5:52 pm

I hate this d^*khead. It shows that dbags like this that only see the cubs as a business investment should never be allowed to purchase a ball club. How the hell do you change the name of Wrigley Field, I mean honestly... :nonono:

It will be a sad day in sports if Wrigley becames Ameritrade Park.

Howling Mad · Post #4 » by **Howling Mad** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 5:58 pm

I wonder how much the Wrigley Field welcome sign will sell for, if some moron ever changes the name.

Probably a King's fortune.

hermes · Post #5 » by **hermes** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:15 pm

everyone will still call it wrigley anyway
changing the name FTL

IlliniNRG · Post #6 » by **IlliniNRG** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:19 pm

BULL even PAX wrote:I wonder how much the Wrigley Field welcome sign will sell for, if some moron ever changes the name.

Probably a King's fortune.

It's a landmark, it's not going anywhere.

SportsWorld · Post #7 » by **SportsWorld** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:39 pm

Who cares about the name change? I thought long and hard about this and came to a conclusion: Who cares?
As Hermes said, everyone will still call it Wrigley like people on the South Side still call their home Comiskey. If changing our stadium name and making it Pepsi Yards at Wrigley Field means we get a lot of money for it that can be used to help us win a World Series, I am all for it.

PJ Brown · Post #8 » by **PJ Brown** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:09 pm

No one would be dumb enough to spend a king's ranson on the team and not get the park. I think it's just a tactic to run up the price for the package . . . even higher.

As for the naming, I'd love to see the Wrigley Company step up and buy the naming rights. It would be the goodwill gesture of the century.

Howling Mad · Post #9 » by **Howling Mad** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:38 pm

SportsWorld wrote:Who cares about the name change? I thought long and hard about this and came to a conclusion: Who cares?
As Hermes said, everyone will still call it Wrigley like people on the South Side still call their home Comiskey. If changing our stadium name and making it Pepsi Yards at Wrigley Field means we get a lot of money for it that can be used to help us win a World Series, I am all for it.

SW, thats the point. The Cubs will not benefit from the naming rights.

Zell has done everything to squeeze every penny from the Trib company, including all Cubs' assets. He plans to sell the naming rights, pocket the cash and never put it back into the Cubs organization.

I really don't care about the name, as much as I care about were the money goes.

Howling Mad · Post #10 » by **Howling Mad** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:39 pm

IlliniNRG wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

It's a landmark, it's not going anywhere.

If the naming rights are sold, the historic landmark tag will be taken away.

SportsWorld · Post #11 » by **SportsWorld** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:41 pm

BULL even PAX wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

SW, thats the point. The Cubs will not benefit from the naming rights.

In that case we have to hope the Wrigley company purchases the name. They have been getting a free sponsorship for years now and they have money to fork over to the Cubs.
The Wrigley Company is a multi-billion dollar company.

Towel Manager · Post #12 » by **Towel Manager** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:06 pm

I wanna punch Zell in the ovaries

Howling Mad · Post #13 » by **Howling Mad** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:38 pm

Dear Sam Zell,

You are an old, croaky, rich assss billionaire. You sound like you've smoke 2 packs a day for 40 years.

Please don't sell the naming rights or else I'll have to live in Viagraville next year.

BeP

Howling Mad · Post #14 » by **Howling Mad** » Sat Mar 1, 2008 2:02 pm

You can add two more to that list.

Two new bidders appear for Chicago Cubs
African-American owners would be a 1st

February 29, 2008, 9:16 PM CST

Tribune wrote:Invoking the legacies of two baseball legends, a group of Chicago businessmen declared its intention Friday to enter the bidding process to but the Cubs from Tribune Co. .

Rev. Anthony Williams, a Lutheran minister who also works as a consultant, is one of five main principals involved with Robinson-Greenberg and Associates, a group named for Hall of Fame players Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg. The group would represent the first majority African-American ownership of an MLB franchise.

However, a highly placed baseball official with knowledge of the sale process said the Robinson-Greenberg group's interest was news to him.

"If they were serious bidders, I would think we would have heard from them, and I would think we would have heard from them before they called a press conference," he said.

Also involved in the group are Marshall Bynum Jr., a real estate investor and owner of Buster's Eatery, a catering company, and entrepreneur Harold Davis. The group decilined to disclose any financial details of its bid, or the identities of the other two principals.

According to Bynum, the group has made preliminary contact with JP Morgan Chase as a representative of Tribune Co., which also owns the Chicago Tribune, and called the news conference to accelerate the process.

Bynum said the group intends to purchase both the Cubs and Wrigley Field, and is prepared for a price tag of $1 billion dollars or more. Tribune Co. has indicated it prefers to sell the stadium and team separately.

Among other parties who have expressed interest in the Cubs are private equity executive John Canning Jr., a partial owner of the Brewers and long-time associate of Commissioner Bud Selig, and Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the NBA's Mavericks.

Howling Mad · Post #15 » by **Howling Mad** » Sat Mar 1, 2008 2:24 pm

About the African America owndership: When things like this aren't being pointed out, the world will be a better place.

1 billion dollars for the Field and the naming rights, wow!

Marc Cuban's net worth is grazing upon 3 billion, not that he'd have to use his own money for the purchase, but he could pull it off.

He'd be a hero twice over for purchasing the Cubs, and keeping the naming rights as Wrigley Field. (You know he wouldn't F with it)

ChicagoTRS · Post #16 » by **ChicagoTRS** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 4:07 am

Zell is going to gut the team before he sells it and pocket all of the cash...this is a huge issue we are facing. The future of our team truly is in jeopardy. Welcome to the small market cubs...who do not own their own stadium, who have PSLs that Zell will pocket, stadium naming rights again that Zell will pocket. The teams future revenue sources are now being bid on with Zell pocketing and taking all of the cash out of the teams future earning ability.