Up For Grabs: Cubs Sale Process Expected To Begin This Week

ISFA Will Keep Wrigley Name If It Acquires Ballpark From Tribune Co.

Tribune Co.'s sale of the Cubs is "expected to begin in earnest this week, with the official offering going" to MLB, which after reviewing the confidential financial memo is "expected to deliver it to six groups of potential buyers," according to sources cited by Bergen, Rogers & Yerak of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. A source said that the bid books "had not gone out as of Tuesday." A Tribune Co. spokesperson declined to comment (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/7). 

WRIGLEY: Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA) Chair James Thompson yesterday after a meeting of the ISFA BOD said that Wrigley Field's "name and historic character" will be protected if the ISFA completes a deal to purchase the ballpark. Thompson: "We certainly would want the name to stay Wrigley." Asked if the ISFA would "sell partial naming rights so that the Wrigley Field name would be linked to another corporate moniker," Thompson responded, "I presume there are people out there who think so highly of Wrigley Field that they would want to be associated with it and therefore would be willing to pay for that privilege. But I have no deals" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/8).