Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts talked with attendees of the ’16 Intersport Brand Engagement Summit at Wrigley Field last night before the Cubs hosted the Dodgers and gave insight into the sponsorship revenue strategy that the team has developed since the family took over ownership in '09. The team has pared down the number of partners, and Ricketts said, “If you have too many partners, not only do you not service them as well as you’d like to service them, but they don’t feel the ties or commitment to the team.” The team instead focused on making better deals and signing bigger sponsors to offset the fact that there were fewer of them. Ricketts: “Through the leadership of [President of Business Operations] Crane Kenney and his management team, we’ve done an incredible job of finding the right people, putting them in the right chairs, and becoming what I think is the best business organization in sport.” Ricketts also highlighted the success the Cubs have had in increasing their charitable giving and involvement in the community, which was one of his primary goals. “We’ve gone from a few hundred thousand dollars and maybe one volunteer project a year to giving away over three and a half million dollars last year,” he said. “And we’ll do even more than that this year. Of all the goals, that one was the most easily accomplished, and now we believe we’re one of the most impactful and community-minded organizations in the entire city” (THE DAILY).
