Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel "has brokered a deal that would allow the Cubs to sell beer and wine at an open-air plaza adjacent to Wrigley Field," but the team said that it "won’t accept it," according to Fran Spielman of the CHICAGO-SUN TIMES. Cubs VP/Communications & Community Affairs Julian Green said, "We are miles from a deal that includes these terms." A top mayoral aide said, “Negotiations are over.” Spielman noted liquor sales "would be limited to beer and wine, sold only during 'stadium events' such as games and concerts and at a maximum of 12 special events a year, each requiring a special permit." On game and stadium concert days, attendance at the open-air plaza "would be limited to fans with tickets." During day games, beer and wine sales "would start two hours before the game and stop one hour after and would have to be consumed on the plaza or inside the stadium." During night games, the beer and wine spigot "would turn on two hours before the game and off when the game ends." The new rules "would remain in place for three years to give the congested neighborhood time to adjust to a plaza with up to 6,000 patrons and a hotel and office building with more than 100,000 square feet of new food and beverage space." Emanuel said that the tickets-only policy "was modeled after Yawkey Way outside Boston’s Fenway Park" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/12). City officials said that the deal also "sets different hours at the plaza for game days and nongame days and special events, including farmers markets and ice skating." They added that in addition to concerts at the stadium approved in advance, the Cubs will also "be allowed to hold 12 special events" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/12).
BATTLE LINES: A CHICAGO TRIBUNE editorial stated, "Here we go again." Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts and Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney are "in another tussle" over the Cubs' $575M Wrigley redevelopment. Nearly every step in Wrigley's rehab "has involved arguments, protracted negotiations and compromise." The editorial: "What do we have to show for it? Well, things look pretty sensational down at the old ballpark, and the rehab is still in progress" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/12).
