The Cubs yesterday "won the limited right to sell beer and wine on an open-air plaza adjacent to Wrigley Field, but in a way that, team officials claim, will tie the hands" of the Ricketts family, according to Fran Spielman of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Although the Cubs "are hardly satisfied, Mayor Rahm Emanuel hailed the deal he brokered as an 'honest compromise' that respects Wrigleyville residents and still allows" the Ricketts family "to forge ahead" with their $750M private investment. That deal addresses the concerns of Alderman Tom Tunney, who said that residents "worried about the plaza turning into a huge beer garden." If the team goes deep into the playoffs, top mayoral aides said that the 12-event limit on the plaza "could be temporarily lifted to pave the way for watch parties for both home and away games." Spielman notes liquor sales on the plaza "would be limited to beer and wine" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/23). Tunney: "This an incremental ordinance that allows us to get our feet wet, to crawl before we walk, before we run, and I think there are protections for the residents and the small businesses here. It's not all just about Wrigley" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/23). In Chicago, Hal Dardick notes in anticipation of yesterday's council approval, Cubs VP/Communications & Community Affairs Julian Green "took aim at Emanuel's description of the plaza booze rules as a 'compromise.'" Green in an email wrote, "What's been regarded as a compromise puts in motion a bizarre set of parameters which further restricts us from operating the plaza as an asset that's accessible to the entire community." Green "suggested a ban on concerts Sunday through Thursday from Labor Day until June 15 could violate" the original '13 set of agreements with the city under which the team's owners launched the ongoing $750M renovation (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/23).
