Tribune Co. Will Select Cubs Owner Candidate Within Weeks
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Crane Kenney Confirmed The Cubs
Bidding Is Down To Three Parties |
Tribune Co. will select an owner candidate to buy the Cubs within the next several weeks, with an eye toward closing the transaction before Opening Day in April, according to Cubs Chair Crane Kenney. Making some of his most extensive comments on the pending deal, Kenney yesterday confirmed the bidding is down to the three bidders most frequently connected to the process -- real estate exec Hersch Klaff, the family of Chicago-based investment banking firm Incapital Holdings Founder & CEO Thomas Ricketts and a group led by Clarion Capital Partners LLC Managing Partner Marc Utay -- and that after an extended series of delays, the saga is at last nearing its end. “Everybody wants this thing to come to a conclusion, and I know they are in the final stages,” Kenney said at the MLB quarterly owners’ meetings being held in Paradise Valley, Arizona. The candidate will be presented to fellow MLB owners for approval, and Kenney indicated the April closing goal would in part depend on MLB Commissioner Bud Selig helping speed up the typical owner-vetting process that often takes several months, and ordinarily would extend until at least the next owners’ meetings in May given the current calendar. But the Cubs deal must also gain court approval given Tribune Co.’s recent bankruptcy filing (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).
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Cubs May Wait To Renovate Wrigley
Field Until Sale Is Complete |
SEVENTH-INNING STRETCH: Kenney said he does not expect a drawn-out courtroom bidding scene resembling the one in which Peter Angelos bought the Orioles in '93. “We’ve had such an open process,” Kenney said. “It’s been so long in the making, with originally 10 bidders. I don’t know that the courts, especially in this economy, will think they need to do a market check to see if there is a higher bid. ... There have been enough bumps in the road.” Kenney continued on the sale front, saying he is eager to see a sales process jumpstart some restrained long-range planning and development initiatives, including plans to develop a club-owned parcel adjacent to Wrigley Field, and renovate the historic ballpark for its 100th anniversary in '14 (Fisher). Kenney said of the Cubs' sale, which is not on the agenda at this week's owners meeting, "I think everyone wants this thing to come to a conclusion, including the commissioner. So if we can get a little assistance there, we can maybe get there by April." Kenney also noted that until the sale is finalized, the Cubs "might have to wait on a project that would 'bring Wrigley into the next generation.'" The AP's Andrew Bagnato noted the project would include "upgraded training facilities for players, amenities for fans and parking on a parcel near the ballpark" (AP, 1/14). Chicago Tribune reporter David Haugh said of the Cubs' sale, “Just get it done, because it has dragged on forever. Just get it done and move forward” (“Chicago Tribune Live,” Comcast SportsNet, 1/12).
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME: CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS' Ed Sherman reported despite the "bleak financial condition, Cubs sponsors ... are staying on board." Cubs Dir of Sales & Promotions Matt Wszolek, in a Q&A with Sherman, said that the team is "weathering the storm quite nicely." Wszolek: "We know the economy is bad. However, most of our partners have been with us for a long time." Wszolek said the team is "on pace" for the '09 season, and added despite troubles in the automobile industry, Chevrolet is "going to be strong with us like they have for 20 years." Wszolek: "It is a very positive relationship with them. They have leveraged the Cubs very well" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 1/14).
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