WME-IMG has signed a long-term deal with Hickory Street Capital to "sell naming rights and program events for a new plaza outside Wrigley Field," according to Don Muret of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. WME-IMG will "brand and produce content for the 'Park at Wrigley Field,' the working title of the 50,000-square-foot plaza, which will officially open next summer." The naming-rights package "does not include the ballpark but covers the Cubs’ new six-story office tower next to the park, which includes the team’s new headquarters plus restaurants and retail." Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney said that the plaza "will have a soft launch in April tied to Opening Day and a formal ribbon cutting in June" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 10/3 issue). In Chicago, Danny Ecker noted the The Park at Wrigley Field "stands to be as close to a stadium naming rights partnership" as fans will see at the ballpark. Whatever brand ties itself to the area outside the venue "may be one of the most visible corporate names on the expanding Wrigley Field campus." The benefit of selling naming rights to an area outside the park as opposed to the stadium itself is that proceeds from the deal "would not be subject to MLB's revenue-sharing rules" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 10/3).
