Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel yesterday "flatly rejected a request by his longtime nemesis -- Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney -- to lift the cap on night games" at Wrigley Field, according to Fran Spielman of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Emanuel said the Cubs were offered more “evening opportunities” and “they chose to use those evening opportunities for concerts." Emanuel: "They could have used it for night games. But then, they would have to share it with Major League Baseball. The concerts they keep all for themselves. ... They made those choices. Now, they want to change the consequences of the choices they made.” Emanuel said that the combination of night games and concerts "totals 46, which comes 'really close to the 54' that Kenney has requested." Cubs VP/Communications & Community Affairs Julian Green responded to the mayor’s rejection with a "renewed argument for 11 more night games." Green: "Having to choose between a night game and a concert puts us at a firm disadvantage compared to other teams in major league baseball and other venues in our city." Spielman notes Kenney has "long been a thorn in Emanuel’s side for going toe-to-toe with the city in the bargaining that preceded the landmark deal that paved the way for the Cubs to renovate Wrigley Field and develop the land around it" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/27).
