Ricketts last May announced a joint venture with Sterling Bay for a retractable-roof stadiumGETTY IMAGES
Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts is "no longer involved" in a proposed USL team in Chicago after a potential stadium was "removed from the plan" for development at Lincoln Yards, according to Ryan Ori of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Chicago-based developer Sterling Bay confirmed the proposed Lincoln Yards project will "no longer include a 20,000-seat stadium for a soccer team" owned by Ricketts or an "entertainment district with venues run by Live Nation Entertainment." Chicago Alderman Brian Hopkins, who played a key role in scuttling the stadium plans, said that he "does not support the proposed sports and entertainment venues." Hopkins "wants the space that would have been used for a stadium to instead become open recreational space." Sterling Bay and Ricketts announced in May that they were "forming a joint venture" to bring a USL team to the site, where the developer had planned a retractable-roof stadium. Ricketts was set to be the "team's majority owner." It is "unclear what options Sterling Bay now has to turn the USL franchise rights it owns into an operating team." USL VP/Communications & PR Ryan Madden said the league remains "committed to bringing a USL franchise to downtown Chicago" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/9).
