Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said Saturday the team is willing to pay for much of its renovation plan if the city will ease some of the restrictions surrounding Wrigley Field.
“The fact is that when you look at all of the limitations that we have, whether that’s signage in the outfield, which we are not allowed to do, or what kind of stuff we do in the park or around the park, I think we’d just like a little more flexibility to have some options on that stuff,” Ricketts told the media after a question-and-answer session with fans at the Cubs Convention.
“We have an opportunity cost there that’s tremendous. Just give us some relief on some of these restrictions, and we’ll take care of (renovating) Wrigley Field.”
Ricketts said the team is looking at “other alternatives” to fund the renovations after a proposal to try and use future revenues from their amusement tax contributions fell flat.
“We’re not talking about (the plan) right now,’ he said. “We’re looking at other things instead. One of the ways we look at it is ‘treat us like a private institution and let us go about doing our business and then we’ll take care of ourselves.”
Due to a landmarking ordinance, the Cubs have to ask for city approval for signage, which was granted for the Toyota sign in the left field bleachers.
Asked if he was aware of the landmarking restrictions when he bought the team, Ricketts replied: “When we bought the team we kind of understood some of the restrictions. What I didn’t understand was we were the only team in baseball to have these restrictions.”
Ricketts said the team has been in discussions with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and feels they’re close to an agreement after talks stalled last year. Emanuel reportedly wouldn’t return Ricketts’ calls after a New York Times report that a PAC run by family patriarch Joe Ricketts considered funding an inflammatory ad campaign against President Obama.
“I hope (we’re close),” Tom Ricketts said. “I think everyone has an incentive. We lost a year this year. We want to get the project rolling. It’s a big economic development for the city. It’s a lot of jobs. It’s something everyone should have incentive to want to get done.”
Earlier, Ricketts told fans the Cubs pay the second-highest taxes among major league teams, and an easing of restrictions would be only fair.
“Just let us run out own business,” he said. “We’re not a museum.”
The Cubs will release their renovation plans later this afternoon at the convention.
Ricketts also told the media they’d like to open up Sheffield Avenue to a street-fest before games, as the Red Sox have with Yawkey Way outside Fenway Park.
“We think it’s a good idea,” he said. “We think it can really add to the fan experience. We’ve been to Yawkey Way and we think we can do something comparable. (Sheffield) is already closed. Why can’t we put something on it that’s nice for families or for fans coming to games?”
Regarding the decision not to invite former Cubs star Sammy Sosa to the convention, Ricketts said they will “revisit” that in the future.
“I think that, you know when we got here, there wasn’t much communication and we really haven’t focused on it,” he said. “But maybe it’s an issue we pick up this year and see what we can do about it.”
Ricketts declined to say whether the organization snubbing of Sosa has more to do with his 2004 walkout than widespread suspicions he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career.
psullivan@tribune.com
Twitter @PWSullivan
Ricketts asks for easing of landmark restrictions on Wrigley
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Ricketts asks for easing of landmark restrictions on Wrigley
