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Are you freaking kidding me? * Updated x2 *

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Illinois

* As you might imagine, this offends me to no end…

A possible deal right out of left field could leave taxpayers on the hook for the renovation of Wrigley Field.

It’s not a done deal, but CBS 2 has learned discussions have been on for weeks for the state to purchase Wrigley Field. As Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports, the stadium is a Chicago landmark and sits on a valuable piece of property in a hot neighborhood.

But the Cubs might be worth more to a new owner without Wrigley Field, than with it. And that’s why the state is talking with the Cubs about buying the stadium and running it just like they do U.S. Cellular Field.

Sources confirm Wednesday night that the Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s people have been talking with the Cubs’ owners about buying the stadium before the Tribune Co. sells the team.

So, the state is bidding on Wrigley to help Sam Zell get a better price for the Cubs? That is so offensive to me.

* More from the Tribune…

The bidding for the Cubs has been red hot, giving Tribune several choices on how best to sell the team and the assets connected to it, including the ballpark. […]

Selling the ballpark separately to an entity like ISFA actually could help Tribune secure a better price overall, sources said. If a new owner were to pay top dollar for both the team and ballpark, the price tag for major renovations likely would suppress the overall bidding price, those sources say.

Why should the state help a kazillionaire maximize his profits from an asset sale? This is crony capitalism at its worst.

The Cubbies are worth a fortune because of Wrigley, not in spite of it. Those tourists don’t flock to Wrigely to see the Cubs play. They come for the “atmosphere.” No new owner in his or her right mind would move out of that stadium, no matter how dilapidated and run-down it is.

The governor is the state’s number one Cub fan, and it really shows in this goofy move. Instead of working on solving the CTA funding crisis, and carving out a deal on a much-needed capital plan, he’s showboating on this stupid idea.

*** UPDATE 1 *** This report from NBC5 is so not true…

The plan, in part, intends to prevent the Cubs from leaving the city for a new stadium in the suburbs.

That’s a completely bogus cover story, to say the least. No potential owner could possibly be stupid enough to move the Cubs from its “holy” site out to the suburbs. And if he/she did, that person deserves to fail.

*** UPDATE 2 *** Mayor Daley turns big thumbs down on goofy idea…

“We can’t even get any money for the CTA and they’re worried about the Chicago Cubs? They’ve made money every year. It’s very profitable and some way, we’re supposed to bail them out? I’ve never heard [of that] . . . I don’t think they’re leaving. They just increased the price of tickets,” Daley said.

“We have a crisis at the CTA right now. It’s hard to believe . . . that people are now talking about taxpayers helping out the Cubs. The Cubs are not gonna move. It’s a gold mine. . . . If you’re gonna start holding this issue over the heads of passengers of the CTA and this crisis we’re in and they want to start talking about whether or not taxpayers are gonna buy [Wrigley Field] — that’s hard to believe.” […]

…Daley said he raised “serious questions” during that meeting. In fact, he told Zell point-blank, “You’re basically asking the taxpayers to . . . some way help the Cubs. Simple as that.”

The mayor said he’s so opposed to the taxpayer-financed acquisition of a private sports stadium, he would oppose any effort to raise the restaurant tax or hotel tax to retire Wrigley stadium bonds.

“You’re not gonna increase the hotel tax in the city of Chicago for that purpose. You will not increase the restaurant tax. . . . It would be unfair for everyone,” Daley said.

Can you say “Dead”?

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 8:56 am

Comments

Given the current fiscal state of affairs this would never get the approval of the legislature. Illinois has no business owning Wrigley Field.

Comment by MOON Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:02 am
This is such a bad idea it borders on being a basis for impeachment. The State is in a fiscal crisis, the Gov is a well known sports fan, he has abandoned his oath to the people in favor of a hobby which draws more of his effort then running the Sate! Its time to oust him before he does morre damage. So much for that oath of office and his duty to the people.

Comment by Ghost Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:02 am
I’m a huge Cub fan, but I would gladly throw them under the bus to make GROD look bad. This doesn’t make sense in any way given the current political atmosphere (or any other time, for that matter). If seperating Wrigley from the Cubs makes the franchise more valuable, let the Tribsters find out how to do it without involving public funds. This is not a situation where we’re trying to keep the Cubs from moving to Tampa!

Comment by tubbfan Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:05 am
The state has no business owning any stadium anywhere. And they should sell the stadium to Mark Cuban.

Comment by Levois Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:07 am
I’m trying to figure out why Illinois should be in the ballpark business at all.

Why does the State own U.S. Cell?

Moreover, why isn’t Blago asking these questions? He should be talking about selling assets and not talking about buying more.

Comment by Skeeter Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:07 am
Yeah right, like legislative approval means anything to this governor.

It would hardly suprise me if, when the legislature tells him to go pound salt, Blago inks a deal and then dares anyone to do anything about it.

Comment by This Guy Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:09 am
I’m a Cubs fan, but c’mon, already! The State’s so badly-off that State buildings were up for sale, yet they want to buy an extremely high maintenance property that likely wouldn’t even pay for its own upkeep? Who, I wonder, would pay to give Wrigly the renovation it so badly needs? Hmmm …. And, of course, be on the hook forever because of landmark status? Must be nice to have low friends in high places.

The State isn’t paying its bills on time, yet our poor man’s Bill Clinton can find millions to buy a stadium that would be a poor investment for anyone besides the owner of the Cubs. Makes me wonder whether there are millions set aside somewhere that could be applied to transit; then again, he’s probably planning on raiding yet another specialty fund or 12 to pay for his buddy’s perk.

Comment by Snidely Whiplash Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:14 am
this is a huge pile of smelly horse plop.

The state has no business spending my money to buy that dilapidated hulk and spend even more of my money fixing it up so some billionaire can avoid paying for upkeep on the stadium. The tribune failed to maintain the property, preferring instead to find ways to add more seats.

The government shouldn’t be in the stadium construction/management business, unless its part of a true government asset (college and high school stadiums).

This is welfare for the rich, pure and simple.

Comment by jerry 101 Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:14 am
Another question: could the State’s acquisition of Wrigley act to remove it from the tax rolls? If so, I’d think that the State and local governments would be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Comment by Snidely Whiplash Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:16 am
As a White Sox fan and anti-Blago man, I find this freaking hilarious. And yes, grounds for impeachment. (And I opposed the Big Jim “turn back the clock” move to save the White Sox in 1986).

Comment by Ravenswood Right Winger Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:19 am
With people’s outrage at these latest fiascoes, I’m reminded of the scene in Casablanca that follows:

Captain Renault: I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.

Comment by If It Walks Like a Duck... Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:20 am
I think this is a great idea. The state needs better assets.

We should just sell Comiskey for scrap and use the proceeds to buy wrigley. A MUCH better investment.

Comment by hmmmm Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:22 am
Are they insane…keep this up and and we’ll be seeing the huge thrown the bums out momemtum building even more. I’d hate to be up for office at the next election.

Comment by Niles Township Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:23 am
He can find money for ball stadiums (Chicago and Marion) but takes money from a fund for coal mines resulting in a sale for the mine falling through and 350 miners out of work at Chistmas he makes Scrooge look good!

Comment by lifer Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:24 am
If this scheme to enrich Zell and the Trib Corp moves forward, someone might suggest that the leg. revisit the decision to exempt periodicals from Illinois’ sales tax.

In most other states, a four-bit newspaper sets you back 51 cents.

– SCAM

Comment by so-called "Austin Mayor" Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:30 am
C’mon crew…how about a little creativity…

The state should buy it, then throw it in the deal with the Block 37 superstation and Midway to our Aussie friends. They bought the Skyway, and they want more. (Maybe we could even catch an Australian Rules football game there). Take the proceeds from that, and float bonds. That should give us 4-5x money invested to spend today. I figure this would net at least 1500-2000 patronage jobs. We might even consider using some of the money to make state budgetary fiscal ends meet.

Comment by Leroy Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:31 am
If Bud Selig wouldn’t be such a stiff, Mark Cuban would have already become owner of the Cubs and this would have never happened. I wonder sometimes if Dr. Selig stops to think about the possible implications of his public whoring of MLB and its uber-wealthy owners for new stadiums built by public financing.

Then again, Blago would probably do something like this even if Cuban owned the team. While the money for Marion baseball was a boon for southern Illinois, the money might have saved a coal mine or might have paid for some much-needed teachers at high-risk public schools. And now what will this move cost the state and the taxpayers, and not just in dollars and cents?

Comment by Team Sleep Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:35 am
Over/under that this deal gets done before mass transit?

So, the state might help rich people get richer but not the freezing commuters worried about transit cuts and whether fed dollars will remain available for cap projects throughout the region? What is this, some full-fledged banana republic now?

This has moved way beyond surreal to extremely harmful.

Comment by tom73 Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:36 am
If the Cubs can’t win a world series in a hundred years maybe they can at least play in the Blago-series. Hopefuly, the curse can stop that as well.

Comment by pyramid scheme Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:38 am
I’m expecting a glowing profile of the governor to quickly be ordered up by the Tribune brass as part of the deal.

The first thing the governor does upon becoming Wrigley’s owner is to have a massive “Wrigley Field brought to you by Gov. Rod Blagojevich” sign installed across the upper deck.

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:40 am
Michelle, good point. How better to ingratiate yourself with the “Republican” newspaper than the stuff a few million its owners’ pockets.

Comment by Snidely Whiplash Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:44 am
I wonder what the Trib’s asking price is for Wrigley. I bet it is more than enough to bail out mass transit for a year. Something for people shivering in the cold while waiting for their train or bus to think about when the transit doomsday hits. The Blackhawks, Hannah Montana and Wrigley Field. At least we now know Blago’s priorities.

Comment by Bluefish Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:44 am
New money for schools $0.00
Money for CTA bailout $0.00
Money for capital improvement $0.00

Having a governor who thinks it is a good idea to buy a rundown MLB stadium…priceless!

Comment by the patriot Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:45 am
There are a lot of financial crises in the State. The Cubs are not even near that category.

Someone should make a list of WORTHY organizations in need of financial assistance, prioritize them, and use that to determine who gets assistance and when.

Sorry, I was making sense. I guess I’ll never work for the chief exec of Illinois.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:51 am
at least Blago could then claim he is going to the office when he is sitting in his seats at every Cub home game!

Comment by cardinals fan Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:52 am
Rich, are we not on the hook for Comiskey Park/U.S. Cellular Field? Is this not because the then Governor and the Speaker stopped the clock so that the time would not run out on the vote to do this? How did you feel about that?

Comment by Bob Juliano Jr Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 9:56 am
I was opposed to the Sox deal, but this Cub thing is far worse, in my opinion.

This isn’t about keeing a team in Chicago (which is somewhat understandable), it’s about increasing the profits of a billionaire on an upcoming asset sale.

If you can’t tell the difference, then you’re just blind.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:04 am
Governor Goodhair tried to sell off the James R. Thompson Center to raise money, but now he wants to buy Wrigley field? Maybe instead Motorola should sell off one of its glass-and-steel boxes in Schaumburg and buy Wrigley. Imagine how that would improve their bottom line!

Wow, his certainly is a new way of doing business.

Comment by What planet is he from again? Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:05 am
Hey give us a break
We losers have to stick together. We are a great fit with Wrigley
Wymamontana can get all the contractors signed up for a big rehabapalooza. maybe ISFA will need a realtor to handle the complicated sales transaction.
Looks like Xmas to me!
Can we get this done before the Rose Bowl?

Comment by DumberThanYouThink Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:06 am
Ouch. Talk about a curse. Wrigley Field would probably crumble apart and turn to dust if our state was responsible for maintaining it. Since this is in my neighborhood, I’d really hate to see an incompetent owner take over.

Comment by Lee Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:09 am
I am a “Die-hard Cubs Fan” but as a taxpayer I am appalled at just the thought of this idea. If Blago has the State as far behind on bills being paid on time as it is now how can the Trib expect to get paid for this? Impeach Blago please.

Comment by Dan, a voter Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:11 am
===Wrigley Field would probably crumble apart and turn to dust===

It isn’t already?

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:12 am
Maybe they should rip down Wrigley and have the State build a new Fuku-dome?

Comment by Garp Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:12 am
I saw this last night and was left speechless.

This is however consistent with the let’s provide circuses( for the masses so the little people will be distracted from our incompetence ) mentality of our current crop of politicians.

Where will all the bleeding hearts who want to spend more than we have for ‘human services’ gather to complain. I’ll join them.

Since the Republicans are always tarnished with the soft on big business label, how will the Dems avoid that label for this incredibly bad idea?

Comment by plutocrat03 Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:14 am
Hey-Hey Cub fans have lots of money and are used to price increases. A liitle ticket-stadium tax would never stop them from seeing their beloved Cubs. Also, state owned slots at Wrigley can pay for everything.

Comment by Mr. Ethics Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:18 am
[…] Rich Miller has a ton of links and commentary on this. […]

Pingback by Sports: State government trying to ruin Cubs franchise | Peoria Pundit Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:35 am
Wrigley Field should be torn down. A new stadium could be built 1 block north approximately at the large vacant property owned by various Catholic entities.

Sure this would likely cause the death by sadness of many Cubs fans but progress has costs. I will miss Bob Sirott’s commentaries on Channel 5 about how things in “da past” were always better.

The idea of the State buying Wrigley is monumentally bad. Pardon the pun.

As for US Cellular build condo towers on the parking lots and bring some life to that area. If the 11th warders don’t like it tell them it is payback for foisting “son of the Leprechaun King” on us since 1989.

Comment by irishpirate Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:41 am
How would state government run Wrigly Field? Just like Sox Park — build a new stadium alongside the old one, and tear down the entire Wirgleyville neighborhood for adequete parking that they or the club would charge for.

Be careful what you wish for, Cub fans. Wrigley Field is falling apart and probably should be condemned, but this is no solution.

Comment by capitol view Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:43 am
Wrigley desperately needs to be renovated, but shouldn’t be torn down. Wrigley and the Cubs shouldn’t be sold seperately either. Cubs=Wrigley. It’s Wrigleyville, not Cubsville. The stadium might be a dump these days, but that’s part of the mystique I guess.

Blagojevich is an insane doofus, but what an imagination. If I was governor for a day and had to come up with bad ideas to screw the state, this would have never crossed my mind.

Comment by Sacks Romana Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 10:59 am
I am constantly amazed by the comments of sports writers (or Mike Sneed today), that the Cubs may want to “maximize” profits by building a stadium in the suburbs, with more parking, blah blah. The Cubs draw 3 million plus because of Wrigley Field. If they moved, they would draw it the first year as people would want to see the new stadium and then they would only come close to that number in playoff seasons. As for playoff seasons, they have had 5 since 1945. We can all do that math.

Comment by paddyrollingstone Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 11:13 am
I was not equating the two scenarios. I just wanted to know how you felt about the New Comiskey deal. I am not blind.

Comment by Bob Juliano Jr Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 11:15 am
This is ridiculous on so many different operating levels.

I am all for government helping private industry whenever possible (usually by just leaving them alone) but this is corporate welfare at its worst. (And not entirely different than the state building a stadium for the Sox owners when they “threatened” to go to St. Pete if they didn’t get their way. That same ownership group lost $$$ on the proposed World’s Fair and had to somehow get it back.)

Infastructure, especially crumbling infrastructure is a b*****. That is why most pro sports teams nationwide do not own their stadiums.

Why does the name “McKenna” keep crossing my mind, commercially, politically and ineffectually?

Comment by Borden's Frosty Malt Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 11:45 am
And there is no way on God’s Green Earth that Major League Baseball will allow Mark Cuban to buy a team. Sorry, Jay Mariotti.

Comment by Borden's Frosty Malt Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 11:47 am
Rich and Bob J: Back to your 10:04 comment, Reinsdorf later admitted in in an interview that the threat to move to Florida was an illusory ruse to get a new stadium from the state beacause theirs was crumbling (even though they refused to release the engineering report on the structurals.) Jim Thompson admitted later that he stopped the clock at midnight as well.

Those who cannot remember the past evidently are condemned to repeat it.

Comment by Borden's Frosty Malt Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 11:53 am
Thompson had no authority to stop the clock in the House.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 11:56 am
I’d say they’re moving to a new site and have set up GRod to be the fall guy.

The revenues from a new stadium (and condos at 1060 W Addison) pay for the deal. This has been obvious from the start but folks just don’t want to hear it.

There is no magic to Wrigley Field or any other park. They draw because the team makes a playoff appearance every 3-4 years.

Comment by HappyToaster Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 12:10 pm
We need a constitutional amendment spelling out very clearly the separation of sports and state. Government has absolutely no business giving welfare to professional sports teams for their venues. The Welfare Sox deal with IL Taxpayer Stadium (US Cellular) was bad enough when they don’t even have to pay rent most years and when they do have to pay rent it’s like $5,000 per game. And $650 million Space Station Soldier Field was a complete waste of taxpayers’ money. Like Jerry Reinsdorf and the other Welfare Sox, Bulls, and Bears owners aren’t getting welfare for the rich with those taxpayer scams.

Not only is this a horrible idea, but Illinois taxpayers should be demanding that state government get itself out of all sports and entertainment wasteful spending.

Every man, woman, and child in Illinois has already had to shell out at least $100 each to subsidize the rich, professional sports owners. The poor people of Cook County are already paying some of the highest taxes in the US on essentials like electricity, heat, gasoline, phone, and normal sales. To make the poor pay even more, well, I don’t think Blago has God on his side with this one. But shame on all Illinois politicians that continue to subsidize sports and entertainment with poor people’s money.

Comment by taxactivist Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 12:12 pm
===They draw because the team makes a playoff appearance every 3-4 years.===

Please.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 12:14 pm
taxactivist: You mentioned the Bulls. United Center is a private operation. I get your point on the others, though.

Comment by Borden's Frosty Malt Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 12:20 pm
Rich: Thompson did seem to take credit for the Sox deal in a speech he made years after the fact. In addition to the arm-twisting and legislative horse-trading he referenced, he mentioned the clock more than once to an audibly “knowing” audience. I am not the only one who has been under this impression, albeit inaccurate, for the last twenty years.

Thank you for the info, as always, and I will pay it forward, believe me.

Comment by Borden's Frosty Malt Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 12:24 pm
i suspect that wrigley is really an albatross for the cubs. if the cubs want to return to perennial winners, they need to abandon wrigley for more modern facilities. there are high schools in this state with better training facilities than you would find at wrigley. i know it will never happen — if there’s one thing that’s sacrosanct in illinois, it’s anything that was around in the time of lincoln…

Comment by bored now Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 12:25 pm
===if the cubs want to return to perennial winners===

You’d have to go a long way back for that.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 12:28 pm
=please.=

Sure. Just ignore the entire Wrigley ownership era when they were papering the house to break a million and flagging behind such “major” markets as Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

Comment by HappyToaster Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 12:48 pm
aren’t the cubs just a farm team for the White Sox? :>

Comment by Ghost Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 12:49 pm
Is this the Tribune Corporation leaking stories all over town in the hope of trying to drum up more interest for a sale? I just have trouble believing that even Blagojevich would be this demented. I’ll be watching for his denial.

Comment by Angry Chicagoan Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 12:57 pm
He can kiss the votes of the downstate Cardinal fans goodbye!

Comment by Old Shepherd Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 1:06 pm
Absurd! Ridiculous!! Outrageous!!! The State has no business being involved in this deal. It would be classic corporate welfare at its worst -not to mention that it should be way down on any public offical’s list of priorities. I can’t believe this has even been discussed, much less seriously considered. The new owner should assume total responsibility for renovating the ballpark and this should be factored into the billion dollar sales price.

Comment by Captain America Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 1:15 pm
Boy! Never saw such agreement on an issue around here before!

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 1:35 pm
I think I know what is going on. They plan to put the Chicago casino in Wrigley Field. After they rip down those stupid weeds that grow on the outfield walls and that dumb looking old red sign in front,they could dome the stadium and put slots along the walls with the tables on the infield and outfield. The Cubs could move their home games to Thillens stadium which is appropriate for their level of play.

Comment by Bill Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 1:54 pm
By the way, It was Sox fan Mike Madigan that stopped the clock.

Comment by Bill Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 1:56 pm
Just caught the Daley update. Bravo, for once! Now, about that half a billion you want to build a few stadiums and an olympic village …

Comment by Snidely Whiplash Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 3:15 pm
== I think I know what is going on. They plan to put the Chicago casino in Wrigley Field ==

I suggested a couple weeks ago to turn Soldier Field into a casino (since it sits idle 356 days of the year anyway.) How about turning BOTH into casinos? That’ll bail out the old RTA.

Comment by What planet is he from again? Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 3:22 pm
As a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, I couldn’t be more horrified upon reading this idea.

Oh sure, this is dumb for taxpayers, but more distressing for me is the realization that were this to go through you just know G-Rod wouldn’t be able to help himself from putting up some open road tolling-style signs over the ivy and on top of the dugouts.

Picture it now: Welcome to the Friendly Confines - Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor

*shudders*

Comment by billy goat >>>> blago Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 5:11 pm
cubs? perennial winners? What an oxymoron.

blago will buy the stadium mo matter what the legislature says or does. In his mind the legislature doesn’t matter.

Comment by PE - PTOE Thursday, Dec 13, 07 @ 5:23 pm