No deal yet for Wrigley renovation
CHICAGO -- Talks continue between the Cubs and city of Chicago over a proposed $500 million Wrigley Field renovation project but no agreement is imminent.
Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said Monday that discussions continue to move forward.
"We are committed to betting something done with the city, the mayor's been terrific and the alderman's been very productive," Ricketts told reporters prior to the Cubs' Opening Day game with the Milwaukee Brewers. "Hopefully this is the beginning of the process to get something done. We've just got to keep working through."
A local television station reported that an agreement would be announced on Monday, but Rickets said nothing was final and declined to put a timeframe on a resolution.
"I think it's moving in the right direction," he said. "I think we've worked through a lot of issues over the weekend and I'll leave it at that."
The Ricketts family has reportedly offered to fund renovation of the century-old landmark structure.
A first priority would be upgrades of clubhouses
"I think our highest priority honestly is the clubhouse," he said. "It's way below standard. One of the things I said since we got here is if we want a first-class organization, we can't have second-rate facilities. That would be a high priority for the offseason."
The Cubs reportedly want an unspecified increase in night games, up from the present 30.
"We'd like to have more flexibility on when we can schedule night games," Ricketts said. "Obviously there's times when the team's coming back from a West Coast trip that make it awkward. And there are times when the league will take a day game and make it a night game. There's a lot of moving parts."
They also seek to install video boards that would increase revenue but also potentially block the view of rooftop seating outside the ballpark.
The Cubs receive a portion of revenues from the rooftop seating on Waveland and Sheffield Avenues.
