Venue Detail
Chicago Cubs
Revenues From Sports Venues Pro Facilities Report
January, 2010
Chicago Cubs
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1060 W Addison St Chicago, IL 60613-4398 Phone: 773-404-2827 Fax: 773-404-4165 URL: www.cubs.com Owner: Ricketts family League: Major League Baseball National League, Central
Venue
Wrigley Field, 1060 W Addison St, Chicago, IL 60613-4397 Owner: Ricketts family Managed by: Owner Built: 1914 Capacity: 38,765 Permanent concession stands: 20 Concessionaire: The Levy Restaurants Suite caterer: The Levy Restaurants Soft drink: Pepsi Cola Beer: Multiple
Ticket prices
Season tickets range from $240 to $2,790 Single tickets range from $16.00 to $70.00 2007 average attendance: 40,153 2008 average attendance: 40,743 2009 average attendance: 39,610
Luxury Suites
Quantity: 67 Term: 3 to 3 years Price: $110,000 to $182,000 Seats: 12 to 15 Includes: Tickets, parking passes.
Financing
The $250,000 stadium was built with private funds. Pct. public: 0
Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs, is perhaps best known for its ivy-covered walls. Wrigley Field did not have lights until 1988 and luxury suites were not added until 1989.
Real estate entrepreneur Sam Zell purchased the Tribune Co. and the Cubs in late December, 2007 and at that time, he said he wanted to sell the team by Opening Day. That plan did not pan out and Zell later took the parent firm, The Tribune Co., into bankruptcy. The Cubs and Wrigley Field were put up for sale. Ownership eventually passed the Ricketts family.
As for the naming rights, the Wrigley Co. has never paid for them. Wrigley Field was named after then team owner William Wrigley, not the gum, and when the Tribune Co. bought the team and the stadium in 1981, selling naming rights was not considered.
The Cubs and the City of Chicago reached a deal in 2006 that allowed a 1,790-seat expansion of Wrigley Field.
Under the deal, the Cubs pay $900,000 for 8 feet of sidewalk to make way for the bleachers expansion. Another $2.2 million was paid to purchase city-owned land just west of the ballpark that now is used for parking. The team will use it for the commercial development that includes a sports-themed restaurant, museum and a parking garage for about 400 cars.
The Cubs contributed $250,000 toward the cost of converting a parking lot into a campus park and would fund a $400,000 traffic signal system. The Cubs agreed to pay $300,000 of the signal costs over six years, with the remainder coming from the Cubs Fund, a $1 million pot of money being created by the team for various neighborhood improvements.
The Cubs earlier upgraded about 200 seats behind home plate at Wrigley Field to create a new premium seating area. Prices for the seats are between $200 and $250 a game, or $16,200 to $20,250 per season.
Along with Fenway Park, Wrigley Field is one of the oldest ballparks in Major League Baseball. The ballpark opened in 1914 at a cost of $250,000, paid for by restaurateur Charles H. Weeghman. The Venue has four party suites holding 15 to 55 persons that lease from $1,700 to $5,800. Prices vary depending upon the day of the week and size of the suite. There are no club seats.
The Cubs are also following Fenway Park's lead by working to upgrade their Venue for more revenue rather than build a new ballpark. The Cubs plan to build a new parking garage and add dining and other amenities to their Wrigley Park neighborhood.
The major new feature will be a four-story building with a rooftop garden and restaurant. It will have retail space and parking for 400 vehicles. On non-game days, the parking facility can be used by local businesses and residents. Team training facilities will be under the garage. The building will be constructed on land the team already uses.
A restaurant will be built in the "Batter's Eye" section of center field. The team will also add nearly 1,800 bleacher seats that will overhang sidewalks. The additional seating is expected to be controversial because it will be a major structural change to the historic ballpark. Residents are also concerned that the area under the overhang could be unsafe, so the team has promised to add lighting and security cameras to the area.
In addition to the permits, the Cubs must also work out a land deal with the city. The team believed it had purchased the land in 1982 from a railroad, but The Tribune Co., which owned the team when the deal was struck, found out later the railroad did not have the right to sell the land and that it actually belonged to the city.
Owners of rooftop clubs that overlook Wrigley Field have agreed to pay a per-ticket fee to the Cubs to settle a dispute and end a lawsuit. The 20-year deal will pay the team $15 to $25 per ticket. The Cubs also agreed to compensate the clubs if a new bleacher section is built within the next eight years that blocks the view from some rooftops.
Estimates say the Cubs could earn about $2 million a year from the deal.
The Cubs went to court in December 2002 against the owners, charging copyright infringement. The lawsuit sought millions of dollars in damages and could have led to closing of the clubs or new payments to the team for the right to continue operations.
The team's lawsuit says the 13 clubs piggyback on Cubs marketing and deprive the team of millions of dollars in revenue by allowing fans to watch the action inside Wrigley Field from decks to which they sell admission.
Club owners claimed the team has given tacit permission for the clubs to exist since the ballpark opened in 1914.
The roof top clubs originally proposed paying $20 million over 20 years if the team agreed to help market the off-ballpark venues. The Cubs came back with a plan for the club owners to pay $3 million, but owners said that would be 60 percent of their gross sales and an impossible figure to meet. The team lowered its price, but the bar owners did not agree. (Facilities, Financial, MLBTeamNat, Professional Sports, Venue)