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(Tribune file)
The owner of the Chicago Cubs is asking the state to help finance more than $200 million in renovations at Wrigley Field that will ensure the team stays at the historic ballpark for the next 35 years.
The Ricketts family, which purchased the team last year from Tribune Co. in a deal valued at $845 million, has pledged that the project will not be financed by new taxes or an increase in existing taxes, but it would redirect some future revenue to the stadium. Get the full story »
Anheuser-Busch Inc. on Friday sued Major League Baseball, accusing it of reneging on an agreement to renew its lucrative sponsorship pact.
The complaint contends that Major League Baseball in April agreed to renew Anheuser’s exclusive malt beverage sponsorship rights for a number of years. Get the full story »
Demand for jerseys, caps, video games, toasters and other items with sports logos has been a winner this year, and teams and leagues expect that streak to continue into the holiday season even with unemployment still high.
“If your team is winning and you’re excited about it, you want to be a part of it,” said Stu Crystal, vice president of consumer products for Major League Soccer. “It makes them forget about worrying if they’re going to lose their job or their houses went down in value and how they’re going to pay the mortgage.” Get the full story »
The National Hockey League has signed a one-year sponsorship deal making Discover Financial Services the league’s official U.S. credit card, and its first financial sponsor in that market.
The deal, worth several million dollars including advertising commitments by Discover, puts the NHL’s overall sponsorship revenue about 30 percent above last year’s rate, said Keith Wachtel, NHL senior vice president of corporate sales and marketing. Get the full story »
German sporting goods company Adidas aims to grow sales to $24 billion by 2015 as it strives to overtake market leader Nike. “Our aspirations are to outperform total market growth … to outgrow our major competitor and have the bottom line grow faster than the top line,” Chief Executive Herbert Hainer said on Monday in a presentation to analysts at the company’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Get the full story »
From Chicago Breaking Sports | Voters in Mesa have approved funding for construction of a new spring training facility for the Cubs. With nearly all the ballots counted Tuesday night, the proposal was leading by 21,000 votes out of 86,000 cast.
It may be off-season but White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle is headed back to billboards with a message for Chicago-area residents. Buehrle and his wife, Jamie, have partnered with Adopt-A-Pet.com to launch a local public service billboard and television campaign promoting the adoption of shelter pets. Get the full story »
Todd Ricketts (Jose M. Osorio/Tribune)
By Phil Rosenthal | Todd Ricketts apparently got himself fired from a Chicago Cubs maintenance job when he attempted to secretly work for the ballclub his family owns for the CBS show “Undercover Boss.”
CBS, which announced Monday that it plans to air the Ricketts episode Nov. 7, said he fights for the chance to redeem himself after getting canned on his second day on the job.
Crain’s Chicago Business | Starbucks has bought out the 50 percent stake of Earvin “Magic” Johnson in a venture designed to bring the coffee shops to underserved areas including Bronzeville.
Kyle Korver holds the ball away from Milwaukee Bucks point guard Keyon Dooling. (Jeff Hanisch/USA Presswire)
ELITE STREET | By Bob Goldsborough | Chicago Bulls guard and forward Kyle Korver has paid $1.38 million for a 16-room mansion in Glencoe that once was listed for $2.95 million.
Korver, 29, signed a three-year, $15 million contract during the summer to join the Bulls from the Utah Jazz. Now, he has become the rare Bull to buy in Glencoe. Most Chicago-area homeowning Bulls over the years have bought downtown or in other northern suburbs like Northbrook, Highland Park and Lake Forest. Get the full story »
The city of Glendale, Ariz., says a prospective buyer of the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team has deposited $25 million in an escrow account “in a show of good faith.”
Glendale, in a news release Friday, said the buyer has asked for confidentiality because negotiations are ongoing, but there have been multiple reports the city has been in talks with Chicago investor Matthew Hulsizer.
The figure is equal to the amount of city funds Glendale had deposited, at the NHL’s insistence, to cover potential losses for the coming season while a local buyer was sought. Get the full story »
By Paul Sullivan | The Cubs are adding another premium pricing tier at Wrigley Field, but maintain the average 2011 ticket price will remain flat.
Cubs President Crane Kenney said the new “marquee” price tier will consist of 13 games, including Opening Day and three series against the Yankees, White Sox and Cardinals. The Cubs said these games will hacost an average 12 percent more, but the “average season ticket holder will (remain) flat,” because of the reductions in some platinum, gold, silver and bronze games.
Pow! Wap! Goal!
The National Hockey League is teaming up with Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men and other iconic comic book heroes, to create a series of superheroes representing each of the 30 league cities and incorporating hockey elements as a way to market the sport. Get the full story »
The owner of the Little Caesars Pizza chain and Detroit’s baseball and ice hockey teams has opened negotiations to buy the Detroit Pistons basketball team, according to two reports. Get the full story »
Tower Ticker | Even in loss, the Bears are big winners with Chicago views with more than half the local TVs tuned to WMAQ-Ch.5 during the game Sunday night.
