New Wrigley infield, drainage system on hold
July 2, 2007
BY TONI GINNETTI tginnetti@suntimes.com
Player salaries aren't the only expenditures on hold for the Cubs as Tribune Co. prepares to sell the team.
A $1 million project to install a new infield and drainage system at Wrigley Field, one of the park's biggest needs, could be sacrificed for another season.
The project had been approved last year, with White Sox groundskeeper Roger Bossard hired to design and implement the work. Bossard is considered the premier engineering professional in stadium-field design and has designed and installed the playing fields at U.S. Cellular Field, Detroit's Comerica Park, Seattle's Safeco Field, Milwaukee's Miller Park and a redesign at Boston's Fenway Park.
The permit process required for the work was under way, with the plans allowing options to add up to two rows of seating from dugout to dugout -- premium sections that likely would recoup the cost of the project in as little as a year.
The project would have to begin no later than Oct. 15 to be completed by the start of next season. But the planning process stopped three months ago when Tribune Co. announced its intention to sell the team as part of the media giant's sale to billionaire investor Sam Zell.
The Cubs are said to be worth $600 million, but the bidding for the team could reach as high as $1 billion, Fortune Magazine has estimated.
But because of the sale, Tribune Co. and its investment advisers have said no to adding any financial obligations to their bottom line.
Major League Baseball coordinates the sale process, with commissioner Bud Selig having a major say in who the final bidders will be. Hopes were that a sale could be completed by the end of the year, but the process has been slowed by a host of factors, including regulatory issues and debt concerns.
A new infield and drainage system has been considered a long-needed capital improvement at Wrigley. New facilities are level with underground drainage systems, compared with Wrigley's rounded configuration for drainage.
The plan might be salvaged this year if the pool of potential buyers is narrowed to a few finalists by early October. Each would have to agree to allow the expenditure for the project to be completed by April 2008.
