Alderman to Cubs: Put off expansion, get more night games

June 3, 2003

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter Advertisement

Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) urged the Cubs on Monday to shelve for "at least a couple of years" plans to expand the Wrigley Field bleachers in favor of immediate movement on two other revenue-enhancing ideas: more night games and development of city-owned land west of the stadium.

Tunney said he's not suggesting that the 1,800- to 2,000-seat bleacher expansion is dead, just that it's too much for the community to swallow in one bite.

Instead, he's willing to move forward on compensation for Seminary Avenue--a city-owned parcel the Cubs want to use to build a restaurant, parking garage and hall of fame--and on a gradual phase-in of more night games in increments of three a year.

The Cubs want to add 12 more night games to their 18-game limit. Under Tunney's plan, it would take four years to reach that 30-night game limit.

"I'm not saying 'no' forever. I still think there's a compromise plan that could include some bleacher expansion. But it's too ambitious to try to tackle all three issues in the near future," Tunney said.

Cubs President Andy MacPhail could not be reached to comment, and executive vice president Mark McGuire declined to comment.

Jim Ludwig, president of the Lakeview Citizens Council, applauded Tunney for pressuring the Cubs to put off bleacher expansion that City Hall has stalled for years.

"There's too many moving parts to resolve it all at once," Ludwig said.

If neighborhood protections can be put in place and funded, Ludwig said, Lake View residents would be willing to entertain a gradual phase-in of more night games.

The Sun-Times reported last month that Tunney was trying to broker a bleacher expansion deal in a two-month time frame by restarting talks between the Cubs and the rooftop clubs. At the time, Tunney suggested that rooftop owners pay Tribune Co. for their view but that the money be used to fund a neighborhood protection plan with a $500,000 price tag. Cubs games already place a $2 million-a-year burden on the city.

Tunney's new proposal is significant for two reasons. First, Mayor Daley and the Council routinely defer to the alderman on development issues in their wards. Second, Tunney apparently has concluded that an agreement between the Cubs and the rooftops will be harder to achieve than he thought.

In the latest meeting between the two sides, the Cubs reportedly acknowledged that views at "four or five" of the 13 rooftop clubs on Waveland and Sheffield would be "impaired" by the proposed expansion.

The Cubs also demanded that rooftop owners pay the team 20 percent of their gross receipts and sign licensing agreements that would expire in "five to seven years," said George Loukas, chairman of the Wrigleyville Rooftop Owners Association