Cubs to advertise new look behind plate

By Paul Sullivan
Tribune staff reporter

November 23, 2004, 9:38 PM CST

The Cubs expect to get approval from the city's Landmarks Commission to install a permanent rotating advertising board behind home plate at Wrigley Field and will have it in place for Opening Day.

The decision to add the 10-by-3-foot sign will alter the look of Cubs telecasts significantly while giving the organization added revenue that could be used to improve the team.

The Cubs experimented with a removable ad board at Wrigley the last two seasons on national telecasts during the regular season and in the 2003 playoffs.

"You'd like in a perfect world [to] walk into a pristine ballpark," John McDonough, the Cubs' vice president of marketing and broadcasting, said Tuesday. "Unfortunately, that's not reality. But the money generated from that is going to the payroll, and it's going to be deployed, as it has been, extremely well with what (general manager) Jim Hendry has done with the additional budget he has."

McDonough said he anticipates approval from the Landmarks Commission. The ad board is expected to bring in between $3 million and $5 million per year. With an average increase of 17 percent for Cubs tickets in 2005, plus the additional revenue from the rooftops and the rotating sign, the Cubs could significantly increase payroll next year from the $87 million with which they began 2004.

The Cubs currently have 16 players that are either signed or arbitration-eligible whose combined salaries in 2005 will be $75 million to $80 million. Hendry still should have some room to maneuver this off-season, particularly if he deals Sammy Sosa and his $17 million salary.

Copyright © 2004, The Chicago Tribune

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