Another extension for Wrigley plan

June 4, 2002

BY FRAN SPIELMAN CITY HALL REPORTER

Mayor Daley and the Tribune Co. have until the end of the baseball season to decide how to landmark Wrigley Field, according to another extension hammered out Monday in hopes of resolving all of the outstanding issues surrounding a 2,000-seat bleacher expansion.

The fourth extension--until Oct. 6--makes it increasingly unlikely the Cubs will be able to complete construction during the offseason, even if Daley gives the go-ahead. The 17-month stalemate already has cost the Cubs one offseason.

''Whether we can build in the fall will be determined by when we reach agreement, which has to be reasonably soon,'' said Mark McGuire, the Cubs' vice president of business operations.

Asked why he agreed to the extension, McGuire said: ''To deal with the land piece alone right now is not productive. We're better off trying to deal with the entire package. Otherwise, it's going to bring that one issue to a point, and the attempt is to try to deal with it in the context of everything else.''

Ald. Bernard Hansen (44th), whose ward includes Wrigley, said it's his understanding that the Tribune Co., which owns the Cubs, is ''working on something new'' to present to the community.

''If you were negotiating and you wanted more time to work out a deal, that's what you would do,'' Hansen said of the extension.

Asked what new wrinkle he expects the Tribune Co. to present to the community, he said, ''I've floated every idea from here to next week, and I'm still waiting to hear back from them.''

The Tribune Co. wants permission to expand the Wrigley bleachers by 2,000 seats, play 12 additional night games and develop the property adjacent to the stadium by building a 400-space parking garage, ESPN Zone-style restaurant and Cubs Hall of Fame museum. Despite design changes and three prior extensions, Daley has yet to give the Cubs the go-ahead.

In a meeting last month with Cubs president Andy MacPhail, a top mayoral aide demanded that the team address the lingering issues of traffic, public urination and security, as well as the design impact of bleacher support columns that would overtake the sidewalks along Waveland and Sheffield.

Also on the table is how the Tribune Co. plans to compensate Chicago taxpayers for the valuable parcel of land adjacent to Wrigley. City Hall determined last year that taxpayers own the parcel, which the Cubs have used for nearly 20 years as a players parking lot.

In a summary binder forwarded to City Hall before the MacPhail meeting, the Tribune Co. revealed it wants the land for free.

''The Cubs purchased the land in 1982 from the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, but documents going back more than 100 years have led the city to conclude it owns the land,'' the team's report states. ''The Cubs have paid more than $400,000 in real estate taxes to the city for the land in the two decades since it was purchased and have used the land during that time without objection. As part of the Wrigley Field improvement project, the Cubs have asked the city to clear up title to this land without cost to the Cubs.''