Wrigley shareholders put naming rights in play

ANNUAL MEETING | Boss says company will chew idea over

March 13, 2008
BY CHERYL V. JACKSON cjackson@suntimes.com

The chairman of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. failed to put the kibosh on speculation that his business might buy naming rights to Wrigley Field.

It wasn't for a lack of effort by investors who packed a Chase Tower auditorium for the chewing gum firm's annual shareholders meeting Wednesday. They wanted an answer.

A shareholder was quick to put the question to William Wrigley Jr. before the company was 10 minutes into its business session, urging him to take a pass on buying the rights.

"I thought it would take us about a minute and 30 seconds into the Q&A session for that to come up. You surprised me," Wrigley joked, before agreeing to answer the question later in the meeting.

A second shareholder, saying she couldn't go home to her husband without an answer, again broached the subject.

"I think we're just going to wait and see how all this plays out, and if there's an opportunity, we'll evaluate it just like we would all other opportunities," Wrigley said.

Wrigley noted that the Cubs had been owned by the Wrigley family and not the company.

"Certainly I and my family have great passion for the Cubs and baseball and tradition and the heritage," he said, adding that the company tends to put marketing dollars behind brands and not the corporation's name.

Sun Times