In what is yet another step in the long process of renovating Wrigley Field and tying the surround area more closely to the Chicago Cubs experience, the Chicago Cubs have purchased the property currently home to a McDonald’s, which sits across from the main entrance at Wrigley Field.
The land, which is about an acre, went for a cool $20 million, a more than 50% premium on the typical purchase price in Wrigleyville. The land is expected to be incorporated into the upcoming changes around Wrigley Field, though it remains to be seen whether it will be for the “fan experience” part of those changes or the “team facilities” part of the changes.
A Ricketts family spokesman wouldn’t go into details on the nature of the purchase, but I don’t think it takes a soothsayer to read between these lines.
“Parcels of land near Wrigley Field don’t come up for sale very often,” the spokesman said, “and the investors did not want to let this opportunity pass.”
The purchased land is separate from the triangular lot upon which the long-discussed “Triangle Building” project would sit. The two sites sit across the street from each other, and, the Triangle Building plans (such as they exist) could change to incorporate the new site as well. The long and the short: the Cubs continue to pluck up available land around Wrigley Field with an eye toward expanding team facilities and fan experience settings in the future. Wrigley Field, and the area around it, could look very different in 10 years.
The Cubs leased the land back to McDonald’s, which will continue to operate there for the time being. Should the restaurant be torn down, as is the Cubs’Â prerogative, any new development there must include a McDonald’s.