The Ricketts family has just purchased yet another Wrigley Field rooftop, according Bob Goldsborough and Jared S. Hopkins of the Chicago Tribune, for $2.65M.
Apparently, “Just buy them all!” is actually the plan.
In our last update, the Ricketts family had just purchased three new buildings, giving the Cubs ownership family a controlling interest in more than half of the 16 rooftops around Wrigley Field.
The most recent purchase – Brixen Ivy Rooftops at 1044 W. Waveland Ave – brings the Ricketts family rooftop count to ten. I think it’s fair to assume that the strategy here is to eventually control most if not all of the 16 rooftops around Wrigley Field. And because the revenue-sharing agreement with the rooftops ends in 2023, that may happen sooner rather than later (less the remaining owners lose all leverage).
Brett’s thoughts from the past sum up what a total Cub/rooftop ownership experience might mean for the rest of us:[adinserter block=”1″]
It’s something I’ve talked about for years: imagine a scenario where the rooftop experience is an integrated part of the Wrigley Field experience, together with actual Cubs-related infrastructure in the lower levels of some of the buildings. A Cubs Hall of Fame in one or two of them? Cubs shops? Cubs bars? There’s not a ton of room to work with around Wrigley Field, but the rooftop buildings have always seemed a logical way to expand the Cubs-related area in a non-obtrusive way. I’m all about the character of Wrigleyville, but I also wish there was just a little more Cubs-related stuff in the area. The plaza and hotel planned for the west of the park will certainly go a long way to sating that interest, but the rooftops could be another step.
And, hopefully, the Cubs are well on their way. It’s clear that the Ricketts have long planned to update, build or renovate the existing Cubs infrastructure – Sloan Park in Arizona, the Wrigley Field Renovations, the Baseball Academy in Latin America, for a few examples – and they are doing an excellent job of following through. If, in the future, a complete Wrigley Field/Cubs experience includes the rooftops across the street, I am fully on board.