Rosemont Mayor Would Like to Pluck Cubs from Wrigleyville

One suburban mayor is hoping that the Cubs have just about had it with Wrigley and competing neighborhood interests. Why swallow all the present impediments to growth and profit when Rosemont is willing to donate 25 acres of land with broad allowances for parking, branding, and advertising. All this within spitting distance of O'Hare. What's the bigger joke? That the Ricketts family might actually consider such an emotionally destructive move or that Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens intends to be taken seriously. It's probably the former, considering all the major media coverage spurred by Mayor Stephens' Monday exclusive with Comcast Sportsnet.

As has been discussed in prior coverage, the Cubs want more night games, signage, rights to street closures, commercial expansion, and wholesale stadium modernization. Others in the neighborhood, including Ald. Tom Tunney, would see restrictions places on these ambitions despite no public money being involved. But few think that suburban flight makes long-term sense, and would probably be damaging to everyone but the Village of Rosemont. We'll leave the last word with Mayor Stevens:

Tunney is trying to appease everybody, but he is losing sight of what the engine is that drives the economy of the community. He says that this is one of the richest families in America, but he has to realize that he has to do business with them. Rosemont is very pro-development and we understand that a good deal for the business is a good deal for the community.

·Rosemont Cubs? Suburban mayor makes his pitch [CSN Chicago]
·Poll: Is Wrigley's Ivy & Traditions the Cubbies' True Curse? [Curbed Chicago]
·Proposed Wrigley Field Renovations Hit the Scene [Curbed Chicago]