Cubs strikes out with gov, mayor on Wrigley revamp

‘You wouldn’t want to do that,’ Daley says of Ricketts family’s plan to lock up taxes

November 16, 2010 By FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

Mayor Daley and Gov. Quinn on Monday shot down the Cubs’ proposal to use 35 years’ worth of amusement-tax growth to finance a $200 million renovation of historic Wrigley Field.

Two years after rejecting a similar plan by the Tribune Co., Daley did the same to the Ricketts family, which purchased the team from the Trib for $845 million.

Mayor Daley and Gov. Quinn shot down the Cubs’ proposal to bankroll the $200 million renovation of Wrigley Field with 35 years of amusement-tax growth.

The mayor said he likes the concept of a stadium renovation plan that would keep the Cubs at Wrigley for at least 35 years and free up the money the Ricketts family needs to develop a triangle building promised to Wrigleyville residents in exchange for a bleacher expansion.

But Daley said he’s not about to saddle his successor with a deal that requires Chicago taxpayers to forfeit 35 years of amusement-tax growth needed to bankroll basic city services.

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