Give Zell credit for keeping it real: Wrigley merely an asset
Thanks to Sam Zell, reality is trumping romanticism at Wrigley Field.
For decades the Cubs paid their bills by being about the smell of the grass, the crack of the bat and the appeal of hope.
Zell, the chairman and CEO of Tribune Company, is about turning property into profit.
In a way it's admirable of a man who can't always be described as such. Judging by reports from his meetings with the staffs of Tribune newspapers, he is prone to profanity and insensitivity.
What makes Zell admirable in a business sense is that he isn't trying to fool anybody by saying what the public wants to hecubsar.
Zell is in the process of sorting through bids for the Cubs and Wrigley Field. Make that the Cubs or Wrigley Field because he wants to sell them separately, with the state of Illinois possibly buying the ballpark.
If Zell can negotiate a deal in which taxpayers instead of buyers pay for Wrigley renovations, that's great even if the Cubs have to play a season on the White Sox' field.
Zell enrages purists by proposing other moves that would boost the value of the franchise, including the sale of naming rights to the ballpark.
Wrigley Field by any other name? Every nook plastered with advertising? Every cranny sold to the highest bidder?
Wrigley Field is about art, purists say, not a$$et. Baseball is about competition, not commerce. The Cubs are about Clark and Addison, not Wall Street and Madison Avenue.
Poppycock, Zell counters. The impression is he would dress players in thongs if merchandise sales would improve. Heck, he'd have Carlos Zambrano mud wrestle an exotic dancer if pay-per-view would buy it.
No wonder North Side sentiment is that Zell better sell the Cubs and Wrigley Field sooner than later; later than sooner would mean more sacrilege to this religion and graffiti on its cathedral.
Zell said Tuesday morning on CNBC, "We intend to sell the Cubs on our time frame and in the manner in which we choose."
The old Tribune Company was afraid to upset folks who fill Wrigley Field on a regular basis. Now it's "shove it" if you don't like the way the new Trib conducts business.
Like, back in the mid-1990s the rumor was the Cubs might trade Mark Grace. Oh, no, a member of the p.r. department moaned to me, fans will overload ballpark phone lines in protest.
Never mind that the trade might help the Cubs in the standings. A popular player was like the ivy, bricks and center-field scoreboard -- essentially untouchable.
Together, along with the Cubs' tradition as lovable losers, they comprised the romanticism that enveloped the Cubs.
Now, though, the whole franchise is up for sale and nothing is untouchable.
Zell told CNBC, "The idea of a debate occurring over what I should do with my asset leaves me somewhat questioning the integrity of the debate."
My asset, he says? That isn't what sports' owners normally say. Normally they pretend to be mere caretakers for teams that belong to their communities.
No pretenses here. Zell is trying to maximize revenues, thus inflating the Cubs' value. Management has even been given the resources to win this season, presumably so the franchise's sale price goes up.
Not very romantic, but it is the reality of sports these days.
mimrem@dailyherald.com