Kenney: Naming rights only part of big picture

MESA, Ariz. -- Cubs chairman Crane Kenney visited HoHoKam Park on Friday and gave a bullish state of the state interview.

"I think the team has never been in better shape," Kenney said.

For years, Kenney had been the parent Tribune Co. liaison to the Cubs. With the Trib having been sold to billionaire Sam Zell, things are different.

Kenney noted that Zell has slashed Trib Co. red tape, making decision-making easier and allowing for such things as the re-signing of pitcher Carlos Zambrano and the resodding of Wrigley Field last year.

But what's been making headlines is Zell's quest to sell naming rights to Wrigley Field. Kenney noted that naming rights are indeed in play, but he urged the beat writers covering the team to look at the whole picture.

"Leaving aside all the newspapers being sold with headlines about Wrigley Field's going to be destroyed, and Sam's public enemy No. 1, if you just look at the club on the field, we have a record payroll for us," Kenney said. "We'll be in the top four or five in baseball total. We (signed) our first Japanese player (Kosuke Fukudome)."

Kenney touched on these areas specifically:

• The sale of the Cubs should happen by the end of this calendar year, with perhaps a half-dozen bidders in the running.

• The Cubs hope to have a framework agreement ready by Opening Day for the sale of Wrigley Field to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. The Cubs would lease the park from the ISFA for 30 years.

• A major renovation of Wrigley Field could require the team to play one season or part of one season at U.S. Cellular Field, home of the White Sox. HOK Sports, builder of several ballparks, is currently looking into several renovation plans for Wrigley.

• The Cubs' player payroll will be "north of $120 million this year."

• After one year in mothballs, the blue game jerseys will be back this year, but Kenney promised the club wouldn't "overdo" it.

• The Cubs would like more than the 30 home night games they have now, with Kenney noting the major-league average being 54. However, he noted there is room for compromise "between 30 and 54."

• The Cubs are moving toward adding Spanish-language radio broadcasts.

• The Cubs' Class A Peoria club may play one game at Wrigley this year.

Of course, what has many people hot and bothered is the thought that Wrigley Field may bear a new name.

"There are a lot of very, very positive things that are coming along with Sam," Kenney said. "What he's made a lot of noise about and what's causing people to jump off bridges is when he says, 'What about naming rights for the building?' I told him, 'Listen, we're exploring it. We're going to talk to a number of people.'

"Since I mentioned it at the (Cubs) convention, I've had three people call us. Three companies called to say they have interest, and we're exploring it with them. It may go nowhere."

Kenney did not specify the names of the companies, but he explained the Cubs already have naming-rights deals, citing the Bud Light Bleachers and the new Chicago Board of Options Exchange auction seats. Given the discussion over tradition of Wrigley Field, Kenney said the Cubs are assessing all options but that a full naming rights deal is possible.

"We know people prefer to keep the name on the building," he said. "I prefer to keep the name on the building. If we can make it work to do that, that would be great. But we're not going to leave resources that will go into the payroll and go into our restoration plans on the table to appease people who say, 'I don't think you should do it.' "

Kenney said the majority of the naming-rights monies would go into the park's restoration. He said that naming rights would support the renovation, with a renovated stadium creating more revenue, which theoretically, would go toward an increased payroll.

Although Wrigley Field and its famed marquee are landmarked, Kenney cited the First Amendment in saying the Cubs could change the lettering on the marquee for a new name of the park.

"We couldn't take the marquee down," Kenney said. "We believe the First Amendment protects what letters we write on the marquee. So if we said, 'Let's take the marquee off and do something different,' if we were that foolish, we couldn't do that."

On the renovation of the park, Kenney said it would benefit fans and players alike.

"We don't have the adequate player facilities," he said. "We don't have a batting tunnel to prepare yourself if you're going to come in and pinch hit.

"The other parts of it are fan amenities. Our mezzanine suites, we don't even call them luxury suites anymore because they're neither luxury nor suites. We call them skyboxes. We all know the washroom situation is unacceptable. The concessions, the quality of the food, we rank at the bottom

"So they (ISFA) buy the stadium and we renovate it, and what we turn over to the new owner is a stadium that can survive. Actually there are issues with how much longer can Wrigley continue to run as a 94-year-old stadium with netting already holding up parts of the stadium. It's time."