Word is that the Ricketts have bought some of their own politicians and have asked the State of Illinois for some money from that 12% amusement tax? Which has gone to support US Cell for years! Not directly, but into a fund, which is drawn upon for US cell renovations.

The Ricketts made a swift move of offering a proposal showing how much they make for the city and why don't they get any of that money?

So either give us some of that money or stop taking the money, is the quick summary.

Of course Votes need to be cast in Illinois General Assembly for this to take place and I am sure Jerry will create some type of resistance to this via his own groups, or some media storm, but if we are gonna be fair, no reason to not have both teams get some state money. Especially the one that generates a massive secondary industry for the city.

Once again I am 100% against teams getting state money on a constant basis, but if the Sox are going to keep taking, then the Cubs might as well, because winning the 'High Road" battle doesn't put $$$ in your pockets.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

The Ricketts are just behaving like every pro team owner in the country. This is just another example that Jerry is nothing special or unique in this regard.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Its called US Cellular Field. It is called that for a reason.

You keep saying that the state is paying and has paid for the park's renovations. That is false. The naming rights do that.

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1. Jerry did not own the naming rights. He FORGOT to put that into the lease. Google it, I am sure you will find it. He then had the lease amended so the money from US cell went into the park, correct, not into the State, where it should have gone,

2. Jerry gave them a present value discount of paying 1 lump sum of $38 Mi, instead of 3M$ a year for 20 years = $60 mill and he used that money for immediate renovations and that money was used in 1 year Frank. Where has the ongoing renovation money come from?

3. The "Everyone Else Does It" arguement never makes it right. This isn't like a rolling stop either. And they all do it under a false premise, that spedning $500 million creates addtional income. It is true in very very few circumstances and The Cubs happen to be one of them. (This for Econ 101 Rick)

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I don't know what you are saying here. Are you saying the money put into US Cellular Field does not create additional income but putting money into Wrigley does? Isn't Wrigley already selling out? How much more money can you pull out of there without increasing the size of the stadium?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Addtional PROFIT! Of course if I spend $100 million to build an amusement park, addtional Income will be created, but if it costs me $20 mill a year to operate it and it produces $10 mill a year , whats the point? We lose $10 mill a year, but 100 people have jobs?

You seem to not be able to grasp the FACT that US Cell was a poor financial deal that NO private Institution would fund! This is why Jerry went to the State! He wouldn't even do it himself! Yes it created Jobs, or better yet, kept Jobs, but according to U of C professors, the POSITIVE financial impact does not exist in regards to how much money has been spent.

Boliermaker Rick Says "US Cell is a good deal" v Univ Chi Professor says "US Cell is a Bad deal"

Sorry BR, I am going with the U of C guy

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Are you factoring in just how much would have been lost in revenue if the Sox went to St. Petersburg?
What would the NEGATIVE financial impact been on losing the Sox?
I'm going to go with the city and state, who obviously disagree. They obviously feel it's worth it. How long has this been going on?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Here is the article, fwiw:

Ricketts seeks state aid for $200M in Wrigley upgrades
By Ameet Sachdev
Posted today at 2:33 p.m.


(Tribune file)
The owner of the Chicago Cubs is asking the state to help finance more than $200 million in renovations at Wrigley Field that will ensure the team stays at the historic ballpark for the next 35 years.

The Ricketts family, which purchased the team last year from Tribune Co. in a deal valued at $845 million, has pledged that the project will not be financed by new taxes or an increase in existing taxes.

The family’s plan calls for the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which owns U.S. Cellular Field, to float up to $300 million in bonds. The bonds will be paid over 35 years through amusement taxes that Wrigley Field customers already pay.

In 2009, the Cubs paid $16.1 million in amusement taxes to the City of Chicago and Cook County through the 12 percent levy on each ticket, the team said. The city and county will be guaranteed this amount for the duration of the bonds. Growth in amusement taxes beyond $16.1 million — through increased ticket sales or prices – will be redirected to pay the bonds. The family says the incremental growth in the tax will cover the bonds.

The financing plan will require the approval of the Illinois General Assembly. A bill is being drawn up that will be considered in the veto session that begins next week.

Gov. Pat Quinn said Thursday that he had no knowledge of the plan. “I haven’t been briefed at all. It’s news to me. … I don’t know anything about it right now.”

Asked whether it should be considered given state’s money situation, Quinn replied, “I don’t want to really speak about it until I see what they’re talking about. They can present anything, I suppose, to the authority, but I think it’d be important to touch base with the governor before they do.”

And that hasn’t happened yet?

“No,” Quinn said. “It’s a team effort in Illinois. We like the Cubs, we like the Sox and we like all our other sports teams, but something like that I’d just need to get more details on.”

“The plan is fair, simple and solves the problem,” Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said in a letter sent to season ticket holders and Wrigley Field neighbors Thursday. “Most importanly, it will not increase taxes paid by Cubs fans or anyone else and will not create any new taxes.”

Asking the city and Cook County to forgo future increase in amusement taxes, though, may be a tough sell when each faces mounting budgetary woes in a tough economy. In addition the public might wonder why a wealthy owner needs public debt to make stadium improvements when the state faces a projected $15 billion deficit going into fiscal 2011.

Ricketts said the family spent $10 million on upgrades in the last off-season but the ballpark needs a long-term investment to remain the state’s third largest tourist attraction. He estimates that the Cubs and Wrigley Field contribute more than $600 million annually to the local economy.

To deflect criticism, the family said it will spend about $200 million of its own money to redevelop land around Wrigley Field, which will create jobs and future sales taxes.

Ricketts did not provide specifics Thursday about the development plans outside Wrigley. Tribune Co., the Cubs previous owners, had pledged to develop a parcel west of the stadium as part of gaining city approval to expand the bleachers in 2005.

But the plans to create a so-called “triangle building” with parking, retail and offices remained on the drawing board, as Tribune put the team up for sale in 2007.

The Wrigley Field improvements do not call for an increase in the stadium’s capacity of about 41,000. The family said Cubs fans will see greater amenities, expanded concourses and more opportunities for family-friendly entertainment. Above all, the renovations will preserve the historic character of the 96-year-old stadium.

Players also would receive vastly upgraded facilities.

The proposal also does not call for the Cubs to vacate Wrigley during construction, which won’t be completed until 2016, two years later than the owenr’s earlier plan to renovate the stadium by 2014, its 100th anniversary. If the state approves the financing plan, the Cubs plan to ask Major League Baseball to host the 2016 All-Star Game.

The ISFA was involved in discussions with Tribune in 2007 about possibly buying and operating Wrigley Field. Those talks ended without a deal.

The ISFA is a government unit that the General Assembly created in 1987 to build new Comiskey Park, now U.S. Cellular Field.

Tribune reporter Monique C. Garcia contributed to this story.

WOW!!!!!!!!!! lol...That's the "evidence' you are going to present to say it is a good idea?????

I am trying not to use this term in jest "Are you joking?"

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Why have they continued to let this go on if it's that bad of a deal? The state is out of money and yet this seems to not even be an issue.
I think it's a fair question. If it's so bad of a deal why isn't it challenged or even cancelled? I'm honestly asking.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

It's s 20 year lease, you can't cancel it.

And it is one huge political favor and thats the point. It was a political favor to start and contiues to be one.

One day I will explain to you the whole thing, unless Agg Bob comes on and breaks down the Madigan system for you.

BB talking about how this stuff rarely works now.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

When is the lease up? Will it cease then?

If it's a 20 year lease, it sounds like that was what kept the White Sox in Chicago. I'll ask again, did that professor study what the NEGATIVE financial impact would have been on the Sox leaving town??
It kept the White Sox here.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Just let it be known bigfan that in the last 10 days Ricketts has been awarded $99 million and requested another $200 million from John Q. Taxpayer.

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But if it annoys Reinsdorf then it might be worth it to him.

There is absolutely no argument -- none -- that the taxpayer money that goes to US Cellular will be recouped by the state of Illinois. The economic studies on these things are pretty much unanimous. Money might get redirected towards more spending in that area, but it's just cannibalizing spending that would have gone someplace else. New revenues would require new sources of income, like tourism dollars, and at the idea that The Cell is getting enough out of state tourist money to repay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes.

I'd have to imagine the same thing is true of Wrigley too, though the argument is slightly -- but only slightly -- stronger that additional revenue might derive from that tax money. But this political rent-seeking is probably the worst aspect of modern professional sports, and Jerry Reinsdorf has been front and center in that development. Regardless of team allegiance, I don't see how anyone can disagree with that. If the Ricketts family decides to suckle at the governmental teat, it will also be disappointing, though at some point you have to push back against your main economic competition when one side receives significant amounts of economic largess from the state and the other receives far less.

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Fire Phil Emery

Navy Pier is stealing all the tourists away from the Cell.

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Do you know what the financial impact has been on cities that have lost teams like the Colts? Has it resulted in a major loss of revenue? I probably am overrating the financial impact that the White Sox have though but I don't think it's the complete screwjob considering the team was actually ready to head out of town.
My original and major point in all of this is that it's just how these things go. The Colts absolutely screwed the taxpayers worse than what Ricketts and Reinsdorf are doing combined for a team that will be a rumor in that town very soon after Peyton Manning retires. It should be interesting to see what happens when the 20 year lease is up for the White Sox.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Way to stick to your convictions.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

That's the bottom line right there. I think from a strict financial and accounting perspective the ballpark has been a loser for the State of Illinois. But it's much more complex than that. There are greater civic issues involved, a city with two big league teams, etc. We can argue over what that may or may not be worth, but it's something that's hard to put a number on. I would guess that the German market they're assembling outside the Daley Center right now is less than a good financial deal for the city, but it's done every year now. It has some value beyond the nuts and bolts.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I am off the fence....Give Ricketts the money...the Cubs fill hotel rooms, restaurants and bars....Jobs are created rehabbing the Shrine....the Cubs are a huge asset to this City.
HOWEVER.....do it quickly and have the Cubs play two seasons at THE CELL....Have the Cubs PAY RENT AT THE STATE OWNED CELL.

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There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

There is a point at which I do believe Government investment does pay a return. Providing tax breaks, land gants, free utilities. It doesn't need to make a profit either, maybe even maintain but the Sox thing has been a blackhole of money. I have never changed that point from Day 1. If the Ricketts are asking for $200 mill and willing to match it with $200 mill, that is an example of a "good dea;" than the Sox "Give me $500 mill or I am moving"

Part of the Calculations that do need to be taken into account is the Cubs case is the 50,000-100,000+ people that attend the bars on game days, especially weekends, that is part of the impact.

It is why Soldier Field is such a shit design. They created no space, buildings, etc for any addtional revenue within a mile of the place.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I agree with you, it's a loser for the state but how about Jerry putting a little something into the deal?

I always heard Reinsdorf says it would not be feasible to maintain old comiskey. OK, what would be feasible? How much can you put in for us to build you a park?

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

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And then someone said OK to that deal.

Boilermake Rick thinks all is good because the deal exists? Well, look up Mickey Seigel for starts and see how good he is doing in jail?

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Must have killed Irish Boy to agree with me here, of course I was citing his beloved U of C prof. Alan Sanderson, so it's not like he is really agreeing with me anyways. He is supporting the studies.

Still overwhelmed at BoilerRick with the 'It must be OK because the State and City allow it" theory??? That one really blows my mind.

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING gets done, without an outside influemce in City and State Govt...Nothing! Someone is getting something on everything the State and City do.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I don't go after your opinions. I let MessedUp explain to the world how bad Israel is?
I let BRick express all his thoughts, no matter how wrong they are.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Remember when Jim Thompson announced McCuddy's Bar would be back when the new Sox ballpark was built? WRONG!!!
Reinsdorf wanted every nickel from every beer sold anywhere near the Cell.
It took the jackass about 10 years to allow tailgating and now he even sells his own beer with his new bar out in the north parking lot.

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There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

Ricketts' next move is to ask players for HOME TOWN DISCOUNTS at contract time!!!

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There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

A large majority of those people are Illinois residents, who as Irish Boy points out, would just spend the money other ways in the state.

The other thing is that there is no chance whatsoever that the Cubs will leave. They are the #1 team in the third largest market in America. Let them go find a city like St. Petersburg and set things up for a move and hope that they don't get called on it. These $200 million worth of improvements are really not changing anything that will increase tickets sold. The deal with the White Sox kept them from leaving. It would be funny to see the state call the Cubs on the bluff that this will "keep them here for the next 35 years". The Sox move was legitimate. The Cubs aren't.

There is a case to be made why it made sense for the state to get involved and save the White Sox from leaving Chicago. There is no reason to believe that the Cubs are going to leave and these "renovations" are not the kind of improvements that are significantly increasing revenue.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!