Report: Chicago Cubs to Announce New Ownership By Mid-Week

Media outlets are reporting that the Tribune Company will announce the name of the winning bidder for ownership of the Chicago Cubs sometime this week.

This announcement comes just a day after the end of the annual Cubs Convention, where players, both past and present, met fans and fielded questions about the 2009 Cubs team.

There are a number of questions that the new ownership group will have to answer upon purchasing the team (and its partial ownership stake in Chicago's Comcast Sportsnet television network).

What, if any, changes will they want to make to Wrigley Field?

There are rumors swirling in Chicago that the legendary building across the street from the stadium that bears the Budweiser logo will be fitted with a jumbotron screen.

Another issue the new ownership will have to deal with is the overall health of the stadium. Rumors have been floated that the Cubs may be forced to play a season on the South Side while various maintenance issues are taken care of at Wrigley.

But perhaps the most immediate issue the new ownership group will be forced to deal with is hammering out a potential trade for Padres pitcher Jake Peavy. General manager Jim Hendry, who has laid the groundwork for a package of players to be sent to San Diego for Peavy, has been waiting on the sale to move forward with the deal.

Hendry and interim team president Crane Kenney have both publicly stated that they cleared adding payroll to the roster with all of the potential owners, but the deal will be difficult to consummate until the new ownership group is named.

The timing of the trade of former top prospect Felix Pie to Baltimore for left-handed starting pitcher Garrett Olson raises more questions about a potential Peavy deal.

Olson was reportedly one of the pitchers discussed in a deal for Peavy, with Baltimore initially joining discussions as the third team in the deal.

Olson's acquisition, along with the sale of the team being finalized, make it appear that a deal would have to be on the horizon.