Chicago Cubs: SOLD

Although a formal announcement has not yet been made, a source has indicated that the Ricketts family is the winning bidder for the ill-fated Chicago Cubs.  The deal was estimated at $900 million.

After nearly two years of waiting, it seems the Chicago Cubs sale has finally reached an end.  The Chicago Tribune Company purchased the Chicago Cubs in 1981 for $20.5 million and is now expected to pass on the torch, fortunately, to another local Chicagoan.

A big concern among Chicago Cubs fans during this sale fiasco was what the fate of the team would be under new ownership.  

Would the name Wrigley be changed to something ridiculous, like US Cellular?  Would the stadium be re-located out of Wrigleyville?  Nobody knew, or for that matter, still completely knows.  H

owever, the chances of the cherished Wrigley Field remaining Wrigley Field, in Wrigleyville, just got a lot better.

Tom Ricketts, member of the founding family  of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., is actually an average Chicago Cubs fan—with whole a lot of money. 

Like many of us, Ricketts has spent those long summer days, not only watching the Cubbies on WGN, but experiencing them at Wrigley itself.  Ricketts is such a fan that at one point he lived in an apartment above a bar right across the street from Wrigley Field.  It has been reported that he even met his wife in the bleachers during a game. 

This news couldn't be better for Cubs nation.  The new owner is not only a huge Cubs fan himself, but he has witnessed firsthand how its fans feel about the tradition of their team.

The deal still needs to approved and still needs to be fine tuned, which could take anywhere from 60-90 days.

With the Ricketts Era expected to start, you have to think it's the end of  all of the Mark Cuban talk.  Although that might have been nice, we have one of our own in there now, and I would not bet on Wrigley being called Ricketts Field anytime soon.