Bernstein: Ricketts Unwilling To Play Hardball
When he was strong-arming the city of Mesa, Arizona into buying him an $84 million spring training facility, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts used the prospect of a move to Florida as leverage. The voters were sufficiently convinced of his seriousness to pass the referendum, despite the city's tough economic times.
He seems to have forgotten that lesson when dealing with the big boys.
His request for a state bond sale to refurbish Wrigley Field – using a minimum of 35 years of amusement-tax increases -- needs a similar Plan B if he wants to be taken seriously by lawmakers and citizens wary of such schemes, particularly amid concerns about runaway debt at all levels of government.
He scores points with some for refusing to play the relocation card. The story of meeting his future wife in the Wrigley bleachers was widely circulated as part of the family narrative during the purchase process, and he often refers to the "Cubs experience" as if he's the steward of a resort property.
It is a difficult path to navigate for him, though, if he wants to be both a sentimental fan and a shrewd businessman, since the interests of each role often compete. His success as owner, in fact, hinges on how he handles this conflict. Nostalgia for the old building is cute, but he can't confuse that with actual capital – financial or political.
I would not begrudge him for publicly commissioning feasibility studies for a new ballpark outside the city, county, or state concurrently with the bond request. Money talks, BS walks. The Cubs generate revenue, and the loss of it would be felt. Make people consider life without the team around.
He's boxed himself in by going halfway with an ill-timed proposition that uses only warm fuzzies as leverage, in a sharp-elbowed political environment fresh off contentious elections and readying for another.
(It's not lost on local Dems, either, that Ricketts's father bankrolled one of the shadowy PACs that campaigned for Tea Party candidates on the platform of shutting down government spending for special projects)
He'd be better off paying for the improvements himself, jacking ticket prices, and pitching this to the fans paying for the improved experience (winning doesn't hurt the experience, either). Once you decide to go the public-money route, you'd better be ready for the rough-and-tumble clout game or you'll get clobbered.
Which is exactly what's happening. The Sun Times slapped him with their editorial opinion Friday, saying "We've seen this Cubs game before and, without a doubt, it's a lousy one." The Tribune waited until he made his case before their board before delivering a stinging rebuke today, calling his plan a "whiff," under the headline "No, Cubs, No."
Ricketts is trying another press conference today, seemingly to combat the damage already done. It will be interesting to see how he tacks – he can beg for help because he's just a fan who loves the park, he can scale back the request and increase the private contribution (perhaps the intent all along), or he can get tough and start talking about other options.
