Zell Rejects IFSA Offer. Will Sell Wrigley With Team

The plan to sell off Wrigley Field separate from the Cubs, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, and Wrigleyville Premium Tickets in no more. Zell has rejected the offer from Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, thus placing the bid for prospective owners of the Cubs will get a complete package. As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times:

[S]ources said Zell has rejected the state’s proposed terms because it relies on a novel and untested financing plan: the sale of individual seats at Wrigley as if they were condominiums. The idea is called equity seat rights and has been advanced by Chicago area business executive Lou Weisbach, who has applied for patent rights on it.

Zell, Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney and their advisers have concluded that the equity plan and its tax ramifications would violate both the Internal Revenue Service code and the rules of Major League Baseball, the sources said.