The Rosemont Cubs?

I read this and it has the stink of Al Davis playing the game of taking the Raiders to Irwindale.

Irwindale Raiders!

 

That's the thing. They are a different beast.

And, while Schaumburg has more people, it's pretty similar.

 

But as the authors of "Field of Schemes" (and every independent economic study on ballpark construction) can tell you, that "carrot" almost never, ever works. The only way the promised development ever works out is if it was likely to happen even without the ballpark.

Will Rosemont get all that new/extra business in the next 10 years without the Cubs? Then they'll get it with the Cubs, too. If not, then they won't.

 

Tuesday night was the annual "Wrigleyville residents bitch session" meeting with city officials, and looks like there were plenty of gripes. One of my favorites, from the Chicago Trib:

whole article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-wrigley-field-20130326,0,649687.story

 

If these people don't want the hassles of living near a ballpark these people should probably.....not live near a ballpark.

 

The one difference though, is that Wrigley has lasted so long. If the Ricketts threaten to move in 20 years, people may say, "Well, the other park lasted 100 years. Why can't you wait another 80?"

 

Good useless government spending is always better than bad useless government spending.

 

Formerly, Jill Peters bought a house near O'Hare and complained about the noise.

Although, this speaks to something usually left unsaid -- there are plenty of people on the North Side who would be just as happy to see the Cubs go and take all the tourists with them. It's not like Lakeview is going to go to shit if the Cubs leave. I've talked to many residents who are tired of fans pissing on their sidewalks and garages.

 

How are those residents going to feel when their property values tank?

 

Their property values will be just fine. If you're a bar owner in the immediate area who relies on Cubs traffic, yeah, you're in trouble. The Cubs definitely helped bring Lakeview back. But the Cubs aren't so necessary to keep it alive. Lakeview is pretty full even when the Cubs aren't in town.

 

You really think if the Cubs leave that two-flat someone bought for $1.2 million isn't going to lose at least a third of its value? My grandmother sold her house in Lakeview as a complete tear-down (meaning the person just wanted the lot) for $650K. She and my grandfather paid less than $30K when they bought the house in the early '60s.

Without the Cubs around, a good chunk people will head elsewhere to spend their money, and recent property buyers will be upside down pretty much instantly.

 

Which doesn't really matter, because the Cubs leaving Wrigley isn't even a vaguely credible threat.