In a Bloomberg Television interview, Tribune Company CEO Sam Zell revealed that the company still does not have a final contract to sell the Chicago Cubs to the Ricketts family. But Zell said if the sale doesn’t get to closing, he’s sure there will be another buyer for the ball team.
“These are difficult times to arrange financing,” Zell noted in the interview. But he remains committed to getting Tribune out of being a Major League Baseball owner. “So if the Ricketts deal doesn’t get done, I’m sure there will be other ones,” he said.
The Chicago Tribune reported that its sources confirmed that the Ricketts family had lined up financing for the Cubs purchase, but that there are some issues remaining to be worked out with the banks. According to the newspaper’s sources, another issue still being worked out is the value of the TV and radio contracts to broadcast Cubs games. The team’s games have long been a fixture on Tribune-owned WGN-AM & TV.
