Deal's Done & Spring Training News

The Ricketts family finally has officially closed the deal to buy the Chicago Cubs. The Ricketts take control of the team, Wrigley Field, and 25% of Comcast Sportsnet.

The team has been for sale since before the start of the 2007 season. I'm very glad to finally see the deal done!! Cubs.com had a nice Timeline of Cubs ownership.

Here's the Paul Sullivan write up that broke the story.

Friday will be the press conference at Wrigley Field, where we will get our first look at Ricketts' plans for the team this offseason, next year, and beyond. Tom is expected to be in Mesa for the organizational meetings in November. What move will be Tom's first as Cubs owner? We'll find out soon enough. Now that this 2.5 year saga is coming to a close, we can focus on winning a World Series.

According to the Naples Daily News, the groups trying to bring the Cubs' spring training to Naples have scheduled a press conference for Thursday at 3 p.m. at the Naples Tennis Club. “The Chicago Cubs are exploring Naples, Florida, as a potential spring training venue and have been working with Chicago-based Esmark and Naples-based Fifth Avenue Advisors in that regard,” Cubs CEO Crane Kenney confirmed in a statement. “Our site visits and discussions confirm that Collier County has a number of suitable locations for a world-class spring training facility.” Check out http://www.floridacubs.com/!

And according to the Tribune, the Cubs are exploring a move to Naples. They could build a 120-acre facility for the Cubs that includes a miniature version of Wrigley Field!

A few other notes:

• Heyman says the Mets have no interest in Bradley.
• Rajai Davis, Jeremy Hermida, and Kelly Johnson are 3 potential offseason targets according to the Cubs Reporter.
• Kerry Wood had a very interesting interview with Waddle & Silvy on ESPN 1000. I will post a recap along with other radio recaps tomorrow.
• Tuesday, November 19, 2009 Kerry Wood will join Children's Memorial Hospital as they celebrate the inaugural Champions for Children's event.
• "We'd have to see. Again, Chicago's my home. I had a great time here, but right now, I'm an Indian, and I'll go to Spring Training trying to help them win," Wood told Kap on Sports Central tonight.

It should be a fun week! I'll keep you posted throughout!