The Chicago Cubs are looking at different revenue streams and ways of making more money for the franchise, and one way to do that is to capitalize on the team’s surging market value by selling minority stakes in the club.
That tactic was employed this week as it was revealed that Andrew Berlin, owner of the South Bend Cubs and a minority owner of the Chicago White Sox, had purchased a minority stake in the Cubs from the Ricketts family.
Berlin initially called reports of the purchase "premature," but it was confirmed on Friday in reports by WSBT-22 in South Bend and the Elkhart Truth newspaper.
Berlin, who was born in Chicago and continues to live in the city, has been involved in baseball ownership for quite some time, buying a share of the White Sox in 2007 and negotiating a purchase for the South Bend Cubs, then known as the Silver Hawks, in 2011.
Berlin says that he will continue to own his stake in the White Sox despite buying into the Cubs.
“I’m not making decisions about operations or player personnel,” Berlin said in an interview with WSBT 22. “But I do enjoy certain perks of ownership – of being a minority owner – and I also get a chance to learn about Major League Baseball and the baseball business.”
The Ricketts family has been seeking minority stakeholders in recent months to help finance the ongoing renovations at Wrigley Field.
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According to a report by Danny Ecker from October 2014, the team was looking to sell a 20 percent stake in the team, but it’s unclear if this is the stake that Berlin purchased from the Ricketts family.
