Dallas Mavericks billionaire owner Mark Cuban has applied to buy the Chicago Cubs. “I submitted an app,” Cuban said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Carrie Stroup here with the latest on the Mark Cuban inquiry.
Cuban told the Chicago Tribune he sent in the application last week, although he wasn’t sure of the date.
The Cubs are up for sale because its owner, the Tribune Co., is selling itself to Chicago real estate mogul Sam Zell for $8.2 billion. That deal was contingent on the media company selling its non-core assets, including one of the most fabled franchises in sports at the end of the season.
Tribune chairman and CEO Dennis FitzSimons has conceded it was difficult decision, but one that “really makes sense for our shareholders.”
Several potential deep-pocketed bidders are expected to vie for the Cubs and possibly for Wrigley Field, including Cuban and Chicago native Jerry Colangelo.
Mark Cuban became a billionaire after starting Broadcast.com in 1998 and selling it to Yahoo! during the Dot-com boom. Cuban received $5.9 billion in Yahoo! stock.
The Chicago Cubs have been at around .500 and are listed with 10 to 1 odds of winning the 2007 World Series at Super Book.
