Cubs to have new owners by spring

CHICAGO, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The Chicago Cubs will have a new owner by spring training in mid-February, the team's chairman says.

Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney says he expects the storied baseball franchise, its Wrigley Field home and its 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet to be sold by Tribune Company Chairman Sam Zell before next year's spring training begins, the Chicago Tribune reported Saturday.

Kenney also said Zell is not interested in retaining a substantial minority ownership stake in the team under a deal.

"The bids that came in were for control of the team where for Sam, any interest would be a small interest," Kenney told the Tribune. "I think at some point people were talking about Sam holding almost half of it. That's not the way they (bid)."

At least three bidders have submitted proposals, the newspaper said. They include groups led by Chicago real estate magnate Hersch Klaff; Chicago financier Tom Ricketts; and New York private equity investors Mark Utay and Leo Hindery Jr.