Tribune rejects state's plan for Wrigley Field

By Robert MacMillan and Ben Klayman

NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - Tribune Co and its chief executive, Sam Zell, have rejected a plan by the state of Illinois to buy Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, and instead will work on selling the baseball team together with the historic ballpark.

"Any transaction transferring ownership of Wrigley Field to the public must satisfy the interests of Tribune, the Cubs and the public," Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney said in a statement.

"While we appreciate the creativity of the latest (Illinois Sports Facilities Authority) proposal, it does not work from Tribune's or the Cubs' perspective," he added.

Kenney did not shut the door on a new agreement with the state, but at the same time the media company will begin exploring potential buyer interest in the Cubs, Wrigley and Tribune's stake in Comcast SportsNet. Analysts have said the assets could fetch more than $1 billion.

"The transaction that was proposed was not something that works for us, but it doesn't mean that we're going to stop negotiating," Kenney told Reuters in an interview.

The sports authority's plan was put forth by former Gov. James Thompson and would see the state paying $400 million to buy and renovate the field without raising taxes, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Tuesday.

Thompson could not be reached.

The financial books that would-be bidders would examine have not gone out yet, but are expected soon, according to sources involved in the sales process.