Wrigley Field is not just a baseball stadium. It is the second-oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, a National Historic Landmark, and one of the most recognizable sports venues on Earth. Every brick, every strand of ivy on the outfield wall, every hand-turned number on that ancient scoreboard tells a story that stretches back to 1914. But who actually owns this legendary piece of American sports history? The answer runs through a chewing gum empire, a media conglomerate, a $845 million deal, and one family from Nebraska that bet everything on the Cubs — and won a World Series.
Who Owns Wrigley Field in 2026?
Wrigley Field is owned by the Ricketts family — the same family that owns the Chicago Cubs, the MLB team that plays there. Ownership of the stadium and the team has never been separated — they have always belonged to the same entity throughout the ballpark’s 112-year history. The Ricketts family acquired Wrigley Field and 95% of the Chicago Cubs on October 27, 2009, in a transaction valued at $845 million, purchasing from the Tribune Company. Tom Ricketts, son of family patriarch Joe Ricketts, serves as Chairman of the Chicago Cubs and is the public face of the family’s ownership.
Who Are the Ricketts Family?
The Ricketts family’s wealth originates from Joe Ricketts — the founder of TD Ameritrade, one of the most successful online brokerage firms in American history. In 1995, Joe Ricketts merged his Nebraska-based discount stock brokerage with a small online trading firm to form Ameritrade, and took it public two years later. In 2006, Ricketts led Ameritrade to acquire TD Waterhouse for $1.7 billion, renaming the company TD Ameritrade. The family’s net worth is estimated at $8.6 billion as of 2026, making them one of the wealthiest ownership groups in all of American professional sports.
Tom Ricketts led the bid to purchase the Cubs. He is a lifelong Cubs fan who actually met his wife in the bleachers at Wrigley Field — a detail that captures exactly how personal this ownership story is. He serves alongside his siblings Laura, Pete, and Todd on the Cubs’ board of directors.
Ownership and Key Stakeholders Table
| Owner / Party | Role | Stake | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ricketts Family | Primary Owner of Wrigley Field & Chicago Cubs | 95% of Cubs & Wrigley Field | Purchased October 27, 2009 for $845 million total transaction value |
| Tom Ricketts | Chairman of the Chicago Cubs | Family ownership; no separate personal stake listed | Son of Joe Ricketts; lifelong Cubs fan; met wife at Wrigley Field |
| Joe Ricketts | Family Patriarch | Family ownership | Founder of TD Ameritrade; orchestrated the Cubs acquisition |
| Laura, Pete & Todd Ricketts | Board of Directors | Family ownership | Serve alongside Tom on the Cubs board of directors |
| Tribune Company | Former Owner | Exited with 5% stake at sale; fully exited after | Sold Cubs and Wrigley Field to Ricketts family in 2009 |
| Wrigley Family | Historical Owner | Fully exited 1981 | William Wrigley Jr. owned Cubs from 1921 to 1981; named the stadium |
| Chicago Cubs (operator) | Stadium Operator | Manages day-to-day ballpark operations | Ricketts family owns both the team and the building |
| City of Chicago | Landmark Authority | No ownership | Wrigley Field is a National Historic Landmark and a Chicago Landmark |
The Full Ownership History: From Weeghman to Wrigley to Ricketts
Wrigley Field opened on April 23, 1914 under the name Weeghman Park, built by restaurant entrepreneur Charles Weeghman for his Chicago Whales team of the short-lived Federal League. When the Federal League folded in 1915, Weeghman bought the Chicago Cubs and moved them into his stadium.
In 1918, Weeghman sold his interest in the team to William Wrigley Jr. — the chewing gum magnate who would define the stadium’s identity for generations. Wrigley renamed the ballpark Cubs Park in 1920 and then officially renamed it Wrigley Field in 1926 in his own honor. Under William Wrigley Jr. and later his son Philip K. Wrigley — who assumed control after his father’s death in 1932 — the stadium became one of the most beloved venues in all of American sports.
The Wrigley family maintained ownership for over 60 years before selling the Cubs to the Tribune Company in 1981 for $20.5 million — ending the longest continuous operation of a franchise by the same family in one city. The Tribune Company owned Wrigley Field for 28 years before selling it to the Ricketts family in 2009.
The $845 Million Deal That Changed Everything
When the Tribune Company put the Cubs and Wrigley Field up for sale, it triggered one of the most competitive bidding processes in MLB history. Multiple ownership groups entered the race, but Tom Ricketts — backed by his family’s TD Ameritrade fortune — emerged as the winner.
On October 27, 2009, the Ricketts family officially became owners of the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field in a transaction valued at $845 million. The deal gave the Ricketts family a 95% interest in the Cubs, Wrigley Field, and the Tribune Company’s approximately 25% interest in Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The Tribune Company retained a 5% ownership interest, which it has since fully exited.
Since the Ricketts family bought the Cubs for approximately $700 million in 2009, the team has appreciated more than 600% in value. As of 2026, the Chicago Cubs are valued at approximately $5.31 billion — trailing only the Yankees ($7.93 billion), Dodgers ($6.3 billion), and Red Sox ($5.96 billion) in MLB franchise valuations. That valuation includes Wrigley Field itself, the surrounding Wrigleyville real estate, and the Marquee Sports Network.
The $1 Billion Renovation: The 1060 Project
One of the most significant things the Ricketts family did after buying Wrigley Field was pour nearly $1 billion of their own money into restoring and expanding it — without a single dollar of taxpayer funding.
The renovation project — called the 1060 Project, named after Wrigley Field’s address at 1060 West Addison Street — was one of the most ambitious privately funded stadium restorations in American sports history. Work began in earnest in 2014 and continued in phases through 2019 and beyond. The project added a massive video board in left field and right field, expanded the bleacher seating, added new premium club spaces, improved concourses, upgraded infrastructure throughout, and transformed the stadium’s surrounding commercial district.
The Ricketts family also purchased 11 of the rooftop buildings surrounding Wrigley Field — the famous Wrigleyville rooftops where fans had long watched games from outside the stadium. Today, those rooftops are Ricketts-owned commercial properties that generate additional revenue for the organization, alongside Hotel Zachary, restaurants, retail stores, and residential properties the family has developed in the surrounding neighborhood.
What Makes Wrigley Field So Special?
Wrigley Field is nicknamed “The Friendly Confines” and is considered the oldest standing National League ballpark, and the second-oldest ballpark in all of Major League Baseball, behind only Fenway Park in Boston.
The stadium opened on April 23, 1914, was built at a cost of just $250,000 (equivalent to about $8 million today), and seats 41,649 people. Its most iconic features include the hand-operated scoreboard — still changed by hand to this day — and the famous ivy-covered outfield brick walls, which were planted in 1937 by Bill Veeck. No batted ball has ever hit the centerfield scoreboard in the stadium’s entire 112-year history.
Wrigley Field has appeared in countless films, including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, A League of Their Own, and The Blues Brothers, cementing its place in American pop culture far beyond baseball. It was also home to the Chicago Bears of the NFL from 1921 to 1970, making it one of the few venues in American history to have hosted both major professional football and baseball simultaneously for decades.
The 2016 World Series: The Moment That Made It All Worth It
The most important moment in the Ricketts family’s ownership of Wrigley Field came on the night of November 2, 2016, when the Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the World Series — ending a 108-year championship drought that had become the most famous curse in all of professional sports.
Under the Ricketts family, the Cubs have been to the postseason six times and won the World Series in 2016 — the defining achievement of a family that bet everything on a ballpark, a team, and a city, and delivered on that promise in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.
The Bottom Line
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who owns Wrigley Field in 2026? Wrigley Field is owned by the Ricketts family, who purchased it along with 95% of the Chicago Cubs on October 27, 2009 for $845 million.
Q2. How much did the Ricketts family pay for Wrigley Field? The total transaction was valued at $845 million, which included 95% of the Cubs, Wrigley Field, and a 25% stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
Q3. Who owned Wrigley Field before the Ricketts family? The Tribune Company owned Wrigley Field from 1981 to 2009, purchasing it from the Wrigley family for $20.5 million.
Q4. Why is it called Wrigley Field? It was renamed Wrigley Field in 1926 in honor of William Wrigley Jr. — the chewing gum magnate who owned the Chicago Cubs from 1921 until his death in 1932.
Q5. How much is Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs worth in 2026? The Chicago Cubs franchise — including Wrigley Field — is valued at approximately $5.31 billion in 2026, according to Sportico’s latest MLB franchise valuations.
Q6. Who is the chairman of the Chicago Cubs in 2026? Tom Ricketts, son of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, serves as Chairman of the Chicago Cubs and is the primary public representative of the family’s ownership.
Q7. How old is Wrigley Field? Wrigley Field opened on April 23, 1914 — making it 112 years old in 2026 and the second-oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, behind only Fenway Park in Boston.
Q8. How much did the Ricketts family spend renovating Wrigley Field? The Ricketts family invested nearly $1 billion in privately funded renovations through the 1060 Project, completed across multiple phases from 2014 through 2019 and beyond — without any taxpayer dollars.
Wrigley Field is owned by the Ricketts family — specifically through their ownership of the Chicago Cubs, which has always included the stadium itself. The Ricketts family paid $845 million to acquire 95% of the Cubs and Wrigley Field from the Tribune Company on October 27, 2009. Before that, the Wrigley family — the chewing gum dynasty — owned the ballpark for 60 years after William Wrigley Jr. acquired it in 1918 and renamed it Wrigley Field in 1926.
Today, the Ricketts family has invested nearly $1 billion in privately funded renovations through the 1060 Project, transformed the surrounding Wrigleyville neighborhood, won a World Series in 2016, and grown the Cubs franchise value from $700 million to over $5.31 billion. The family’s net worth stands at approximately $8.6 billion in 2026 — and Wrigley Field remains the crown jewel of it all.
