Cubs fans’ routines for the mid-winter Cubs Convention were altered this year when the Chicago Cubs organization announced that an over 20 year run at the Chicago Hilton and Towers was coming to an end. After five years of attending the convention at the Hilton, last weekend I experienced the fanfest at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers for the first time.
The idea that old habits die hard was prevalent throughout the weekend. While crammed in a small food area, bumping into one another while viewing the vendors’ booths, standing in long autograph lines or especially while waiting for an available elevator, Cubs fans struck up conversations with total strangers about their beloved Boys in Blue, something which is not atypical of a Cubs Convention. However, this year’s most frequent topic of conversation was the contrast between the Sheraton and the Hilton, with the majority of the Cubs faithful disapproving of the change.
Through no fault of its own, the Sheraton staff did not have the experience of planning the convention that the Hilton did, so the hotel was not put in the position to succeed. The Opening Ceremonies were still special, but they lacked the eloquence of year’s past, when they were held in the Hilton Grand Ball Room. Longtime convention goers groaned about having to learn their way around a new hotel, in which convention activities were spread out randomly across four different floors.
When the Cubs were owned by the Tribune Company and during the period of time directly following the Tribune’s departure, the team lacked a figurehead that fans could nail with burning questions, such as ones about the convention changing locations. Since the Ricketts family took over the team in October 2009, Chairman Tom Ricketts, a lifelong Cubs fan himself, has provided that resource. Ricketts takes the time to shake hands with fans, mingle in the stands at Wrigley Field and address all questions, comments and concerns from the loyal supporters of his ball club.
In the end, all sports fans really want out of owners, front office personal, players and coaches are answers and explanations. Ricketts provided both when he was asked during “The Ricketts Family Forum” session why the team elected to switch hotels.
Ricketts explained that the organization signed an exclusive partnership with Starwood Hotels, the new official hotel of the Chicago Cubs. Therefore, the mid-winter event was moved as part of the partnership, which also involves Cubs players staying in Starwood hotels on the road and a Starwood hotel being constructed outside Wrigley Field on the land currently occupied by the Wrigleyville McDonald’s.
Fans seemed to genuinely appreciate Rickets’s logical and straightforward answer, something he has done with regularity during his stint in charge of the organization. The 2013 Cubs Convention was filled with all of the sessions, autograph opportunities and merchandise sales of years past, proving that the weekend is defined by the unique culture of the organization, not the event’s location.
Ricketts’ deep consideration of each of the points expressed by fans that were making organizational suggestions and his status as a fan himself has endeared him to the Cubs faithful. However, he has a daunting task at hand and asking for patience from a fan base that has been waiting for over 100 years for its team to win it all is not easy. In the end, The Ricketts Family’s ownership of the team will be judged solely on whether or not the team wins the World Series, but I think Tom Ricketts is the right man to accomplish that goal.