Sports

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The Ricketts family formally introduced themselves to the media and to Chicago on Friday, officially starting the Ricketts era for the Cubs.

But there's much more to the story than what they told the media, reported CBS station WBBM-TV

WBBM spent extensive time with Tom Ricketts, the organization's new chairman, and with his two brothers, Pete and Todd, and their sister, Laura, before the family's coming-out party.

Tom Ricketts made one thing clear: They are fans, first, who put in serious time at Wrigley's bleachers.

"People should just be comfortable with the fact that we're fans, and we're going to do what's right for the team and what's right for the stadium," he said.

At the downtown headquarters of his international bond-trading firm, Incapital, his office features Cubs souvenirs sprinkled among family photos.

"All the kids have played baseball, and I coached all of them," Tom Ricketts, the North Shore father of five, said.

He grew up, middle class, in Omaha, Neb. The family fortune came later from his parents founding Ameritrade. Tom came to Chicago for college and fell in love -- with his wife and the city.

He takes the train to work every day. He gets to Cubs games on the L.

"Easiest way to get there, sure," Ricketts said.

The contrast between his downtown office and his cramped Cubs quarters at Wrigley Field is striking. He's already planning to move Cubs personnel out of the stadium proper to land next door, which now a parking lot.

He also would like to offer fans a few more options, including a gift shop, and batting cages kids and nice restaurants.

Those would be more options than he and his brother, Pete, had back in the 1980s, when they roomed together at an apartment near Addison and Sheffield.

"We're all Cubs fans, and this is a dream come true," Pete Ricketts, a former GOP congressional candidate from Nebraska, said.

During a tour of the old neighborhood, Tom Ricketts said he doesn't envision trying to add more night games, at least not in the short term.

"I think part of it is, we want to be good neighbors and be part of the community," Rickets said.

He remembered sunny summer afternoons spent in the bleachers.

"We would sit in the front row of center field, and part of reason was, you could sit right over the beer vendor," he said. "He could just hand beers up to the front row, so it would save a lot of trouble."

His brothers and sister were often with him, dreaming like so many others, what they'd do if they owned the Cubs. Laura, an attorney and gay-rights advocate, had her own ideas.

"No question: Improve the ladies' room" at Wrigley, she said. "More women's restrooms. No lines. No missing a whole inning just to use the ladies' room."

As he walked in the rain in Wrigleyville, Tom Ricketts chatted about the family's love for the Cubs, the city and for Wrigley Field.

"The experience here is special," he said. "A lot of the newer stadiums were built to look like an old stadium. Our thought is, we have that."

Tom Ricketts said he first broached the idea of buying the team with his family members.

"I brought it up a few years ago with everybody, when the (then-owner) Tribune was struggling a bit, looking for some different solutions," he said. "I said, 'Hey, the team might be for sale, let's just kind of throw our hat in the ring and see what happens.'"

None of the family members held out against the idea.

"I think our initial reaction was, Hey, good luck, you should go for it,'" Pete Ricketts said.

"I think we all thought it a bit crazy and likely never happen, but here we are," Laura said.

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