Wrigley finance proposal has struck out; Cubs need to find different plan for park renovation

The Cubs' plan to use 35 years' worth of amusement-tax growth to finance a $200 million renovation of Wrigley Field -- and back-stop the bonds with a 2 percent hotel tax -- is dead, sources said Wednesday.

The setback for a plan the Cubs had hoped to ram through the state Legislature's fall veto session has sent team officials back to the drawing board to search for alternatives that might include creating a tax-increment-financing (TIF) district around Wrigley.

Another possibility is to broaden the boundaries of a 1 percent tax on downtown restaurant meals used to finance McCormick Place. That tax currently extends as far north as Diversey.

Gene Saffold, …