The Chicago Cubs may be turning in a dismal on-field performance this year, but as a financial entity, it is still one of the most valuable franchises in pro sports.
That could be important if the Cubs' owner, Tribune Co., remains under shareholder pressure to sell off corporate assets or there is a wholesale breakup of the media conglomerate.
The possibility that the Cubs might land on the market has prompted speculation on Wall Street and among sports experts about the team's value, with most estimates settling in a range between $450 million and $550 million.
The lower figure would make the team the fifth- or sixth-most-valuable franchise in Major League Baseball even though the Cubs, currently in fifth place in the National League Central division, haven't won a World Series since 1908.
"The Cubs' attendance is always strong, it's in a large, passionate baseball market and it has got a long history," said Jeffrey S. Phillips, a director at the investment banking firm Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin who specializes in sports transactions.
Such a price would give the 130-year-old franchise about the same value as the Washington Nationals. As a new team, the Nationals' fan base is largely conjectural, but it will have a state-of-the-art stadium as a draw.
The record price paid for a team continues to be held by the Boston Red Sox, whom the Cubs closely resemble in fan popularity, historical on-field record and cable TV revenue.
The Red Sox were sold in 2001 for $700 million, but nearly half of that price was for the team's majority ownership in a regional cable sports network that carries its games.
As recently as two weeks ago, Tribune rebuffed an overture for the Cubs from former Cub star Ernie Banks, who said he represented a group of investors including former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Tribune executives have said for the record that they have no intention of selling the team, which they regard as a core corporate holding.
Any sale would represent a huge nominal profit for Tribune -- and would saddle the company with a huge tax bill.
Tribune, parent company of the Los Angeles Times, bought the Cubs in 1981 for $20.5 million. Since then, the values of baseball franchises have soared, reflecting higher attendance across the league and richer broadcast and cable TV rights.
Annual earnings per team also have recovered handsomely from a financial nadir in 2001, when Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig told Congress that only five of the 30 teams had turned a profit.
