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CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Wednesday that without new signage in the outfield at Wrigley Field the Cubs will consider leaving the historic ballpark.

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Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Monday that the framework for a deal to renovate Wrigley Field, which was agreed to by the City of Chicago, will bring a World Series to a fan base that hasn't seen a championship since 1908.

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The Chicago Cubs open their home schedule on Monday without a deal with the city and neighborhood for renovations to Wrigley Field, but team chairman Tom Ricketts said they are "100 percent committed" to seeing the project through and winning a World Series at the iconic ballpark.

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CHICAGO -- Fans of the lovable losers have something to look forward to, after all.

The city of Chicago and the Ricketts family, who owns the Chicago Cubs, are close to an agreement on a $500 million overhaul of Wrigley Field, two people with knowledge of the negotiations said Friday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal, first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, was not yet finished and they were not authorized to publicly discuss it.

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With a renovation of Wrigley Field -- including a JumboTron in right field -- reportedly close, Wrigleyville rooftop owners say they will use "any and all means necessary" to make sure the Chicago Cubs honor the remaining 11 years of the contract that protects their view of Wrigley Field.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday that the Cubs and the city of Chicago are expected to agree on a Wrigley Field renovation deal in time for Monday's season opener. Sources told the paper that a few rooftops would be "minimally" affected by the addition of a JumboTron in right field and at least one more sign in left field.

The Wrigleyville Rooftops Association, which has 11 years left on a 20-year contract that calls for them to share 17 percent of their revenue with the Cubs, took issue with the news on Friday, claiming any addition that obscures their view of the park will essentially put them out of business.

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PITTSBURGH -- Theo Epstein wouldn't speculate on what will happen if Monday's self-imposed deadline to come to an agreement with the city to approve a renovation of Wrigley Field passes, but said the improvements are "fundamentally important to get us to the next level as an organization."

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Rosemont, Ill., Mayor Brad Stephens said he would like to meet with Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts as early as Tuesday morning about moving the franchise to his suburb if the club can't reach an agreement on renovations to Wrigley Field by its self-imposed Monday deadline.

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CHICAGO -- A young Lebanese immigrant awaiting sentencing for placing a backpack he thought held a bomb near Chicago's Wrigley Field wrote a letter to the judge saying he drank "all day, every day" for months before the would-be attack.

In a seven-page letter to U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman, Sami Samir Hassoun apologizes and insists he has worked hard at becoming a better person, including by taking yoga instruction in jail.

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MESA, Ariz. -- Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts hopes to get approval by next month from the City of Chicago to move ahead in the fall on the five-year renovation plan of Wrigley Field.

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MESA, Ariz. -- Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts seemed upbeat about his planned renovations to Wrigley Field when speaking with the media on Sunday, even though the timing of the project remains uncertain.

While Ricketts forges ahead with his plans to complete the team's new spring training facility by next fall and a build a new state-of-the-art complex in the Dominican Republic in 2014, the gray area still revolves around the start of renovations at Wrigley Field. Due to the landmark status of Wrigley Field, the ownership group would need the approval of Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel to proceed with any changes to Wrigley's exterior.

"I think we have made a lot of progress and we are still working forward," Ricketts said at training camp Sunday. "The mayor's office has been very helpful, but (the renovation OK) is still in progress right now."

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CHICAGO -- Wrigleyville rooftop owners unveiled a proposal Friday calling for the use of their buildings for advertising sold by the Chicago Cubs in exchange for continued unimpeded views of Wrigley Field.

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel maintained Wednesday that he doesn't want taxpayer money to fund the renovation of Wrigley Field.

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CHICAGO -- This weekend, while you were trying to figure out "catfishing," the Chicago Cubs cast out a new plan for renovating Wrigley Field that is far easier to understand, if not digest.

Here's the gist: The Cubs want so-called Big Government off their back.

More than two years after debuting their failed attempt to wrangle tax dollars from the city and county to help fund a $300 million renovation of historic, charming, and yes, dumpy Wrigley Field, the Cubs' owners are fighting for their right to desecrate, I mean decorate, their own home.

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The Chicago Cubs will announce plans at the Cubs Convention this weekend to renovate Wrigley Field, according to a source familiar with the situation.

President of business operations Crane Kenney will present a detailed design at a seminar Saturday afternoon, the source said.

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CHICAGO -- Before the 2010 season, their first as owners of the Chicago Cubs, the Ricketts family raised ticket prices by 10 percent, continuing a trend of major price increases from the last few years of Tribune Company ownership.

While the Cubs didn’t make the playoffs in 2009, they had a winning record and 2010 was only two years removed from the Cubs having the best record in the National League.

But things have changed. For the third straight season, all losing affairs of increasing magnitude, the Chicago Cubs are lowering season ticket prices for the 2013 season.

According to data from Team Marketing Report and the 2013 season ticket data sent out today by the team, the Cubs’ average season ticket price will be $44.61, down from $45.83 last season, which was the third-highest in baseball. All prices include the 12 percent amusement tax.

That figure doesn’t include the 3,500 or so club box seats the Cubs now consider “premium” seats. If you factor in those “premium” seats, the Cubs’ average ticket is $48.96, down from $50.06.

Of course, a severe downgrade of fortune has coincided with the Ricketts family takeover. Since the 2008 playoffs, the team’s record has declined each season, with 2012’s 101-loss campaign marking only the third time in franchise history the team has lost 100 games.

But Wrigley Field is a tourist draw and there is a long waiting list for season ticket holders.

According to David Kronheim, who runs the analytics site numbertamer.com, the Cubs’ 2012 attendance total of 2,882,756 was the highest-ever for a team that lost 100 games. The 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks had the previous record of 2,519,560.

Still, it broke the Cubs’ streak of eight straight seasons drawing more than 3 million as the Cubs lost an average of 1,669 fans per game. The Cubs’ 2012 average of 35,590 is way down from the franchise peak of 40,743 in 2008. By the end of the season no-shows outnumbered the fans in their seats as the actual attendance looked to be a fraction of the announced numbers.

For the season, individual tickets will be priced $1-$2 more for the second straight season. In the past, the Cubs were one of the few teams not to price individual games tickets higher.

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