'Cubs win!' blankets cover of Bloomberg Businessweek

The April 3 cover of Bloomberg Businessweek

The baseball season is still five days away, but Bloomberg Businessweek is already declaring the Cubs winners.

“CUBS WIN!” blankets the entire cover of the magazine’s April 3 issue, followed by the subhead “Well, not yet. But after a century of epic mismanagement a sports empire is in bloom.”

The issue features a story by Ira Boudway, which is online now, about how the Cubs “finally” have a winning business plan.

Boudway spoke to Theo Epstein, Crane Kenney, Carl Rice and Colin Faulkner, who explained how the Cubs are going to boost revenue.

Here’s more about the story:

While the Cubs have spent $292 Million on player acquisitions since the end of last season, they have raised ticket prices (about 2 percent) this year for the first time in four seasons. With increases in the gate receipts, sponsorships, and media deals, the team stands to add as much as $100 million in annual revenue, roughly closing the gap with the Red Sox. Crane Kenney told Businessweek Basically, my job is fill a wheelbarrow with money, take it to Theo’s office, and dump it. But on sponsorships, he’s learned the hard way. In 2010, Kenney thought the Cubs could get away with a giant Kraft macaroni noodle outside Wrigley. After broad derision, they moved it across the street and then got rid of it. That was one where I made the call at the end of the day, and I was wrong, says Kenney. So my threshold is: Is this a noodle?

Boudway’s story also includes this graphic, showing how the Cubs’ “deliberate” decline affected all aspects of the organization.