SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Many of you like Heileman's Old Style beer at Wrigley Field. Last offseason, the Cubs signed what was termed an "exclusive" deal to sell Budweiser and other Anheuser-Busch products at Wrigley; that seemed to signal the end for Old Style.
But wait! According to ESPN Chicago's Jon Greenberg, you'll still be able to get your Old Style at Wrigley:
Old Style, once synonymous with day baseball at Clark and Addison, will still be sold at Wrigley Field this season, according to tweets from two SportsBusiness Journal reporters Monday. SBJ facilities reporter Don Muret (@breakground) wrote the Cubs confirmed that their concessionaire Levy Restaurants will still carry the beer.
Confirmed? Uh, not yet:
The Cubs would not confirm this confirmation. "We have yet to announce our food and beverage lineup for the season at Wrigley Field," Cubs vice president of communications Julian Green wrote in an email.
It appears, according to the article, that Old Style will be back on a "limited" basis at Wrigley, sold at some concession stands, but not by vendors in the seats. I can confirm that exact thing is happening right now at Cubs Park in Mesa, after complaints that Old Style wasn't available. It's at some of the stands, but vendors in Mesa sell only Bud, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra.
The Budweiser deal is worth quite a bit of money to the Cubs -- $140 million over 10 years, according to Greenberg -- so you can see why they wanted exclusivity. Granted, this is certainly not the most important issue facing the Chicago Cubs at this time. But given the fact that the beer and the team had a partnership going back 63 years, it's certainly worth noting that it will continue, even if it's on a smaller level. For those of you who like Old Style at Cubs games, it appears you've got a small victory.