Hope is always eternal for a Chicago Cubs fan. We always have to “Wait till next year.”

Today’s opening day holds more promise because the Tribune Company has opened its coffers and unloaded $300 million to upgrade a team who lost 96 games last year.

Without their two prize pitchers, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, the Cubs left Arizona spring training camp with a club and new manager that promise to make summer fun again at Wrigley Field.

So on this opening day the news is real estate tycoon Sam Zell has purchased the Tribune Company. Zell owns a small share in the hated Chicago White Sox and cannot own a share in another major league baseball team so something has to give.

Zell has stated he is interested in the newspaper and broadcasting business, this may not bode well for the Cubs, depending if they are sold and to whom. The Tribune Company made the following statement as part of their sale announcement:

Separately, Tribune announced that following the 2007 baseball season, it will sell the Chicago Cubs and the company’s 25% interest in Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The sale of the Cubs is subject to the approval of Major League Baseball, and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007. Proceeds will be used to pay down debt.

“The Cubs have been an important part of Tribune for more than 25 years and are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports,” said Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune chairman, president and chief executive officer. “In our last season of ownership, the team has one mission, and that is to win for our great fans.”

So after purchasing the Cubs from the Wrigley family in 1981 they finally coughed up money to put a winner on the field. We suppose this was not so much about winning long-term then to prop the team up in its final year of ownership.

The Tribune wants to win, just not for the fans. If their statements were true they would have put a long-term winner on the field consistently in the last 25 years. What they’ve accomplished is placing signage in the storied ballpark and put the beloved team on the market.

Attendance has soared in recent years, setting a record of 3,170,184 fans in 2004. Total attendance again surpassed 3 million in 2005 and 2006. This is with a losing team because Wrigley Field is the place to watch baseball.

New stadiums have opened recently, with “red brick” to imitate the “Friendly Confines” of Wrigley Field. We hope new ownership will remember the Cubs and Wrigley Field go hand in hand. In many cases so does losing but this can change as we’ve had short-term glimpses at victory.

“This transition will not impact our on-field performance,” said John McDonough, Cubs president and chief executive officer. “We expect to compete and win — our goal of bringing a World Series championship to Cubs fans everywhere hasn’t changed.”

Spring is in the air and Cubs fans have high hopes. Unfortunately the unknown future of their beloved team and ballpark hang in the balance. Being a Cub fan is difficult and this year’s victories could be bittersweet. We will hope for more than a World Series this year, we will hope to keep a storied baseball franchise and ballpark together in Chicago for years to come.