Anheuser-Busch InBev Replaces Old Style as Marketing Partner of Chicago Cubs

Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs has announced a new sponsorship deal with Anheuser-Busch InBev that could mean the Budweiser logo on a new sign in the right-field at Wrigley Field.

A team official said Anheuser-Busch InBev will be its “exclusive marketing partner” for beer and malt beverages at Wrigley Field. The deal also applies to the Cubs’ spring training facility in Mesa Ariz.

Cubs officials said in a news release that the agreement means the team is ending its decades-long marketing relationship with Old Style in 2014, meaning signs touting the beer will be removed.

“This was a very difficult decision following a decades-long relationship we enjoyed with this great brand,” the Cubs said of ending its partnership with Old Style. “We will continue to offer Old Style and Old Style Light to our fans for our remaining games.”

The sign is part of a $500 million renovation project at the 99-year-old ballpark approved by the city of Chicago, which includes a massive Jumbotron in left field. 

Terms of the deal with Anheuser-Busch InBev weren’t disclosed. However, Cubs spokesman Julian Green says the new agreement means the Budweiser sign could go up as early as 2014.

“This is the time of year when every baseball team in the league is trying to renew corporate partnerships or go after new partnerships and sell all available assets to raise revenues for their ballclubs,” Green told the Chicago Sun-Times.