CHICAGO – As the baseball season began, Chicago buzzed about plans to upgrade wilting Wrigley Field. Then word spread that the patriarch of the family that owns the Cubs considered bankrolling a $10 million racially tinged campaign against President Barack Obama, at the same time the team sought his hometown’s help with its $300 million renovation.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the president’s friend and former chief of staff, since has refused to negotiate financing or take phone calls from the Cubs chairman. A best-selling author took to the Internet to vow never to step foot in Wrigley again.

Now fans are left wondering whether the complicated financial deals and presidential politics mean the team’s owners will have to put more money into the stadium, and less into building a winning ballclub.