Rooftop owners sue Cubs over Wrigley Field renovations
Owners of two rooftop businesses overlooking Wrigley Field are suing the Chicago Cubs and owner Tom Ricketts, claiming the team violated terms of its revenue-sharing contract, reports the Chicago Tribune.
In the 58-page lawsuit, investors of the Lakeview Baseball Club and Skybox at Sheffield say the Cubs are also attempting to create a monopoly by fixing ticket prices and violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, which bans restriction of interstate commerce and competition in the marketplace.
The investors also want to block the team’s plans to put up outfield signs. Ricketts and his family bought the Cubs for $845 million in 2009.
The city of Chicago has already given the team permission to build a new video board in left field and to place six advertising signs around the stadium. The additions to Wrigley are part of a $575 million renovation project.
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"Although the rooftop license agreement expressly permitted the Cubs to expand the Wrigley Field bleachers. Under no circumstances were the Cubs permitted to erect windscreens or other barriers to obstruct the views from the rooftop business during the 20-year agreement," the lawsuit says.
The team’s attorney says they will contest the suit.
"Wrigley Field's expansion and renovation is in the best interest of the team, its fans, Major League Baseball and the city of Chicago," Cubs attorney Andrew Kassof said in a statement.
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