Cubs vs. Rooftop Owners
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1706351&type=story
retrieved 2-6-2004
Team to receive portion of rooftop revenue
Monday, January 12, 2004
ESPN.com news services
The cost of tradition just got more expensive, at least for the owners
of the rooftop grandstands surrounding Wrigley Field.
The Chicago Cubs and owners of the famous building-top seats have come
to a 20-year agreement that would require the owners to pay the team millions
of dollars each year, the Chicago Tribune reported in Monday's editions.
The owners of 11 buildings will pay the Cubs 17 percent of their gross
revenue, which, with approximately 1,700 rooftop seats, could cost owners
more than $2 million a year, Alderman Thomas Tunney of the 44th Ward told
The Tribune.
The settlement stems from a December 2002 lawsuit brought against the
owners by the Cubs after the team's plans to expand the bleacher sections
in Wrigley Field failed. The team accused the owners of stealing the team's
product, copyright infringement and unjust enrichment at the Cubs' expense.
Owners of two of the buildings have not agreed to the settlement and
plan to fight the agreement in court.
The owners and team officials have not yet signed the agreement, and
the settlement must receive court approval before it can take effect.
That could be as early as this season, The Tribune reported.
"This issue is really between two successful businesses and I'm
glad they can reach an agreement out of court," said Tunney, whose
ward includes the ballpark.
While the settlement does not affect the team's continuing wish to add
about 2,000 bleacher seats at Wrigley, the rooftop owners argue that by
taking a cut of the profits from each seat, the Cubs in effect get their
expansion, a source familiar with the rooftop owners' side told The Tribune.
"This deal does not mean we are letting down our opposition to an
expansion or that it paves the way for an expansion. Our view is, with
this agreement, the Cubs have gotten their expansion," the source
told the newspaper.
Another source close to negotiations said: "It's an amazing deal
for the Cubs. They are just handed $2 million for doing nothing."
Tunney told The Tribune that if the Wrigley bleacher expansion is completed
in the next eight years, according to the agreement, the Cubs would have
to compensate those rooftop owners whose views were obstructed.
According to the report, lawyers for both sides reached the agreement
after 12 hours of negotiations on Friday, which included settlement offers
from both the Cubs and rooftop owners.
The owners' first offer was to collectively pay the Cubs $300,000 a year
for 50 years, but the Cubs responded with a counteroffer in which the
owners would owe the team 20 percent of the annual rooftop revenue over
10 years, the paper reported.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-0401300019jan30,1,632358.story?coll=cs-cubs-headlines
retrieved 2-6-2004
Rooftop owners and Cubs OK deal
But 3 still plan for March trial
January 30, 2004
By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter
After prolonged and sometimes acrimonious negotiations, the Chicago Cubs
and owners of 10 of 13 rooftop businesses bordering Wrigley Field have
reached a formal agreement settling their long-running legal dispute.
Representatives of both sides declined to outline details of the accord,
but Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th), whose ward includes Wrigley, said Thursday
that it follows the general terms of a tentative 20-year agreement reached
with the help of a federal judge on Jan. 9.
The rooftop owners will pay about 17 percent of their revenue for legal
access to the games, Tunney said. The owners could be compensated during
the early years of the agreement if the views of their patrons were hindered
by any alteration to the ballpark, including a proposed expansion of Wrigley's
bleachers.
"These are two successful businesses and they're [now] going to
do some joint marketing," Tunney said. "I am glad they are working
together after being adversarial for so many years. I'm glad they were
able to figure out revenue sharing."
The Cubs are expected to receive roughly $1.2 million to $1.7 million
a year.
"We look forward to a long and productive partnership," said
Cubs President Andy MacPhail.
But MacPhail said the team will pursue its suit against the three rooftop
owners who are not part of the settlement. Those businesses are at 1038
W. Waveland Ave., 3633 N. Sheffield Ave. and 3637 N. Sheffield.
"While a negotiated settlement is always preferable, if there is
no other option, we are prepared to follow through with the litigation,"
MacPhail said.
Chris Gair, attorney for the owners, said his three remaining clients
plan to go to trial on March 2.
"We are not going to be bullied by the Tribune Co. or the Chicago
Cubs Inc.," he said. "We are completely confident in our position.
The Cubs don't own the view from our buildings. We own the view from our
buildings."
The Cubs are owned by Tribune Co., which also owns the Chicago Tribune.
The ballclub filed suit against the rooftop owners in U.S. District Court
in late 2002 after months of negotiations. The team charged that the business
owners stole its product and infringed on its copyright to "unjustly
enrich themselves to the tune of millions of dollars each year."
Cubs officials estimated that the owners grossed $8 million to $10 million
annually when the team was spending nearly $80 million in player salaries
and millions of dollars more to operate and maintain Wrigley and finance
baseball operations.
The copyright allegation centered on the owners' use of Cubs telecasts
to help rooftop patrons follow the action on the field.
In the weeks before the suit was filed, the owners had offered to pay
the Cubs $1 million a year. Team officials countered with a $3 million
proposal.
Before that, the owners campaigned against any bleachers expansion, and
team officials installed windscreens designed to impair the view of the
field from rooftop seats.
Copyright © 2004, The
Chicago Tribune
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1723279
retrieved 2-6-2004
Owners to pay 17 percent of revenue
Friday, January 30, 2004
Associated Press
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs finalized a deal to end their dispute with
most of the owners of rooftop bleachers that overlook Wrigley Field.
The deal generally follows a tentative 20-year agreement reached earlier
this month with the help of U.S. Magistrate Judge Sidney Schenkier, according
to Alderman Thomas Tunney, whose ward includes Wrigley Field, and Beth
Murphy, who owns a rooftop bleacher business.
The rooftop business owners agreed to pay the team about 17 percent
of their revenue -- expected to bring the Cubs between $1.2 million to
$1.7 million a year. The agreement also includes provisions for the owners
to be reimbursed if their views are hindered by ballpark alterations,
including a proposed expansion of Wrigley's bleachers.
The deal was signed Tuesday by the Cubs and owners of 10 of the 13 rooftop
businesses the team had sued, Murphy said. She owns Murphy's Bleachers
-- a tavern just beyond the center-field wall -- and a rooftop site down
the street.
"I am delighted that we reached a settlement. That we reached it
this way instead of in court means that there will be more goodwill on
either side," she said. "To have an acrimonious relationship
with the Cubs isn't good for the neighborhood or for us."
The Cubs referred questions to Mark McGuire, the team's executive vice
president of business operations. He did not immediately return calls
for comment Friday.
The dispute started when the Cubs began arguing with the rooftop owners
over plans to expand the stadium, with the rooftop owners fearing their
views would be obstructed. In December 2002, the Cubs sued the rooftop
owners, accusing them of stealing the team's product, copyright infringement
and unjust enrichment at the Cubs' expense.
The team also temporarily hung dark screens on the outfield fences to
try to prevent free peeks at the field.
Cubs president Andy MacPhail told the Chicago Tribune in a story published
Friday that the team will pursue its lawsuit against the three rooftop
owners who were not part of the settlement.
"We are completely confident in our position," said Chris
Gair, a lawyer for the three owners. "The Cubs don't own the view
from our buildings. We own the view from our buildings."
Skybox: we'll 'never pay anything' to Cubs
Sunday, March 21, 2004
Associated Press
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs plan to block the view of Wrigley Field from
the only rooftop that has not agreed to share revenues with the team.
Cubs President Andy MacPhail would not say how the Cubs would block the
baseball field's view from Skybox on Waveland.
Twelve of the thirteen rooftop business that overlook Wrigley have agreed
to share revenues after disputing with the team for years. Skybox has
not agreed.
Skybox's attorney Chris Gair says the 125-seat rooftop will "never
pay anything" to the Cubs.
Alderman Tom Tunney says the Cubs need to continue to build goodwill in
the community and blocking Skybox's view does not help.
But George Loukas of the Wrigleyville Rooftop Owners Association says
the other rooftop owners will not feel sorry for Skybox if its view is
blocked.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-040407cubsrooftop,1,5466243.story?coll=cs-cubs-headlines
Rooftop holdout fights for view
April 8, 2004
By John Bebow
Tribune staff reporter
Four days before the Cubs' home opener, the last holdout rooftop business
near Wrigley Field will be asking a federal judge to prevent the Cubs
from blocking the view of spectators at Skybox on Waveland.
And the company, at 1038 W. Waveland Ave., wants U.S. District Judge
James Holderman to go forward with a trial in the stadium-view lawsuit
Monday, the same day as the Cubs' home opener. Holderman will hear arguments
from both sides Thursday morning.
Cubs' attorneys, in court papers Wednesday, reiterated intentions to
block the views of Skybox on Waveland patrons, who watch the game from
rooftop seats behind the left-field foul pole, 460 feet from home plate.
"The Cubs have tested various designs," team attorney John
McCambridge said. "The Cubs intend to employ one of them, beginning
on Opening Day, to block Skybox on Waveland's view."
The Cubs and a dozen other rooftop businesses recently settled their
2-year-old fight over ballpark views. The unspecified view-blocking schemes
have caused tensions to flare between the team and Skybox on Waveland,
which has vowed to never pay the Cubs.
Skybox on Waveland attorney Chris Gair argued that an immediate trial
would stop the Cubs from employing a stall tactic aimed at putting the
company out of business.
"Recognizing that the lawsuit is likely to fail, and thus has no
coercive power, the Cubs are now happy to put it off until after they
can win outside the courtroom," Gair said in court papers.
McCambridge countered that Skybox on Waveland shouldn't get a free view
because all its competitors have agreed to pay more than $1 million per
year. He also noted previous testimony in which Skybox on Waveland said
it would continue to operate even if the Cubs didn't play games at Wrigley
Field "because it sells a 'different product' than the Cubs, which
is more akin to a 'golf outing' or 'renting a boat or a yacht on Lake
Michigan.'"
The Cubs are owned by Tribune Co., which also owns the Chicago Tribune.
Workers at other rooftop businesses said they have watched the baseball
club try large balloons and erecting scaffolding near the left-field foul
pole in recent days.
"I don't see how they're going to do it without blocking everyone
else's view," said Bill Murphy, who was painting a neighboring rooftop
business Wednesday.
Copyright © 2004, The
Chicago Tribune
Cubs, holdout rooftop business reach deal
April 8, 2004
AP
CHICAGO (AP) The Chicago Cubs and a holdout rooftop business settled
a federal lawsuit Thursday after the team had reiterated its plans to
block the business' view of Wrigley Field starting with Monday's home
opener.
Chris Gair, attorney for Skybox on Waveland, said Thursday night he
could not disclose details of the settlement.
"There's going to be baseball on Monday," he said.
Twelve of the 13 rooftop businesses that overlook the baseball stadium
had already agreed to share revenues with the team after fighting with
the Cubs for years. Skybox on Waveland was the last remaining defendant
in the lawsuit.
The dispute between the rooftops and the Cubs started when the team began
arguing with the rooftop owners over plans to expand the stadium. The
rooftop owners feared their views of Wrigley would be blocked.
In December 2002, the Cubs sued the rooftop owners, accusing them of
stealing the team's product, copyright infringement and unjust enrichment
at the Cubs' expense.
The team also temporarily hung dark screens on the outfield fences to
try to prevent free peeks at the field.
The majority of rooftop owners agreed to pay about 17 percent of their
revenues to the team in the deal struck earlier this year.
A telephone message left for a Cubs spokeswoman was not immediately returned
Thursday night.
On Wednesday, team attorneys said in court papers that they were ready
to block Skybox on Waveland's view.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2004, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
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