Crain's reports:
Owners of two rooftops overlooking Wrigley Field seek a temporary
restraining order to prevent the Chicago Cubs from installing planned
video boards and advertising signs. It's the latest volley in a string
of legal tussles between the two sides.
Lawyer Tom Lombardo of
Park Ridge-based firm Di Monte & Lizak filed the motion today in
federal court, asking the court to issue a temporary restraining order
to halt the construction of signage that his clients—owners of rooftops
at 3627 and 3633 N. Sheffield Ave.—believe will illegally block their
views of baseball games.
The same group of owners, led by Ed McCarthy and also including Mark Schlenker and Marc Hamid, sued in January the Cubs and owner Tom Ricketts in federal court, accusing them of
attempted monopolization in violation of the Sherman Act, breach of
contract, defamation, consumer fraud and deceptive practices.
The
legal maneuver is the motion asking the judge, Virginia Kendall, to
issue a short-term restraining order until the court ultimately decides
whether to issue a preliminary injunction—a step that would halt
construction of the signs until the lawsuit is resolved. A notice for a hearing on February 18, 2015 was filed by Plaintiffs.
This lawsuit is different than the rooftop owners suit against the City for violation of its own landmark ordinance and procedural due process concerns. This lawsuit did not include the Cubs, which would have brought in the argument of whether the Cubs are breaching their revenue sharing contract with its Wrigley expansion.
If the injunction is granted, it would be another black eye in the Ricketts construction plans. The current bleacher work is well behind schedule. It will not be completed until mid-May. So much so the vaulted Opening Night debut on National television will show an outfield construction site and not the iconic, ivy covered bleachers. The Cubs still had hoped that the 3,990-square-foot video
board planned for left center field is slated to be ready by April 5th, while a 2,100-square-foot video board in right field—the one
that may block the views of the rooftops that are suing the team—is not
scheduled to be done until May. An injunction would stop the progress of the outfield construction, which will impact the bleacher season ticket holders who have been forced to relocate while this construction is in progress.
There are more concerns being raised outside the organization about the manner in which Ricketts and his team is managing these projects and caretaking of Wrigley Field. The new announcement of an AC/DC concert three days before a Cubs home stand has many baseball fans concerned that the grass will be like the bad Soldier Field turf, unplayable. Also, the neighbors have yet to have a full blown rock concert in their neighborhood - - - most concert acts have been middle of the road pop or country. Hard rock shows bring in a different type of concert goer; louder and younger.
Also, the slow pace for the first phase of the construction has people concerned that the real big projects to come in the next three off-seasons (the clubhouse-dugout reconfigurations and the upper deck changes) will not be ready before the Cubs play the opening games. Long time fans think that the Cubs are getting second class treatment as the owners continue to press for more non-baseball activities at Wrigley. The Wrigley baseball experience is taking a back seat to a new entertainment revenue agenda.
