http://chicago.suntimes.com/baseball/7/71/276175/rooftop-owners-accuse-cubs-shafting-sign-shift

The Chicago Cubs played hardball with Wrigley Field rooftop owners — blocking the historic ballpark views of owners who refused to sell up, while clearing the sightlines from rooftops the Cubs were able to purchase, a lawsuit filed Thursday alleges.

The latest development in the long-running legal battle over the Cubs’ city-backed stadium improvement plan centers on six new outfield signs. The Cubs say their plans were designed to score a federal tax credit worth up to $75 million.

But the rooftop owners allege the Ricketts family had ulterior motives when it last year asked Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s handpicked Chicago Commission on Landmarks to approve changes to their plan for signs and a jumbotron.

“Instead of substantively modifying the outfield sign plan, the Cubs reconfigured the… signs so as to completely block the views of the Rooftops the Cubs were unable to purchase,” the owners allege in the suit against the City of Chicago.

The new sign arrangement shafts rooftop owners who weren’t willing to sell, but will “restore the views of the Rooftops the Cubs contracted to purchase,” say the owners, who want a Cook County Judge to stop the signs from going up.

Cubs spokesman Julian Green declined to comment on the suit. But city spokesman John Holden said “the suit is without merit and we will move to have it dismissed.”

The Cubs have been accused of bullying rooftop owners ever since the original $375 million stadium improvement plan was approved by the landmark commission in July.

During a meeting last month at which changes to that original plan were approved, Acting Landmarks Commission Chairman Jim Houlihan admonished team officials, warning them not to engage in “bullying tactics.” At the time, Green, the Cubs’ spokesman, denied the charges.

Houlihan said at the time, “The issue was raised as to whether the location of signage was being used in some of the negotiations with the rooftops. It is not directly a part of our review.

“It would be unfortunate if there were bullying tactics being used. And it would be a long-term mistake for the Cubs. The Cubs’ success is, in great part, its relationship to that neighborhood.”

An earlier lawsuit, filed in August, said much the same. It accused the team of using strong-arm tactics to coerce owners into selling their businesses at fire-sale prices.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Have the rooftop owners won anything in these battles? Have they even made progress on their requests?

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

No,

I think you have the 3 guys that owe $36M and are trying anything they can and of course Beth Murphy, whose entire fortune is because of the Cubs, I would think she would just go away, she is the only one with a bar on the street that they want to make into Cub way, she stands to either make more of a fortune or keep fighting and be literally WALLED OFF.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Yeah, I didn't think so.

They should simply be content that they got as fat as they did for as long as they did, making money off of someone else's product.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

I dont know how much some of them made, but I am sure they took some nice checks from the Construction projects of rebuilding them, because $36 mill is a TON of cash for 3 of those buildings! for $2-3$ mill you can build a new one. So the renovation of 3 for $36 mill??? hmmmm

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Fuck 'em.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

They signed a contract. Kinda shitty they lost through a loophole greased with clout.

Glad they made their move and showed the rooftop clan that their place is at the kiddy table.

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Go Cubs!!!!

It sucks, because I'm not on board with this bullshit some of you are selling where we should all kneel before the mighty combine of Rahm and Ricketts, but at least most of the rooftop people got to cash out nicely. The Tribune should have bought the buildings in the first place and saved everyone a lot of trouble.

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Agreed. The Ricketts should be able to do whatever they want until they own every building in Wrigleyville. Next up, the Cubs should crush every bar in the area since they are just making money off the Cubs too.

My guess is that you wouldn't have the same opinion if your company had a contract with another company and the other company used their political clout to break it.

The idea that the rooftops suddenly became this massive problem is hilarious. Cubs fans used to brag about how cool the stadium was and one of the things they would cite would be the unique rooftops that gave it extra character. They got mad when St. Louis dared to put up a rooftop knockoff. Ricketts snaps his fingers and all of a sudden they were simply leeches that should be happy that the city didn't have their building condemned and destroyed by Ricketts and Rahm.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

If you believe a contract was broken, is the first premise. I believe the intent of the contract was that upon the cubs doing construction the deal was off.

Of course, the in house legal idiot may have written a poor contract....been there, had to pay for it. Mayve if the Cubs were as cool as Seacrest and could call their big brother for free legal advice it would never have got to this.

The basis of the construction thought the rooftop owners agreed to was new seats, a second deck, etc...thats what they thought would happen. This is per Crane Kenney, however that isnt in the contract. Well it become a sign, too bad.

This is one the no brainers of all time. The only people I see ever upset about this are Sox fans, C hair and 6 rooftop owners.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

For years you have railed on big companys getting state or city money. This is one of the biggest projects on the N side with no city aid. The rooftop owners were also in financial trouble, well before this happened. Why ? Because they do rely on the Cubs....and to be honest, I think 3 of them are so leveraged, they might not have ever made that money back...it was a bad loan.

In 1989 one of those buldings was for sale for $350,000. I went to see it with my parents. Tried to convince them to buy it. We stood on the rooftop looking into Wrigley and my mom, who kows nothing about sports says 'What if they build a another level or a wall one day?". If it was her first concern, then everyone of those owners should have had the same issue and known the risk.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I think there was an understanding that the landmark commission wasn't going to just give the Cubs a free pass to do whatever they wanted. As I said, 20 years ago the idea of Wrigley Field being filled with advertising was inconceivable. The lack of advertising was something that Cubs fans would brag about! The rooftops gave the whole stadium character and it was one of the things that made Wrigley special. Now, it seems like many think the Cubs would be better off if the rooftops had never even existed and was instead replaced by a Verizon Wireless billboard.

It is one of the more amazing things I've seen. The whole thing got flipped. As a Sox fan who thought Wrigley was pretty cool I think it is an interesting decision to do it, but "more money for Ricketts" is going to be cool too!

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

They're getting city aid. It just isn't in the form of a big TIF check. They're getting all kinds of breaks. They've already been allowed to take over Seminary and now they want Sheffield and will probably get it.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

I can't believe that every single person doesn't see it exactly that way. I may be a Sox fan, but I love going to Wrigley Field. I just don't see how people can simultaneously say how special the place is while cheering for the destruction of everything that makes it special.

But this is all part of the con job. And I know that makes RPB mad, but the only reason that Cub fans are cheering this shit is because they have swallowed the idea that more signs will make the team better. If that were true there are some minor league teams that would be the New York Yankees.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

That was me back in the day. But then I grew up.

I wished they would have moved. Wrigley is a pain in the ass. Going somewhere based on "charm" only lasts so long. Like I told my wife, when the kids go to the Cell for the 1st time that will end our trips to Wrigley.

How can it be that U.S. Cellular is largely maligned and Wrigley so beloved and yet the opinions of most Cub fans on this board seem to hold just the opposite?

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

As I said, Sox fans upset.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

and I dont care about the ad money from a sign, I want to see replays.

The theory that the rooftops people relied upon the Landmark commission to prevent them from doing work? come on....Every building owner in this city with Landmark designation gets to do work as long as they preserve some of the stuff. Most of Old Town does this on a regular basis,.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

If you guys would go to Fenway, you would see what Theo is trying to do. And you'd like it.

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I don't have a horse in this race. As a lifelong Cubs fan and a frequent patron of the rooftops, I am a firm believer that the Cubs benefit from having a stadium in a neighborhood with lots of bars and the rooftops. The entire Wrigley experience is made more enjoyable because of the uniqueness of the going to a Cubs game. I have visited all but three Ntional League stadiums and have yet to find anything that matches a day game at Wrigley. I think Miller Park has a great thing going with tailgating. The area around Coors has become a hotbed in LoDo, and the stadium has tremendous views of the mountains. Citi is great once you're inside and is my favorite stadium design (small intimate feel). A&T has the best chance to kind of replicate Wrigley, and it does not even come close. The rest of the places I have been to are pretty sterile and lack energy. This also includes the Cell and Target Fields.

Every broadcast shows the rooftop patrons and usually comments about those fans. If I was an out of town fan or an uninterested observer, I would think see those camera shots would make one say, "boy it would be neat to go to a game at Wrigley". My point is that both sides benefit from those rooftops, and the Cubs are compensated (now) for ticket sales.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

The landmark designation is stupid if you can literally replace half the building at once with not even a slight resistance.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I have to get there. I am finishing up my National League tour, Nationals this year, and hopefully in four years, I'll start seeing the AL stadiums. I want Wrigley to be upgraded, but I hope the Cubs can retain much of what I enjoy about Wrigley. That includes seeing games from the rooftops. If you have never been to a rooftop during a game, you are missing a great way to see the game and an all you can eat and drink package.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I'm upset as a baseball fan.

And are replays really that important to you? You can watch the game on TV at home if you want. Why go to the event to watch it on TV?

It seems like for a lot of people "convenience" is the value that trumps everything else. Actually, it's probably "security" that people like the most. But security makes things inconvenient, so we just stay at home and tell people we're big football fans.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Rick we are in complete agreement. I still believe this. Hopefully my opinion carries some weight since I have been to hundreds of Cubs games and have seen the Cubs play in nearly every NL stadium.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I like booing. A replay board would greatly assist in deciding whether I should continue booing but even louder.

I'm a lifetime Cub fan and I'm still angry they added lights.

If they were going to whore up the park,it would have been a lot easier to
move to Rosemont,build an exact replica plus build all the extras.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

I've been to a lot of ballparks too and there's no other place like Wrigley, not Fenway, not anywhere. We're lucky to have it in our backyard. The thing is though, you won't know it's ruined until it is and then it will be too late.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Take that!

Though, the idea that calling Wrigley special makes you an angry Sox fan is pretty dumb.

It will be fun to see the donut, coffee, and breakfast sandwich race on the big screen in Wrigley though!

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

This is a great Friday, I am in agreement with Jorr and Brick.

I am ok with substandard bathrooms and poor food choices. I'd rather be at Wrigley on a warm Thursday afternoon than any other stadium in baseball. Miller Park for a Cubs/Brewers game is the only place that even comes close. And I love baseball more than any other sport. Yes, I am a sucker, for God's sakes I am a die hard Cubs fan.

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Hawaii (fuck) You