The ultimate ending will be the same though.

Pay the rooftop owners to go away. That is what they should have done from the start.

The Cubs could do some pretty cool things if they owned most of the rooftops anyways.

He will claim he was correct when it gets passed even after it goes through a change in substance.

Continuance of a month or two is a slap on the wrist no matter how the Cubs or ignorant Dan want to paint it. While the dates might seem insignificant, it is most likely adding 6+ months to a project they estimated could start in July.

Crane Kenney has said they tried to outright purchase the rooftop seating businesses. I don't know how serious the offers were, of course.

Many that is true, but an incomplete statement.

Aren't the rooftop owners being badly shortsighted? They're gonna be done after this agreement is over if they don't acquiesce to some of the cubs needs. Their business will be gone forever. Why not work with them now so that they don't screw themselves out of viability in 2020 or whenever this current agreement is over?

Aren't the rooftop owners being badly shortsighted? They're gonna be done after this agreement is over if they don't acquiesce to some of the cubs needs. Their business will be gone forever. Why not work with them now so that they don't screw themselves out of viability in 2020 or whenever this current agreement is over?

I am not a legal expert, how many times do I have to say it?

He offered them his Cubs Jersey and Billy Joel tickets

If you hate Laurence, then don't listen - don't comment. When he co-hosts the B&B show, take that day off ... listen to an old podcast of a Bernstein solo show and jerk off all day.

What if the Cubs showed the game on the backside of the giant LED screens that block the rooftop views of Wrigley?

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

With the long delayed Wrigley Field renovation project finally underway and the demolition of the bleachers the first step in a $575 million overhaul of the stadium and surrounding area, the big question is what will happen with the rooftops that have long opposed the stadium renovation plan.

That icy relationship which has long been contentious and had both sides threatening litigation over the past several years may be thawing and could see a number of the rooftop buildings sold to the Ricketts family. Multiple sources have confirmed to me over the past few days that negotiations are going on between the Cubs and several owners of rooftop buildings on both Waveland and Sheffield that border the bleachers in both left and right field. The negotiations, which had been superficial since the Ricketts family purchased the Cubs in October of 2009, heated up recently after the renovation plan received final approval from the City of Chicago.

According a source close to the rooftops, the negotiations have taken on a much friendlier spirit with both sides trying to find a common ground that helps the Ricketts family address their renovation and signage needs, eliminates the threat of litigation for potentially blocking some rooftop views into the ballpark and provides a financial deal that the rooftop owners can find acceptable. “Despite years of acrimonious negotiations and public sniping that has pitted the two sides against one another, things have gotten much better. The Ricketts family has been amazingly fair, and Tom has been a man of his word throughout these latest discussions. He and his brothers and sister want the rooftop owners to get a fair deal, and Tom has been clear in his instructions to the rest of his team that he wants things handled that way. Now what they think is fair and what the rooftop owners think is fair could still end up being two entirely different things but I believe that a deal will get done before Opening Day,” a source with extensive knowledge of the talks told me tonight.

Another source who has worked closely with the rooftops for the past several years confirmed to me tonight that a handful of rooftops are not dealing from the strongest financial position and are looking to get out from under heavy financial pressure that came about from a number of factors. Loans taken to upgrade their buildings, the last place finishes by the Cubs over the past five years and a negative public perception of the rooftop businesses that was generated during the stalled renovation negotiations have all contributed to a willingness to sell their buildings if the Ricketts family offers fair market value. “I believe that a deal will get done with some of the owners of the buildings and it could be done before Opening Day but it will happen if and only if what they are hearing from Tom and Crane Kenney comes to fruition. It appears that there is a middle ground but until contracts are signed nothing is guaranteed to happen,” a rooftop source told me.

It is believed that George Loukas, who is one of the most successful businessmen in Wrigleyville has been negotiating with the Cubs to finalize a sale of at least one of his rooftop buildings. Loukas would not comment when I reached him by phone but multiple sources confirmed to me that he has been in discussions and those talks are closing in on a deal. A handful of other building owners have also reportedly had discussions with the Cubs and those talks are also believed to have moved well beyond the exploratory stage.

... the last place finishes by the Cubs over the past five years and ... have all contributed to a willingness to sell their buildings

Are you stoned or pissed off, or both, when you create these postings?

This could have all been negotiated without any acrimony by a good businessman.

My question is why you would want to buy the rooftops at this point?

This could have all been negotiated without any acrimony by a good businessman.

My question is why you would want to buy the rooftops at this point?

For yet another thing, buying rooftops allows the Cubs to expand the Wrigley Field footprint without actually expanding Wrigley Field. The rooftop seating could more formally be incorporated into “Cubs” seating, and the space within the rooftop buildings could be used for other Cubs purposes – retail space? Official Cubs bars? Cubs museums? And so on.

Allow you to close the streets. Use the buildings for other uses. Use them for Wrigley signage and keep the seating.

I am not a legal expert, how many times do I have to say it?

It's more fun to be a victim

There will never be an effective vaccine. I'll never get one anyway.

Spmack has some rooftop stories for ya.

I am not a legal expert, how many times do I have to say it?

It's more fun to be a victim

There will never be an effective vaccine. I'll never get one anyway.

So I can just close the street in front of my house? This is great news for me.

Do you own the entire block on both sides of the street? If you did, I bet your city would let you close the street when you have events.

Why not just add a couple stories on to each of the rooftop buildings? Wouldn't that solve the obstructed view problems?