Wrigley Rooftop Owner In Dispute With Cubs Over Obstruction

Cubs May Obstruct View From Lakeview Baseball Club If '08 Payment Not Made

Lakeview Baseball Club (LBC) Owner Anthony Racky is "withholding 2008 profit-sharing payments from the Cubs to protest a Jumbotron that Racky says blocked half his view during" the Red Wings-Blackhawks Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day, according to Fran Spielman of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. The LBC "sold out for the game," and LBC attorney Paul Bach said that fans "who had trouble seeing the rink would be given a future discount or 'freebie.'" Racky "wants the Cubs to pay for" the discount, and he "also wants the Cubs to promise there won't be any future obstructions." Bach said that "until those things happen" the '08 payment "would be withheld." Profit-sharing payments for '08 were due by the end of the year, and Racky "was the only one of 17 rooftop club owners to withhold payment." Spielman notes the Cubs in the past have issued the "threat of visual obstructions" that would block rooftop fans' view of Wrigley Field if payments have not been made. Sources said that the team "would have no choice but to put up decorative banners or some other form of obstruction to block Racky's mid-block view if he hasn't paid up by opening day" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 2/17).