The Cubs this season have "not only injected life into ticket sales and television ratings -- but also into the pop-up businesses around Wrigley Field that ride the team's coattails," according to Danny Ecker of CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS. Business "is up this summer for vendors selling knockoff Chicago sports gear" outside Wrigley Field "thanks to the first group of marketable stars on the North Side since the Cubs last made the postseason" in '08. Chi City Sports kiosk President Joshua Soich, who has camped outside the ballpark for the past eight seasons, said, "I wouldn't say it's gotten back to where it was (in 2008), but it's the best time in four years." Cubs 3B Kris Bryant, 1B Anthony Rizzo, RF Jorge Soler and P Jon Lester "have been gold for Soich, whose best-sellers have played off" of them. Sports Fan Trailer Owner Murat Ohlur said that his sales in June were up 30% year-over-year, "bolstered in part by sales of Blackhawks gear in the wake of another Stanley Cup title but mainly from his best-selling" Bryant shirt. However, the Cubs have "been on a quest to rid the area around the ballpark of peddlers, arguing in some cases that they create too much congestion on the streets and sidewalks and, in other cases, that they are infringing on the team's copyrights" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 8/3).
