Two Wrigley rooftop businesses in court yesterday said that "bankruptcy is possible, as is foreclosure on their buildings," should the Cubs' new right field videoboard block views into the ballpark, according to Jared Hopkins of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. But Cubs attorney Andrew Kassof told U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall that the two businesses, Skybox on Sheffield and Lakeview Baseball Club, "are in position to 'weather the storm' should the businesses face any financial duress after signs are installed." Cubs attorneys "want the rooftops to reveal more financial details to show that the entities aren't as desperate for cash as they claim" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/24). Attorney Tom Lombardo, who represents the rooftop owners, said of the impact of the videoboard on his clients' finances, "We're dead. We are out of business. We are insolvent. We are destroyed." However, Kassof said that the rooftop owners’ contract with the Cubs "allows for expansion" at the ballpark. In Chicago, Dudek & Seidel note Kendall "promised a ruling 'as quickly as possible.'” Kendall last month "denied the rooftop owners an emergency injunction that would have halted work at Wrigley Field." She vowed at the time to "have the matter cleared up" before Opening Day (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/24).
BLAME GAME: In Chicago, Paul Sullivan notes season-ticket holders in the bleacher seats at Wrigley Field "are temporarily without a home, and some blame the Cubs for catering to a younger crowd that drinks more and pays more attention to its smartphones than the game itself." The bleachers "have been gutted this offseason to add lucrative patio sections, two jumbo-sized video boards and advertising signage." The Cubs "insist the left-field bleachers will be ready by May 11, with the right-field bleachers slated to open sometime in June." Bleacher season-ticket holders "were offered refunds, down payments on next year's tickets or relocation to seats in the 'bowl' area, which some found lacking." Donna Wakefield, who has had season tickets in the bleachers for 18 years, said, "That's really how (the Rickettses) see the bleachers. They forget there is a group of us who've sat there 20, 30, 40 years who pay attention to the game, keep score and sit there because we feel it's the best view" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/24).
