Federal judge nixes TRO on new Chicago Cubs signs sought by rooftop seating companies
A federal judge has declined to issue an injunction on behalf of operators of rooftop bleachers on buildings adjacent to Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
Several contended in a lawsuit filed last month against the team owners and chairman Thomas Ricketts that their renovation of Wrigley Field and purchase of other nearby buildings offering rooftop views of baseball games is intended to squeeze out rooftop seating operators who refused to cooperate in ticket price-fixing efforts, the Chicago Tribune reported in January.
However, U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall ruled Thursday that proof of irreparable harm was insufficient to justify the temporary restraining order sought by Skybox and the Lakeview Baseball Club to prevent the installation of new signs and lighting, the Chicago Tribune reported today. An earlier Chicago Sun-Times story provides additional details.
At issue Thursday was language in a 2004 licensing contract between the Cubs owners and rooftop operations. In exchange for a 17-percent share of the earnings from seating outside the ballpark, the Cubs agreed to allow adjacent buildings an unobstructed view during the 20-year term of the agreement, lawyers for the plaintiffs say.
However, attorneys for the Cubs dispute that. They say the outfield signs at issue do not fall within a contractual prohibition of “windscreens or other barriers” but instead are expressly permitted as part of an expansion of Wrigley Field anticipated in the 2004 agreement.
Another Chicago Tribune article explains how signs and lighting being installed as part of the renovation project are expected to affect specific properties adjacent to Wrigley Field.
