CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago Cubs don’t have to stop construction on a Wrigley Field video board that will block game views of adjacent rooftop clubs in the urban neighborhood, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
The ruling means both that the right-field sign could be operational soon and that the Cubs’ $375 million renovation of the century-old ballpark – which the teams sees as central to its future success – remains on track.
Skybox on Sheffield and Lakeview Baseball Club requested the preliminary injunction until a wide-ranging lawsuit is resolved, saying allowing the sign to go up will kill their businesses. The rooftop owners say a 2004 revenue-sharing agreement with the Cubs prevents the team from obstructing views. They hoped the judge would issue an order in their favor before the Cubs’ first home game, this Sunday.
But in a 35-page opinion laden with baseball puns, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall wrote that the rooftops “have cried foul” but haven’t demonstrated their businesses would, in fact, go under for good if the Cubs weren’t stopped immediately from erecting the video board.
“Without these showings, the Court does not find that the Rooftops will suffer irreparable harm or that money damages would not make them whole,” she wrote.