Monday, March 22, 2004
Cubs Plan Surprise for Rooftop Club
Twelve of the thirteen rooftop clubs across from Wrigley Field have signed a revenue-sharing agreement with the Cubs: in return for the Cubs not blocking their views of the field, they will pay the club 17% of their revenues for the next 20 years.
The 13th, "Skybox on Waveland," is located right down the third base line. The Cubs have hired lighting and scenery experts to find a way to screen that property's view without affecting the others. A copyright infringement case brought by the club (a really weak claim, by the way) is also scheduled to come to trial soon. One Cubs insider explained the move:
"We have 12 partners who are compensating us for selling tickets to our games and one that isn't. Carrots for the 12. A stick for No. 13."
Jonathan Arnold, the building owner quoted in this Chicago Sun-Times story, was head of the University of Chicago College Republicans in 1980. That fall he plastered our dorm corridor with cardboard Reagan-Bush posters -- posters conveniently sized so that with one slight bend in the middle, they fit perfectly in the urinals. He didn't believe me when I said I only wanted to make his heroes more visible to residents.
Jonathan called a couple of months ago to talk about this dispute. As he remains the sort who believes that George W. Bush's dangerously liberal economic policies are stifling Americans' freedom, he's not inclined to compromise. He also pointed out that his rooftop's not hurting the Cubs: it's marketed to corporate and other group outings that Wrigley can't accommodate.
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Twelve of the thirteen rooftop clubs across from Wrigley Field have signed a revenue-sharing agreement with the Cubs: in return for the Cubs not blocking their views of the field, they will pay the club 17% of their revenues for the next 20 years.
The 13th, "Skybox on Waveland," is located right down the third base line. The Cubs have hired lighting and scenery experts to find a way to screen that property's view without affecting the others. A copyright infringement case brought by the club (a really weak claim, by the way) is also scheduled to come to trial soon. One Cubs insider explained the move:
"We have 12 partners who are compensating us for selling tickets to our games and one that isn't. Carrots for the 12. A stick for No. 13."
Jonathan Arnold, the building owner quoted in this Chicago Sun-Times story, was head of the University of Chicago College Republicans in 1980. That fall he plastered our dorm corridor with cardboard Reagan-Bush posters -- posters conveniently sized so that with one slight bend in the middle, they fit perfectly in the urinals. He didn't believe me when I said I only wanted to make his heroes more visible to residents.
Jonathan called a couple of months ago to talk about this dispute. As he remains the sort who believes that George W. Bush's dangerously liberal economic policies are stifling Americans' freedom, he's not inclined to compromise. He also pointed out that his rooftop's not hurting the Cubs: it's marketed to corporate and other group outings that Wrigley can't accommodate.
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