Rooftop Ruckus Settled

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 27, 2009 2:40PM

With the Cubs' home opener a hair over two weeks away, it looks like things are finally being settled in a feud between a rooftop owner and the team. Anthony Racky, who owns Lakeview Baseball Club (3633 N. Sheffield), had been refusing to pay his 2008 profit share to the team out of protest of a jumbotron that was constructed at the stadium for this year's NHL Winter Classic. Rackey claimed the jumbotron blocked the view of the field (er...rink) from his rooftop. He wanted to offer his customers a free ball game or some other kind of discount and wanted the Cubs to pay for it. The Cubs called "bullshit" and threatened to block Racky's view if he didn't pay up, especially since he was the only rooftop owner who didn't make the 2008 payment.

But now, Racky has backed down. And not only will he have to pay the 2008 payment, but he'll also be reimbursing the Cubs for legal fees stemming from the breach of contract lawsuit the team filed against him in federal court. Ouch. After the agreement, Racky's attorney, Paul Bauch, said:

We didn't want to take the risk. The business is premised on being able to watch the game. Even having the threat or perception [of an obstruction] would not be good for business...When they put up the windscreens in '02, they were not very effective...They possibly could have devised something more effective. But we didn't want to take the chance. There's also a value in not being at war with people in the neighborhood. These businesses are codependent.

The Cubs' vice president of community relations, Mike Lufrano, said, "We were looking at lots of options. But we always said we hoped it didn't come to anything like that. The partnership since 2004 has benefitted the Cubs and the rooftops. I'm glad it's going to continue." And in case you were wondering, the Cubs' home opener is Monday April 13 at 1:20 p.m. against the Colorado Rockies. [Sun-Times]