Wrigley Rooftop Owners Want Their Two Cents In Wrigley Renovation
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 15, 2012 5:45PM
The owners of rooftop clubs surrounding Wrigley Field want to have some say in the renovation plans for the ballpark. (We thought they already had an alderman to convey their interests to the Cubs.)
Murphy's Rooftop owner Beth Murphy told NBC 5 she and other rooftop club owners have concerns over possible obstructions like Jumbotron screens and advertising which could obscure views into the Friendly Confines and lead to declining business.
"The rooftops are part of what makes Wrigley Field different from other ballparks," said Murphy. Well, that and the ability of a 20-win team to draw over 124,000 people to Wrigley Field for a midweek series.
Ten percent of all the campaign cash Tunney's raised since he first became an alderman nine years ago has come from rooftop owners, and he received campaign contributions from rooftop clubs a week before he went public with his opposition to Mayor Emanuel's plan to relax Wrigley Field's landmark status so the Cubs can leverage advertising revenue and sponsorship opportunities they could use to fund the renovations. As we noted then, it isn't the amount of cash Tunney's raised as much as it is the percentage from a specific lobby that has us concerned.
Murphy is right, of course, to be looking out for her best interests and those of the other rooftop club owners. She told NBC 5 she paid $3.5 million to the Cubs last year as part of the revenue sharing deal the team has with the rooftop clubs. But not all of the clubs are doing well. Some of them have been struggling as both the Cubs and the economy have struggled. The Lakeview Baseball Club building, best known for having the "Eamus Catuli" sign, went into foreclosure in 2010. Others have had a hard time convincing corporate clients to pay as much as $30,000 to watch a team that's in a rebuilding phase and reported 20 percent lower revenues in 2010.
Rooftop club owners had a contentious relationship with the Cubs during Tribune Co.'s time owning the team; Tribune Co. once famously tried to obscure the view from the rooftops with netting and balloons. The Ricketts family, for what its worth, has seemed slightly more agreeable to recognizing the concerns of rooftop owners. Team spokesman Julian Green said restricting their ability to hang advertising so that rooftop owners have clear views makes it harder for them to generate revenue. Green also said it's the Cubs belief that rooftop clubs should provide parking for its guests.