Cubs to block rooftop views again?

[C.C.]

How much does it cost to even sit on one of the rooftops on average?

 

hundreds, though generally they don't offer single tickets. the cost is in the thousands to rent the rooftop for one game

 

It typically rented out to Corps. at around 120 a head. You figure they can typically squeeze about 75 (guessing) people on average, you're talking about 10 grand a game.

 

yup, sometimes more. So you're talking about $800,000 per rooftop per season, not including what they make off off of food. I'm sure multiple rooftops are owned by the same people

 

Do they own/sublet the apartments too? Or are those things gutted out and just used for entertaining fans?

 

I think some of the rooftops people still live in the lower levels. I think.

[C.C.]

yeah, i don't think this owner is going to get any sympathy. he's profiting from someone else's product.

 

 

Aren't the bars in the area also profiting from someone else's product?

 

oh come on, you're smarter than that.

 

It depends on how you consider profiting. I'm sure some good lawyer would try to prove this.

 

Prove what? That the bars are profiting from the Cubs? You can also say the Cubs are profiting from the bars or the scene they created, well before it became hip to party there.

[Derwood]

yeah, i don't think this owner is going to get any sympathy. he's profiting from someone else's product.

 

 

Aren't the bars in the area also profiting from someone else's product?

 

oh come on, you're smarter than that.

 

It depends on how you consider profiting. I'm sure some good lawyer would try to prove this.

 

there is a huge difference between taking advantage of a tourist attraction next door and charging people to see something that normally requires paid attendance. Would Tinley Park allow me to build a residential building close enough to the Tweeter Center such that my rooftop has an unimpeded view of all the concerts? Could I then charge people admission to my rooftop to see the concerts? I don't think that would fly

[Peoriaman]

I am 100% on the Cubs' side on this one

 

me too.

[Derwood]

it's amazing how fast this rooftop commerce has escalated. When I was in undergrad ('92-'96), the only people you saw on those rooftops were the residents of the building. on a nice day you might see 2 or 3 guys sitting around a hibachi, grilling up burgers and drinking cheap beer.

[Jon]

The last time I checked, you could buy individual tickets to at least two different rooftops through StubHub now.

[Soul]

it's amazing how fast this rooftop commerce has escalated. When I was in undergrad ('92-'96), the only people you saw on those rooftops were the residents of the building. on a nice day you might see 2 or 3 guys sitting around a hibachi, grilling up burgers and drinking cheap beer.

 

It's amazing how the entire Wrigley thing has escalated. I remember going to Cubs games with my Dad and half the ballpark was empty........on the weekend, no less.

[C.C.]

it's amazing how fast this rooftop commerce has escalated. When I was in undergrad ('92-'96), the only people you saw on those rooftops were the residents of the building. on a nice day you might see 2 or 3 guys sitting around a hibachi, grilling up burgers and drinking cheap beer.

 

It's amazing how the entire Wrigley thing has escalated. I remember going to Cubs games with my Dad and half the ballpark was empty........on the weekend, no less.

 

It all changed in 1984.

[C.C.]

The last time I checked, you could buy individual tickets to at least two different rooftops through StubHub now.

 

True.

[Soul]

it's amazing how fast this rooftop commerce has escalated. When I was in undergrad ('92-'96), the only people you saw on those rooftops were the residents of the building. on a nice day you might see 2 or 3 guys sitting around a hibachi, grilling up burgers and drinking cheap beer.

 

It's amazing how the entire Wrigley thing has escalated. I remember going to Cubs games with my Dad and half the ballpark was empty........on the weekend, no less.

 

It all changed in 1984.

 

It certainly did.

[jersey cubs fan]

it's amazing how fast this rooftop commerce has escalated. When I was in undergrad ('92-'96), the only people you saw on those rooftops were the residents of the building. on a nice day you might see 2 or 3 guys sitting around a hibachi, grilling up burgers and drinking cheap beer.

 

It's amazing how the entire Wrigley thing has escalated. I remember going to Cubs games with my Dad and half the ballpark was empty........on the weekend, no less.

 

It all changed in 1984.

 

Not really. It was really easy to get face value tickets from 85-98. By the end of 98, tickets were hard to get. 98 changed everything.

 

The disaster of 99/00 eased some of the demand, but by then people were hooked and preseason sellouts were the norm. 2003 solidified it and now it'll take a lot to deflate that demand.

[Derwood]

yeah, it was all 1998. during college, you could walk up on a Saturday afternoon Cardinals game and get seats

[Soul]

it's amazing how fast this rooftop commerce has escalated. When I was in undergrad ('92-'96), the only people you saw on those rooftops were the residents of the building. on a nice day you might see 2 or 3 guys sitting around a hibachi, grilling up burgers and drinking cheap beer.

 

It's amazing how the entire Wrigley thing has escalated. I remember going to Cubs games with my Dad and half the ballpark was empty........on the weekend, no less.

 

It all changed in 1984.

 

Not really. It was really easy to get face value tickets from 85-98. By the end of 98, tickets were hard to get. 98 changed everything.

 

The disaster of 99/00 eased some of the demand, but by then people were hooked and preseason sellouts were the norm. 2003 solidified it and now it'll take a lot to deflate that demand.

 

Well it changed everything for me as a Cub fan. In '84, I went from being a Cub fan resigned to just watching a loser forever, to a Cub fan who was going to get his head chopped off the block actually hoping for a winner. It became a much more tragic, highly-charged experience.

[C.C.]

it's amazing how fast this rooftop commerce has escalated. When I was in undergrad ('92-'96), the only people you saw on those rooftops were the residents of the building. on a nice day you might see 2 or 3 guys sitting around a hibachi, grilling up burgers and drinking cheap beer.

 

It's amazing how the entire Wrigley thing has escalated. I remember going to Cubs games with my Dad and half the ballpark was empty........on the weekend, no less.

 

It all changed in 1984.

 

Not really. It was really easy to get face value tickets from 85-98. By the end of 98, tickets were hard to get. 98 changed everything.

 

The disaster of 99/00 eased some of the demand, but by then people were hooked and preseason sellouts were the norm. 2003 solidified it and now it'll take a lot to deflate that demand.

 

Well it changed everything for me as a Cub fan. In '84, I went from being a Cub fan resigned to just watching a loser forever, to a Cub fan who was going to get his head chopped off the block actually hoping for a winner. It became a much more tragic, highly-charged experience.

 

Agreed. 1984 proved we can at least get to the playoffs.

[C.C.]

it's amazing how fast this rooftop commerce has escalated. When I was in undergrad ('92-'96), the only people you saw on those rooftops were the residents of the building. on a nice day you might see 2 or 3 guys sitting around a hibachi, grilling up burgers and drinking cheap beer.

 

It's amazing how the entire Wrigley thing has escalated. I remember going to Cubs games with my Dad and half the ballpark was empty........on the weekend, no less.

 

It all changed in 1984.

 

Not really. It was really easy to get face value tickets from 85-98. By the end of 98, tickets were hard to get. 98 changed everything.

 

The disaster of 99/00 eased some of the demand, but by then people were hooked and preseason sellouts were the norm. 2003 solidified it and now it'll take a lot to deflate that demand.

 

1984 was the first time we reached 2 million in attendance, and every year after that (except for 3) we reached 2 million and beyond...So 1984 was a milestone.

[jersey cubs fan]

it's amazing how fast this rooftop commerce has escalated. When I was in undergrad ('92-'96), the only people you saw on those rooftops were the residents of the building. on a nice day you might see 2 or 3 guys sitting around a hibachi, grilling up burgers and drinking cheap beer.

 

It's amazing how the entire Wrigley thing has escalated. I remember going to Cubs games with my Dad and half the ballpark was empty........on the weekend, no less.

 

It all changed in 1984.

 

Not really. It was really easy to get face value tickets from 85-98. By the end of 98, tickets were hard to get. 98 changed everything.

 

The disaster of 99/00 eased some of the demand, but by then people were hooked and preseason sellouts were the norm. 2003 solidified it and now it'll take a lot to deflate that demand.

 

1984 was the first time we reached 2 million in attendance, and every year after that (except for 3) we reached 2 million and beyond...So 1984 was a milestone.

 

Yes, it was a milestone, but contrary to popular belief, Wrigley wasn't a sell-out. Crossing the 3 million threshold was a much bigger milestone. That's when the whole Wrigley thing took off, when the rooftop thing went bonkers, and when the cash really started pouring in. 84 started the momentum, but without 98 and 03, the way we know Wrigley now would be completely different.

[Jehrico]

It's been a progressive climb throughout the WGN era.

[C.C.]

it's amazing how fast this rooftop commerce has escalated. When I was in undergrad ('92-'96), the only people you saw on those rooftops were the residents of the building. on a nice day you might see 2 or 3 guys sitting around a hibachi, grilling up burgers and drinking cheap beer.

 

It's amazing how the entire Wrigley thing has escalated. I remember going to Cubs games with my Dad and half the ballpark was empty........on the weekend, no less.

 

It all changed in 1984.

 

Not really. It was really easy to get face value tickets from 85-98. By the end of 98, tickets were hard to get. 98 changed everything.

 

The disaster of 99/00 eased some of the demand, but by then people were hooked and preseason sellouts were the norm. 2003 solidified it and now it'll take a lot to deflate that demand.

 

1984 was the first time we reached 2 million in attendance, and every year after that (except for 3) we reached 2 million and beyond...So 1984 was a milestone.

 

Yes, it was a milestone, but contrary to popular belief, Wrigley wasn't a sell-out. Crossing the 3 million threshold was a much bigger milestone. That's when the whole Wrigley thing took off, when the rooftop thing went bonkers, and when the cash really started pouring in. 84 started the momentum, but without 98 and 03, the way we know Wrigley now would be completely different.

 

Right.

[frostwyrm]

I've never understood this mentality that rooftop owners are stealing from the Cubs. People are entitled to enjoy the view from their property. If the Cubs coveted the view from those buildings then the Cubs should have bought those buildings.

[Jehrico]

I've never understood this mentality that rooftop owners are stealing from the Cubs. People are entitled to enjoy the view from their property. If the Cubs coveted the view from those buildings then the Cubs should have bought those buildings.

The Cubs didn't care until the rooftop owners began meddling and held up the building permit when they first started planning the bleacher expansion, as they were afraid the expansion would interfere with their views, and hence, their profits. The rooftop owners brought it on themselves.

[Wheelimus]

It isn't even relevant if they're "stealing" from the Cubs though. The simple fact is that the Cubs have the ability to block the view. So the owner of the building can either play ball or see how many people want to pay to sit on his roof and watch nothing.

 

And you're right. People are entitled to the view from their property. Their property being the key. I doubt the Cubs would be saying anything if the Owner of the building was just getting together with friends on the roof to watch the Cubs. They probably wouldn't even be saying anything if it were only building tenants using a free perk. Once you tread into actively selling tickets to your rooftop you've gone far beyond "just enjoying my view" reason.

 

If the attraction is just the nice view of Wrigley then there shouldn't be any problems. They'll still be able to see the friendly confines, just not the game. Something tells me they don't sell many tickets.

[ctcf]

I've never understood this mentality that rooftop owners are stealing from the Cubs. People are entitled to enjoy the view from their property. If the Cubs coveted the view from those buildings then the Cubs should have bought those buildings.

The Cubs didn't care until the rooftop owners began meddling and held up the building permit when they first started planning the bleacher expansion, as they were afraid the expansion would interfere with their views, and hence, their profits. The rooftop owners brought it on themselves.

 

Exactly. Also, while thats the rooftop owner's property, Wrigley and what goes on inside it belongs to the Cubs and they have every right to block that view if they want to (barring any crazy Chicago zoning laws that I don't know about).

[Jehrico]

I've never understood this mentality that rooftop owners are stealing from the Cubs. People are entitled to enjoy the view from their property. If the Cubs coveted the view from those buildings then the Cubs should have bought those buildings.

The Cubs didn't care until the rooftop owners began meddling and held up the building permit when they first started planning the bleacher expansion, as they were afraid the expansion would interfere with their views, and hence, their profits. The rooftop owners brought it on themselves.

 

Exactly. Also, while thats the rooftop owner's property, Wrigley and what goes on inside it belongs to the Cubs and they have every right to block that view if they want to (barring any crazy Chicago zoning laws that I don't know about).

It's like complaining about me putting up curtains in my house because I don't want nosy neighbors looking in.

[frostwyrm]

I've never understood this mentality that rooftop owners are stealing from the Cubs. People are entitled to enjoy the view from their property. If the Cubs coveted the view from those buildings then the Cubs should have bought those buildings.

The Cubs didn't care until the rooftop owners began meddling and held up the building permit when they first started planning the bleacher expansion, as they were afraid the expansion would interfere with their views, and hence, their profits. The rooftop owners brought it on themselves.

 

Exactly. Also, while thats the rooftop owner's property, Wrigley and what goes on inside it belongs to the Cubs and they have every right to block that view if they want to (barring any crazy Chicago zoning laws that I don't know about).

It's like complaining about me putting up curtains in my house because I don't want nosy neighbors looking in.

 

Yeah, I agree. The Cubs absolutely have the right to modify their property to block a view. However, if the Cubs choose NOT to block the view then the neighbors are still entitled to enjoy the view from the property as they see fit.

[jersey cubs fan]

I've never understood this mentality that rooftop owners are stealing from the Cubs. People are entitled to enjoy the view from their property. If the Cubs coveted the view from those buildings then the Cubs should have bought those buildings.

The Cubs didn't care until the rooftop owners began meddling and held up the building permit when they first started planning the bleacher expansion, as they were afraid the expansion would interfere with their views, and hence, their profits. The rooftop owners brought it on themselves.

 

Exactly. Also, while thats the rooftop owner's property, Wrigley and what goes on inside it belongs to the Cubs and they have every right to block that view if they want to (barring any crazy Chicago zoning laws that I don't know about).

It's like complaining about me putting up curtains in my house because I don't want nosy neighbors looking in.

 

Yeah, I agree. The Cubs absolutely have the right to modify their property to block a view. However, if the Cubs choose NOT to block the view then the neighbors are still entitled to enjoy the view from the property as they see fit.

 

Unless there is an agreement in place that they would pay.