"I Just Want to Watch Baseball from My Rooftop"... U.S. Court Issues Unexpected Ruling

Chicago Cubs prevail in lawsuit against rooftop viewing operator
Court permanently bars sale of game-viewing tickets

The Chicago Cubs, a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, won a legal dispute with the operator of a rooftop business near Wrigley Field, the team’s home ballpark, which had installed seating and other facilities to offer views of baseball games. The court granted the team’s request to bar the sale of tickets to watch games and issued a permanent injunction.

ESPN, a U.S. sports media outlet, and Law360, a legal news outlet, reported that U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman in Illinois on September 30 partly sided with the Cubs in their lawsuit against Wrigley View Rooftop, a rooftop-viewing business, and its owner, Aiden Dunican.

Wrigley View Rooftop has offered spectators space to watch games, along with food and drinks, from the rooftop of a building beyond the outfield at Wrigley Field. Customers can watch the actual game from outside the ballpark, and the venue can accommodate up to about 200 people. Ticket prices vary depending on the game and the opposing team; court documents put the price at about $125 to $150 per person (approximately KRW 170,000 to KRW 200,000).

Spectators watch the game from the rooftop of a building near Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. Yonhap News Agency.

The dispute began when a revenue-sharing agreement that the Cubs had signed with nearby rooftop operators in 2004 expired. In exchange for a share of the proceeds from ticket sales, the Cubs authorized the game-viewing businesses and the use of some of their trademarks. Under the agreement, Wrigley View Rooftop had paid the team 17% of its revenue, among other payments. The agreement expired on December 31, 2023, and the two sides were unable to reach a new deal.

However, Dunican continued selling rooftop tickets after the agreement ended. The Cubs filed a lawsuit in 2024 and also installed a translucent screen in part of the ballpark, limiting the view from the rooftops. The team argued that the business had unfairly profited by selling the game-viewing experience without bearing the costs of staging and operating the games, and that it had used the team’s trademarks without permission.

The court found that while the Cubs devoted substantial costs and effort to staging games, the rooftop business profited from selling access to view them without bearing any of those costs. It also found that the team might have earned additional revenue if spectators who watched from the rooftop had instead attended the ballpark or used another rooftop venue covered by a revenue-sharing agreement.

Dunican has objected, emphasizing that people can watch games from his property and that the rooftop business operates independently. He is considering an appeal and said he intends to continue pursuing legal action to keep the business running.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.