Tag Archives: Chicago Cubs

Each week The Sports Esquires keep track of the sports law headlines so you don’t have to.  Last week we brought you sport-specific links each day to catch you up on recent sports law news.  This week our weekly links column returns as the Hernandez trial concludes, the Wrigley rooftop ...

Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs had a stellar spring training. Bryant should be a shoe-in for the Cubs’ major league 25-man roster come opening day, right? If you've been paying attention to any major sports news outlet, you know that's not the case. This past Monday, March 30, the Cubs reassigned Bryant to their minor league camp, meaning that the number two prospect in all of baseball will start the season in the minor leagues. Why?

It finally happened. After beating around the bush for years – including multiple lawsuits against the City of Chicago and the Commission on Chicago Landmarks – a group of owners that operate the rooftop seating clubs on the buildings behind Wrigley Field sued the Chicago Cubs and chairman Tim Rickets in the Northern District of Illinois. The Rooftop Owners allege a number of claims stemming from the Cubs’ ongoing, Wrigley Field “expansion” project.

Our first year of bringing you in depth analysis of the top sports law stories is officially behind us. There were a lot of intriguing issues that came up throughout the year, but these were the most popular among our readers:

The Mueller report and other NFL issues dominated this week’s sports law news, but there’s plenty more events around the sports world that made headlines as well.

On July 18, the Cubs filed suit against a group of people they claim to have been dressing in a bogus mascot costume and participating in “inappropriate and unsavory actions” near Wrigley Field, including charging fans for pictures and instigating bar fights. In a federal court ruling dated September 29, the Cubs and the Weiers reached a settlement of their dispute.

After months, if not years, of posturing, the owners of the rooftop buildings standing tall behind the cozy confines of Wrigley Field finally filed suit to prevent the Chicago Cubs from breaking ground on their long-anticipated expansion project. But, the rooftop owners are going about it in a wholly unexpected way.