Even With Deals, It Must Be A Tough Time To Be A Rooftop Owner
By John Dodge
CHICAGO (CBS) -- On the same day that the owners of the Chicago Cubs tried to force the hand of the rooftop owners to come to an agreement on Wrigley Field renovations, an interesting offer arrived in the email inbox.
Living Social was offering a deal: $99 (or a bit less for some games) for a rooftop ticket with all of the amenities at Skybox on Sheffield.
Based on the photographs on their website, Skybox on Sheffield looks quite nice, the food appears delicious, the three bars offer plenty of cold beer, the indoor portion of the venue is a clean, well-lighted place. And you can't put a value on the experience, spending a day or evening with family, friends or co-workers enjoying the game and atmosphere.
However, it must be a tough time to be a rooftop owner.
The Ricketts family wants to build a large video screen on one side of the outfield and a large sign on the other, potentially ruining the rooftop views. Now, Tom Ricketts says it's time to move on. He says he will go back to the city and ask for five more outfield signs and more seating.
The Ricketts say they are tired of negotiating over the rooftops, and the move is intended to force the rooftop owners to accept a deal on the current two-sign plan or have the legal system settle the matter.
Then, there is the matter of the team on the field. They simply aren't very good. There are thousands of tickets, many of the them quite cheap, available.
A quick search on StubHub shows that upper deck seats for most of the June home games can be purchased for $9. Slightly better seats are $15. Those prices include service fees.
Compared with a rooftop fan, the upper deck fan would have $90 left. That's a pretty nice meal, even by Chicago prices.
