The Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) have won a legal dispute against a business owner who has been operating a rooftop baseball viewing business on a building near their home stadium, Wrigley Field.

Sports network ESPN reported on October 10 that the Cubs won the lawsuit filed against Aidan Dunican (64), who has operated a rooftop viewing business beyond the outfield wall of Wrigley Field for about 30 years.

A U.S. federal court ordered Dunican on September 30 to stop selling tickets for the rooftop viewing seats.

Dunican purchased a building across the street from the outfield wall of Wrigley Field for $400,000 in the 1990s, rebuilt it into a four-story building, and started the rooftop viewing business.

He installed sloped viewing seats on the roof to allow people to watch baseball games, charging $100 to $300 per person in exchange for providing alcohol and food.

The seating capacity is about 200 people, and annual sales reached about $1 million (1.34 billion KRW).

Initially, Dunican's business was operated legally with the Cubs' permission.

Dunican signed a contract with the Cubs in 2004 and paid about 17% of his revenue to the club until 2023.

However, conflict arose after the contract expired.

Dunican claimed that he offered to extend the contract under the condition of paying 20% of his revenue, but the Cubs demanded 30% of regular-season revenue and 40% of postseason revenue.

The Cubs filed a lawsuit in 2024, arguing that permission is required to generate profit utilizing the club's games, and partially blocked the view of the stadium from Dunican's rooftop by installing translucent screens and large advertisements in the outfield stands.

Dunican is considering an appeal while also leaving open the possibility of selling the building.

When asked if he was willing to sell the building to the Cubs, he said, "If it's a fair offer, I would consider it," adding, "We invested more than $2 million alone in renovating the building in 2010."

Wrigley Field is an old stadium located in a residential neighborhood of downtown Chicago in 1914.

Because the interior of the stadium can be overlooked from the rooftops of buildings across the street from the outfield, many building owners have operated businesses installing separate seats on rooftops and charging admission fees.

In response, the Cubs signed a 20-year contract with building owners in 2004 to receive about 17% of revenue and authorized the operation of "rooftop stands."

Since then, the Cubs have acquired 11 buildings and rooftop viewing businesses around Wrigley Field and newly signed revenue-sharing contracts with some business owners.

Dunican is the last business owner holding out, arguing that the new contract terms proposed by the Cubs are unfair.

(Photo: Getty Images)