CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JULY 24: Empty seats are seen at Wrigley Field before the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on July 24, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. The 2020 season had been postponed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Chicago’s U.S. Attorney’s office sued the Chicago Cubs on Thursday over the team’s recent yearslong renovation of Wrigley Field, aiming to force the North Siders to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The lawsuit alleges that, amid the renovation of the century-old ballpark, the Cubs failed to provide wheelchair users with adequate sightlines compared to standing patrons, or incorporate wheelchair seating in new premium club and group seating areas.
The feds say the Cubs designed and constructed general admission wheelchair seating so that it is largely clustered in the last row of seating sections — violating ADA standards — and failed to remove architectural barriers in unaltered portions of Wrigley where possible.
The lawsuit against Chicago Baseball Holdings LLC, Wrigley Field Holdings LLC, WF Master Tenant LLC and Chicago Cubs Baseball Club LLC seeks injunctive relief.
The feds’ investigation of Wrigley’s ADA compliance became public in December 2019, when lawyers for the team filed a letter as part of a lawsuit brought by a Cubs fan with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who used a wheelchair.
The letter contended the renovation of Wrigley actually “significantly increased the accessibility of the ballpark,” and it added that ADA compliance “is of critical importance to the Cubs.”
This is a developing story.
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