The U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday alleging the recent overhaul of Wrigley Field violated federal law by failing to make the park “appropriately accessible” to fans who use wheelchairs or have other disabilities.
The 19-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court comes nearly three years after it was revealed that federal authorities had launched an investigation into whether the Cubs’ $1 billion, five-year renovation of the century-old ballpark met the standards of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
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The suit alleged that the extensive rebuild of the bleachers and lower grandstand, which was dubbed the “1060 Project,” failed to provide wheelchair users with adequate sightlines as compared to standing patrons.
In the lower grandstand, the suit says, “a wheelchair user can barely see any of the infield when spectators stand up—often during the most exciting parts of the game.”
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In general admission areas, wheelchair seating is largely clustered in the last row of seating sections, according to the suit. The design also failed to remove architectural barriers to access in unaltered portions of the ballpark.
>>> Read the lawsuit: U.S. attorney sues Chicago Cubs alleging disability law violations
The Cubs also failed to incorporate wheelchair seating into new premium clubs and group seating areas, such as the Catalina Club in the upper deck and the Budweiser Patio in right field, the suit stated.
The lawsuit names as defendants the Cubs and other corporate owners and operators of the Wrigley Field facility. The suit seeks declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief to remedy the alleged ADA violations.
A spokesperson for the Cubs could not immediately be reached.
The suit includes photos of some of the worst alleged violations of federal law, singling out the overhaul of the bleachers as being particularly bad for wheelchair users.
“The Cubs’ decision to cluster wheelchair seats on the porches not only isolates wheelchair users from other fans and confines them to the worst seats in the bleachers, it also inhibits their ability to watch the game,” the suit stated. “This is because the wheelchair seats on the porches were not constructed to provide lines of sight to the field over standing spectators.”
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Instead, the suit stated, the wheelchair seats rely on a policy that “discourages but does not preclude bleacher fans from sitting and standing in the two rows immediately in front of the wheelchair spaces.” Though the rows are roped off and ushers are supposed to enforce the rules, spectators still wander in front of the seats, according to the suit.
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The “Batter’s Eye” area in dead centerfield, which is covered with a mesh tarp and gets abnormally hot in the summer, has also been the subject of numerous complaints from wheelchair users, the suit alleged.
The Cubs first filed notice of the federal review in December 2019 as part of a lawsuit brought by a wheelchair-bound fan alleging seating for those with disabilities was in fact worse than before the renovation.
At the time, a lawyer representing the team wrote a letter to the judge saying the Cubs believed the overhaul had “significantly increased the accessibility of the ballpark.”
The letter said compliance with the ADA “is of critical importance to the Cubs, as is ensuring the accessibility to all fans to Wrigley Field, a historic and aging ballpark with a limited physical footprint.”
Team spokesman Julian Green said at the time that the Cubs planned to “fully cooperate” with the review.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
