Cubs tickets for politicians has additional price: Getting booed at Wrigley
Chicago aldermen and other government officials were offered a deal by the Cubs for playoff tickets: each could purchase two terrace reserved or upper deck seats at face value.
To avoid ethics violations, however, each of the 50 aldermen and state lawmakers have to be announced to the crowd at Wrigley Field, Chicago’s Sun-Times reported.
“It could be construed as a prohibited gift to the city official if they are not announced or if they give away or resell all tickets they purchased at this special price,” longtime Executive Director Steve Berlin wrote in a letter obtained by the newspaper.
The Cubs said they plan to comply with the order by posting the names of the government officials who took the team up on its ticket deal by displaying the names on the outfield video board. Game 1 of the National League Divisional Series where the Cubs face the San Francisco Giants is Friday.
“Boo me as much you want,” Alderman Anthony Napolitano, a former fireman, told the Sun-Times. “I’ve got thick skin. I’ve got firehouse skin. I won’t hear anything I haven’t heard at the firehouse. If people boo you, oh well. You know what I’ll do? I’ll get up and put my big-boy pants on in the morning and I won’t lose any sleep about being booed.”
Ticket prices for Game 1 of the NLDS start at about $200 on the secondary market – and those are for standing-room only seats.