The Chicago Cubs have agreed to fix alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act at Wrigley Field in a proposed consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The proposed agreement, which still needs the approval of a federal judge in Chicago, settles a 2022 lawsuit by the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago that alleged the team’s renovations undertaken in “the 1060 Project” discriminated against wheelchair users by depriving them of adequate sightlines compared to standing patrons.
The settlement places the Cubs under a consent decree over the next three years. During that time, the team has agreed to improve accessibility in and around the stadium for wheelchair users.
Under the settlement, the team agreed to move the wheelchair spaces and companion seats to spaces that have improved views of the field. That includes giving wheelchair users spaces in premium clubs, group seating areas and, for the first time, some front-row access.
The Cubs have also agreed to “modify protruding objects along circulation paths” in the stadium and to improve the accessibility of certain parking and shuttle services. Certain Cubs employees who interact with patrons with disabilities will receive training on the settlement over the next three baseball seasons.
In a statement, the Cubs insisted that Wrigley Field is currently ADA compliant and noted that the settlement “does not assign liability.”
“Nonetheless, the Consent Decree reflects a joint commitment to achieving greater accessibility at the Friendly Confines,” the team wrote. “Wrigley Field is more accessible today than ever in its history and we are pleased to have come to this resolution with the Department of Justice.”
The team said renovations of the 1060 Project, a five-year project completed in 2019, increased accessibility in several ways. The renovations added more than 50% more accessible seating options, 11 more accessible elevators, more accessible restrooms, assistive listening technology and closed captioning, according to the team.
In the 2022 lawsuit, the feds said the Cubs “removed the best wheelchair seating in the stadium,” isolated certain wheelchair users and confined them “to the worst seats” in the bleachers and grandstand, and left some struggling to see around fans on their feet.
The feds pointed to problems in the stadium’s bleachers, lower grandstand and upper deck. In the bleachers, the feds complain that many of the wheelchair seats “are located in the last row” of newly constructed porches.
The feds also pointed to other problems, including counter surfaces and restroom paper-towel dispensers that were allegedly too high for wheelchair users.
The investigation of Wrigley’s ADA compliance by the Chicago U.S. attorney’s office became public in December 2019 when a lawyer for the team filed a letter as part of a lawsuit brought by David Felimon Cerda, a Cubs fan with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who uses a wheelchair. A judge ruled in favor of the Cubs in June 2023, but Cerda filed an appeal that remains ongoing.
Over the next several years, the Cubs will submit written reports to the feds detailing their compliance with the consent decree, according to the agreement.
Contributing: Jon Seidel
Read the proposed consent decree: