CBA Record Feb-March 2017

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MIKE LUFRANO IS “SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW”
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
By Nina Fain, Editorial Board Member
Everyone knows that baseball isAmer-
ica’s favor pastime and in Chicago
that pastime is spelled C-U-B-S.
In preparation for the 2017 pennant race,
Mike Lufrano, Senior Vice President and
General Counsel of the Chicago Cubs,
was the special guest of the association’s
“Someone You Should Know” series at the
Standard Club. CBAmembers were treated
to a unique event.
CBA President Dan Kotin rightly noted
in his introduction of Lufrano, “It’s no
secret that in addition to bringing home
its first World Series crown in 108 years,
the Ricketts family and new Cubs admin-
istration have made dramatic and fantastic
changes to the team, Wrigley Field, and the
surrounding neighborhood.”
Lufrano talked about the careful plan-
ning and commitment had resulted in the
historic achievement of the World Series
championship for the Cubs baseball orga-
nization. For proof of the benefits of those
changes, one needed only to look in the
faces of the excited CBA fans.
In the leadership and commitment to
excellence that brought the championship
trophy toWrigley Field, the team’s owners,
the Rickettts family, worked their magic.
By combining management’s strategy
with the hard work of the players and
the unwavering dedication of the fans,
they created for Chicago an extraordinary
platform for sports and entertainment.
Speaking to a large crowd of CBA mem-
bers, Lufrano thanked to the team’s fans for
remaining steadfast in their team loyalty,
unaffected by the curses of random goats.
President Kotin echoed those sentiments by
reminding CBA members that at the John
Paul Stevens Award luncheon earlier in
the year, even U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Stevens, one of the oldest Cubs fans, had
his loyalty rewarded by vintage gift from the
Cubs of a pennant that had flown over the
Wrigley since t1932 when the team waged
its Division championship fight.
Legal Issues
Lufrano explained that the legal issues
often addressed in the general counsel’
office related not only to the customary
business and real estate issues that arise in
companies, but expanded to involve intel-
lectual property rights, marketing, brand-
ing, licensing of marks, and protection to
prevent infringement. Lufrano shared a
video about the Cubs’ spectacular season
and wonderfully dedicated fans, the beauty
of the historic field, and the extraordinary
promise of the 2017-2018 season. As the
team organization looks to the next season,
he believes that the Cubs’ goal of a World
championship repeat would be greatly
enhanced by the Cubs’ investment in a
premier Arizona spring training facility.
In conjunction with smart choices about
players, trades, and coaching, Cubs staff
believes the team is well positioned for
another winning year.
Beyond that goal, in 2017, the rejuve-
natedWrigley field will not only be used as
a baseball diamond, but also an entertain-
ment stage and a field for football. World-
class entertainers like Billy Joel will perform
in August, and the field will adapt to offer
opportunities to accommodate plans for
Big 10 football and college Bowl games to
be played at Wrigley. For those who may
have been surprised by that announcement,
Lufrano quickly reminded CBA members
that the Chicago Bears once played at
Wrigley Field. What a tremendous coup it
was for the CBAmembers to have Lufrano,
who works each day at the heartbeat of
the club, to give us a 2017-2018 season
preview.
As Lufrano closed the breakfast, and all
attendees received a Cubs cap, everyone
agreed that from opening day forward,
the “W” would again fly often over Wrig-
ley Field
14 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017
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