Anheuser-Busch wants its roof back

CHICAGO, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Anheuser-Busch alleges in a lawsuit against the owner of a Chicago building that the beer company should be able to advertise on the site's roof.

In A Cook County Circuit Court lawsuit, the brewer says that it will incur significant losses if not allowed to maintain a famed Budweiser advertisement across the roof of a building outside Chicago's Wrigley Field, the Chicago Sun-Times said Friday.

The building's owner, Tom Gramatis, has covered up the bright red and white advertisement with a brown tarp since voiding his contract with the brewery.

But with the Major League Baseball playoffs looming and Chicago Cubs likely to have several home games, Anheuser-Busch does not want to lose the valuable marketing tool.

"There is simply no way of measuring the harm that Anheuser-Busch Inc. will incur if it is deprived of its coveted and exclusive right to display its advertisement to such a large audience," the company's suit said.

An attorney representing Gramatis told the Chicago Tribune Thursday that the company's lease expired after Gramatis did not receive his monthly lease payment.

Anheuser-Busch lawyers countered, alleging Gramatis has been violating the terms of the lease agreement.