M. Spencer Green / AP

Richard Zasiebida, managing director of Skybox on Sheffield looks over at Wrigley Field from his rooftop deck on Wednesday in Chicago.

The rooftop owners sell more than the view. The admission price includes food, drinks and plasma TVs, and many of the buildings offer indoor space with Internet access - even fax machines for those who can't play hooky from work the entire day.

Most of the rooftop business comes from corporate entertaining; Zasiebida said Skybox was used for company outings for as much as 75 percent of last season. But corporate bookings for the 2009 season are down about 10 percent, and Zasiebida said the group thinks the season ticket packages will help make up some of that difference.

Skybox is offering three packages for both the 12- and 18-game plans, all of which include tickets for opening day. The platinum package, the priciest at $175 per game per person, allows the holder to pick any game on the Cubs schedule, while the others block out the popular crosstown series with the Chicago White Sox and the July series with the rival St. Louis Cardinals. Season ticket owners also get priority for non-baseball events at Wrigley, such as this summer's Elton John-Billy Joel concert.

While this sounds extravagant, consider that lower-deck seats in Wrigley range from $70 to $350 for the best games. And that's before buying peanuts, Cracker Jack, hot dogs and beer.

If you can even get tickets. The Cubs drew a record 3.3 million fans last season. More than 100,000 people are on the waiting list for season tickets.

"When you think about it, if I'm bringing clients there, it's $30 to $50 a ticket, plus beer and food, so it's really coming out to be the same thing,'' said Bill Olson, who bought four of the 12-game platinum packages and plans to use them for personal and business entertaining.

"Plus, just the atmosphere, being up on the roof, I think it's more conducive to entertaining.''

Skybox has sold 20-30 sets of the 12-game packages so far, Zasiebida said, and another 15-20 of the 18-game packages. Much of the interest has come from families who want to go to several games but not to day games in April, May and September, when kids are in school.

Because Skybox only started selling their packages last week, it's too soon to know if other rooftop owners will follow suit. But given the economy, the other owners are going to need some spark.

"We are cutting back, but something like this is a good deal you can't pass up,'' Olson said. "It's definitely one of the marquee tools for entertainment. It utilizes the rooftop and the Cubs - everybody likes to go to a Cubs game and have a good time.''

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