October 20, 2024
The Chicago Cubs had to spend $3 million after AeroVanti failed to deliver on a sweepstakes, according to a new lawsuit.
AeroVanti is facing another lawsuit, this one from the Chicago Cubs.
According to Law360, the baseball team filed its lawsuit in Illinois State Court.
AeroVanti “left the team holding the bag for a promised sweepstakes that eventually forced the Cubs to pay out a $3 million settlement.”
As part of the sponsorship, there was an AeroVanti Suite Level and signage.
There was also the opportunity to throw out a first pitch before a Cubs game.
Law360 reports the Cubs were to receive 100 annual flight hours.
The team would also participate in VIP events held by the flight provider and priority booking.
Per AeroVanti’s Top Gun program, the value of the flight hours would have been $1.5 million per year.
The company, started by Patrick Britton-Harr, who was indicted by the DOJ for unrelated fraud charges last year, was also supposed to pay “substantial” additional money in twice-yearly installments.
The agreement was supposed to run from 2023 through 2027.
However, the team “received no such privileges” and “no such payments.”
Scott Hopes, who served as CEO for a brief period last summer, said AeroVanti had run up as much as $50 million in liabilities.
Britton-Harr had set sponsorships with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, The Preakness, and U.S. Sailing.
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