The Chicago Cubs say they are only playing fair in erecting bleacher billboards that shut out television shots of a billboard advertising Hammond's Horseshoe Casino outside Wrigley Field.

"We are also looking to protect our corporate partner family who invest their resources with us to be our official sponsors," Cubs spokesman Peter Chase wrote in an e-mailed statement Tuesday.

The billboard displaying the Horseshoe ad could clearly be seen when television cameras swiveled to shoot toward the bleachers this past season. But now the Cubs organization, under the new ownership of the Ricketts family, has erected two billboards in back of the bleachers that block those TV cameos for the casino.

Dan Nita, senior vice president and general manager of Horseshoe in Hammond, said Tuesday the casino has a long-standing history with many Major League Basesball teams and hopes to continue its partnerships with Chicago sports teams.

"An opportunity arose to become part of the Wrigleyville experience, securing the famous rooftop in left field," Nita said. "In addition, we became a corporate sponsor of the Cubs organization with a substantial six-figure investment."

The building owner previously was involved in a dispute with Budweiser, which advertised on his billboard. When that ad went away, the Horseshoe ad went up.