Old AmrapinVA

Just so you guys know, it's a moot point. A Cleveland-Dubai non-stop isn't even gonna work with the expansion to a 10000ft runway. Middle East destination flight times are almost as long as Pacific Rim ones from the US.

^^ Your stories tell quite a tale too. It actually shows the polarization of the whole region I was kinda alluding too on my last post and how generalization get started. West siders keep moving further west...South siders keep moving south....East siders keep moving east. Not that there aren't exceptions to the rule...but I've always wondered why the region continues to be so divided. Not that polarization is uncommon in other metro's either, I'd just like to see Cleveland become a bit more whole again.

I guess they figure they pay that dofus Borowski to be 'the closer'. Problem is, you're right, you'd never take a starter out who pitched strong unless his pitch count was high....why do it when a reliever is pitching well and can go two innings without a problem? Especially with the current state the Indians bullpen is in!

Actually this statement is the classic problem with people who live or have lived in the Cleveland region. On one hand people want Cleveland to be perceived in a different/better way than it is from how it's seen currently in other parts of the nation. On the other hand, some of these same people want turn around and tear down other places in their own backyard because they don't like 'em, or they use 'location' as way to feel better about themselves. If a visitor comes to Cleveland and sees you tear down this and that...then it just opens the door for the same type of behavior (that could very easily be directed at the city). Lord knows...I'm not innocent on this either.

^ Scratch Cabrera too...he's starting to pitch like dung too. Maybe Bentacourt? Since the Trible got rid of Mesa and outside of Wickman's one good year....our bullpen consistently blows. Not that I want Mesa back. :)

Parma is like Manhattan compared to Brunswick. J/K! Well not really either. ;)

Rick, if you're listening...Bypass council AGAIN, to get the FIS station done! I hate the current facility! With this new facility coming online, I wonder will it be all CO and the other airlines use the A facility or will the A facility go away and the A concourse redesigned? Also, why arent C1 & C2 Connected to this as they are wide body gates. I bet with the amount of money floating around this project...Mr. Smith isn't gonna be able to sneak this past city council. I don't know why the council would disagree with the project considering the potential upside for the airport and the region's economy as a whole.

Yeah...this is a really cool idea. Especially if there is something like Air Force/Toledo matchup in the future. It could get televised on ESPN2 or the like.

Doubling traffic? Really? Where are they going to draw down from? IAH or EWR?...or is it a combination of both? If this rumor is true....it can potentially mean 20 mil pax at CLE, making it the fourth biggest airport in the Midwest behind ORD, MSP and DTW. Damn, we'll see what happens next week.

Is there any talk in C-land about making Cabrera the closer? It's about time to sit Borowski.

Anchorage is a suburb of Nome

That was a good article, urbanlife. The mall is a good idea, just be cautious on whether this translates into more pax. At the current rate PIT is shrinking along with Skybus coming on line in CMH (with no 'AirMall' service), CMH could have more pax than PIT by 2008. The Mall is an amenity that should be played to CAL.

Missed that, my bad

On the eve of another season of interleague play, I heard an interesting discussion brought up on ESPN radio this morning. It seems there is an idea floating around the AL East clubs that AL Central teams can pump up their records and damage other AL teams chances of getting a wild card spot due to the lack of competition in the NL Central. Since we have a fair amount of fans from both divisions...do ya think this is a fair assesment? Or is this more of a Yankees/Red Sox fans whining about something for the 9 millionth time situation?

That's some big news, IF this is true. A real customs facility will no doubt entice CAL to bring more international service to CLE. And it may bring some overseas competition in as well. Hopefully there will be some offical news on this soon. If people are leaking it out already...I can't believe it's far away. I just hope it's not BS. The location of the facility, the recent idea to save money by lengthening the runway to only 10000ft, NW's move to the A concourse and the fact that there have been a helluva lot of changes at the airport since Smith arrived, makes me think it isn't.

Industrial Real Estate Markets Falter in Q1, with Weakness Recorded in Many Cities, According to Colliers International BOSTON, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The industrial real estate market posted a shaky first quarter, with absorption considerably below anticipated levels, according to a report by Colliers International, the global real estate services firm. Even though demand for industrial space fell far short of expectations, rents managed a small increase during the first quarter. First quarter absorption was disappointing, with occupied space increasing by just 27.3 million square feet (msf), compared with 36.9 msf in Q4. Industrial absorption totaled 40.0 msf in the year-ago quarter. In addition, contrary to expectations, Q1 industrial construction completions also came in below expected levels, keeping the rise in vacancy to just four basis points. "Despite a slow start, it's too early to sound the alarm," remarked Ross Moore, senior vice president and director of market & economic research at Colliers International. "The underlying economy, with the exception of the housing sector, continues to register measured growth, which we believe will eventually help bolster the warehouse leasing market." Indeed, demand drivers reflected a slowing economy during the January through March period. Even though the ISM index remained above the critical "50" level -- at 50.9 for March -- advance Q1 GDP data showed the U.S. economy expanded at a sluggish 1.3 percent rate. That said, the global economy continues to post robust growth, suggesting the export sector will remain a bright spot. Q1 industrial vacancies measured 8.15 percent, versus 8.11 percent during Q4 and 8.51 percent during the year-ago quarter. Warehouse rents increased by 1.9 percent in Q1, after rising by only 0.4 percent during the fourth quarter of 2006. This left rents up 8.5 percent over the year. Just a handful of markets (13 percent) are forecasting demand to drop in the current quarter, with the vast majority anticipating leasing markets to either remain steady, or expand. First quarter new construction totaled 36.8 msf, versus 48.4 msf during Q4'06 and 41.4 msf of completions in the year-ago quarter. Industrial developments under construction increased 4.6 msf during the first quarter, reaching 140.0 msf. This compares to 135.4 msf during Q4'06 and 108.5 msf at the close of the year-ago quarter. Industrial Vacancies - Q1'07 / Q1'06 VACANCY VACANCY MARKET RATE MAR 31, RATE DEC 31, 2007 (%) 2006 (%) Honolulu, HI 1.9 2.3 Los Angeles, CA 3.0 2.8 Bakersfield, CA 3.4 3.5 Charleston, SC 3.8 6.5 Orange County, CA 4.0 4.0 Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County, FL 4.2 3.7 Columbia, SC 4.2 0.5 Las Vegas, NV 4.5 4.2 Miami, FL 4.6 4.4 Tampa, FL 4.7 4.6 Riverside/San Bernardino - Inland Empire, CA 4.9 5.4 Nashville, TN 5.0 5.3 Jacksonville, FL 5.1 6.2 West Palm Beach, FL 5.5 4.1 Oakland, CA 5.6 5.4 Orlando, FL 5.6 6.7 San Francisco Peninsula - San Mateo, CA 5.7 5.5 Boise, ID 5.8 5.7 Cincinnati, OH 6.0 5.9 Reno, NV 6.1 4.9 Fresno, CA 6.3 7.6 St. Louis, MO 6.3 6.5 Seattle, WA 6.4 6.4 New Jersey - Northern 6.4 5.9 Indianapolis, IN 6.4 6.3 Louisville, KY 6.6 6.7 Denver, CO 6.7 7.2 Houston, TX 7.1 6.6 New Jersey - Central 7.5 7.5 Milwaukee, WI 7.6 7.7 San Diego, CA 7.8 6.9 Portland, OR 7.8 10.4 Kansas City, MO 7.9 8.4 Philadelphia, PA 8.7 8.7 Cleveland, OH 8.7 8.9 Chicago, IL 8.9 9.0 Charlotte, NC 9.2 9.7 Washington, DC 9.5 9.4 Phoenix, AZ 9.7 9.0 San Jose/Silicon Valley, CA 9.7 10.0 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX 9.9 10.0 Minneapolis, MN 9.9 10.3 Stockton/San Joaquin County, CA 10.2 9.1 Hartford, CT 10.2 8.6 Pleasanton/Walnut Creek, CA 10.7 8.6 Columbus, OH 10.9 10.5 Atlanta, GA 11.4 11.8 Sacramento, CA 11.8 11.4 Greenville, SC 12.6 12.8 Detroit, MI 13.3 13.5 Memphis, TN 14.3 14.1 Raleigh, NC 15.7 14.5 Baltimore, MD 16.9 15.2 Little Rock, AR 17.7 9.4 Boston, MA 22.5 21.8 About Colliers Colliers International is a global affiliation of independently owned commercial real estate firms. The organization's 9,327 employees span the world in 241 offices in 54 countries. On a worldwide basis, Colliers manages 595,725,580 square feet, and has revenue of $US 1,442,478,223. For more information, visit http://www.colliers.com/.

Didn't want to start a new thread over this, sorry if the stats at the bottom are hard to read: U.S. Office Market Sluggish During Q1, but Don't Be Fooled, According to Colliers International Rents continue to rise, with downtown lease rates reaching a record high, and absorption remaining in positive territory, according to Colliers' Q1 BOSTON, April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. office market took a bit of a breather in the first quarter, with absorption falling to less than half of its Q4'06 level, according to a report by Colliers International, a leading global real estate services firm. However, the overall uptrend remains intact, with rents continuing to surge higher during the first three months of 2007. First quarter office absorption totaled 12.8 million square feet (msf), versus 25.9 msf during the fourth quarter of 2006 and 22.2 msf during the year-ago period. In contrast to this reduction in demand for office space, Q1 job creation met expectations with 152,000 jobs per month; in addition, "office using" employment remained relatively robust, increasing 1.9 percent for the year. The Q1 vacancy rate sat unchanged from Q4'06 at 12.55 percent -- but registered slightly down from a rate of 13.25 percent during the year-ago quarter. "Don't be fooled by a somewhat disappointing first quarter," cautioned Ross Moore, senior vice president and director of market & economic research at Colliers International. "While absorption was well below levels experienced over the past couple of years, nearly all markets continue to clock steady demand. Absorption is almost certain to bounce back -- if not during Q2, then in the latter half of 2007. In fact, despite this faltering absorption, rents remain on the rise, in line with an upward trend started early last year." Yet again, rents increased during Q1, with downtown lease rates rising particularly sharply. Downtown asking rents jumped 5.2 percent during Q1 to reach a record high of $43.22 per square foot (psf), led by Midtown Manhattan. Suburban rents increased 1.7 percent to $26.27 psf. This left downtown rents up 11.9 percent over the year, while suburban rents increased by 7.7 percent. A few more markets (10 compared with 6 at the end of Q4'06) anticipate less demand for space during the second quarter -- while the clear majority have forecasted steady if not rising demand in their market. As for new construction, completions totaled 15.3 msf during the first quarter, compared with 16.3 msf in Q4'06; and year-ago completions totaled 17.4 msf. Another 119.2 msf is currently under construction, most of which is anticipated to be completed in the next 18 months. 106.9 msf was under construction during Q4'06, as compared with 82.9 msf in the year-ago quarter. Downtown Q1'07 Under Construction: MARKET UNDER CONSTRUCTION (SF) Washington, DC 5,787,591 New York, NY - Downtown Manhattan 4,600,000 New York, NY - Midtown Manhattan 3,561,049 Chicago, IL 2,850,000 San Francisco, CA 2,544,000 Seattle, WA 1,781,474 Charlotte, NC 1,480,601 Atlanta, GA 1,415,199 Philadelphia, PA 1,253,233 Sacramento, CA 799,791 Miami, FL 709,000 West Palm Beach, FL 624,573 Detroit, MI 621,390 Denver, CO 553,400 Orlando, FL 427,799 Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX 400,000 Nashville, TN 338,000 Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC 332,000 Columbus, OH 285,000 Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County, FL 263,463 Houston, TX 253,000 Portland, OR 250,843 Oakland, CA 215,000 Baltimore, MD 190,000 Columbia, SC 106,530 Tampa Bay, FL 87,786 Boise, ID 84,000 Greenville, SC 36,000 Las Vegas, NV 30,000 Pleasanton/Walnut Creek, CA 24,600 Bakersfield, CA 0 Boston, MA 0 Charleston, SC 0 Cincinnati, OH 0 Cleveland, OH 0 Fresno, CA 0 Hartford, CT 0 Honolulu, HI 0 Indianapolis, IN 0 Jacksonville, FL 0 Kansas City MO-KS 0 Little Rock, AR 0 Los Angeles, CA 0 Louisville, KY 0 Memphis, TN 0 Milwaukee, WI 0 Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN 0 New York, NY - Midtown South Manhattan 0 Phoenix, AZ 0 Reno, NV 0 San Diego County, CA 0 San Jose/Silicon Valley, CA 0 St. Louis, MO 0 Suburban Q1'07 Under Construction: MARKET UNDER CONSTRUCTION (SF) Phoenix, AZ 7,829,106 Washington, DC - N. Virginia 7,362,220 Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX 5,982,798 New Jersey - Northern 4,516,755 Seattle, WA 4,339,539 Atlanta, GA 3,885,745 Orange County, CA 3,761,000 San Diego County, CA 3,685,635 Houston, TX 2,783,871 West Palm Beach, FL 2,603,626 Miami, FL 2,526,745 Sacramento, CA 2,436,996 Los Angeles, CA 2,386,800 Orlando, FL 2,321,877 Washington, DC - Suburban, MD 2,320,000 Las Vegas, NV 2,032,176 Baltimore, MD 2,005,116 Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC 2,000,243 New Jersey - Central 1,957,823 Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County, FL 1,843,446 Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN 1,780,968 Philadelphia, PA 1,697,551 Boston, MA 1,408,464 Denver, CO 1,392,000 Tampa Bay, FL 1,165,820 Kansas City MO-KS 1,095,000 Nashville, TN 1,069,151 Charlotte, NC 1,002,385 Columbus, OH 985,999 Chicago, IL 919,778 Cleveland, OH 651,790 Indianapolis, IN 641,783 Portland, OR 634,360 Cincinnati, OH 622,713 Boise, ID 597,000 Jacksonville, FL 587,461 New York - Fairfield County, CT 452,000 St. Louis, MO 395,000 Fresno, CA 328,156 Greenville, SC 318,000 Charleston, SC 250,000 Detroit, MI 237,599 Pleasanton/Walnut Creek, CA 164,174 Bakersfield, CA 163,416 Memphis, TN 75,280 Hartford, CT 37,000 Columbia, SC 0 Honolulu, HI 0 Little Rock, AR 0 Louisville, KY 0 Milwaukee, WI 0 New York - Westchester County, NY 0 Oakland, CA 0 Reno, NV 0 SF Peninsula - San Mateo County, CA 0 San Jose/Silicon Valley, CA 0 About Colliers Colliers International is a global affiliation of independently owned commercial real estate firms. The organization's 9,327 employees span the world in 241 offices in 54 countries. On a worldwide basis, Colliers manages 595,725,580 square feet, and has revenue of $US 1,442,478,223. For more information, visit http://www.colliers.com.

^^ It's not like Cleveland fans care only when their team is good. Look at the attendance of Browns games. There are too many people in Cleveland who remember when the Tribe's ownership could care less about the city and the team, an entire generation in fact. There was no need for the '02 fire sale and this 'transition' that hasn't produced much outside of a team that needed one more quality free agent to make it to the playoffs in '05. Even that year the fans did start showing up in August and September. That being said, Shapiro is pretty darn close to a baseball genius, and truly has made wine out of water. I can't wait for prospects like Adam Miller to be brought up to the bigs in the next few years. If Shapiro had an owner that even spent the league average on payroll, we'd be in the postseason more often than not.

BTW, I think Brook Park would balk at the city buying the Ford property up. Their pols are always complaining about this and that when it comes to Hopkins. Plus they probably would rather have an intermodal yard for long-term revenue growth.

It wouldn't surprise me if United threatened to play that game with the city during negotiations. But if they didn't pay...Cleveland could have kicked them out. That never happened. That being said, United isn't on my 'fave 5', if you know what I'm saying. Cleveland got really lucky in getting CAL. Looking at what's going on in Cincy and Pittsburgh now, the city got a pair of pocket aces.

Until Cleveland gets the 10000ft. runway...and CAL adds some aircraft to their fleet, it's gonna be hard to convince people to fly a 757 to Europe when most other options are at least a 767. Even if another airline were to operate a 767 or A330 from Cleveland...it would be weight limited on hot or snowy days due to preformance (until the 10000ft addition is built). A 757 isn't gonna make it to Tel Aviv nonstop from Cleveland. Now a 787 is a different story.

I hate defending United on this, but the whole picture isn't being shown here. United was looking to create an eastern hub back in the 80's. Their choice was either CLE or IAD, as both were operating under "major station" status, which is one level below a hub. Cleveland's landing fees were one of the highest in the nation at the time (and still are). United asked Cleveland to lower its fees and in return United was going to invest millions of dollars of upgrades in CLE in order to make it a international hub airport along the lines of CVG. Cleveland council wanted the $$$ generated by the landing fees, and thought it could hold United's feet to the fire and still get the upgrades. Meanwhile down in DC, the Metropolitian Washington Airport Authority was giving away the farm because at the time IAD was a small airport - traffic wise - due to it's location. United warned the city about the situation at IAD, but the city wouldn't budge, hence Mr. Forbes' statement "If United dosen't need Cleveland then Cleveland dosen't need United." Well clearly that wasn't the case. United started bailing out of Cleveland, taking the aircraft, landing fees and jobs with them. The city now realizing that there was going to be very little service at the airport, soon went to Continental. At the time Contiental had been operating a major station out of IAD and it wasn't working too well and it was going to get worse with United directly competing on their routes. The city started wooing CAL because NO OTHER AIRLINE WAS INTERESTED IN CLEVELAND. Just to be fair, at the time nobody was really interested in Continental because they were bleeding cash and nobody wanted an airline which looked like it was going to cease to operate within five years. Continental didn't mind the high landing fees at the time becuase it wasn't going to operate that many flights out of Cleveland. Hence, no millions of dollars of investment at CLE, no expansion, just the status quo. Well, for once in the city's life, Cleveland got lucky, CAL pulled it's butt out of the fire and managed to grow Cleveland for a while. Of course if Cleveland could have hammered something out with United, the airport would probably be more along the lines of a CVG or possibly DTW. So in the end the city lost, all so it could charge Lexus prices for a Corolla. I only brought Mr. Forbes up, because he decided to be head spokesman about the fiasco and in the end cost the city millions in the process. I'm not picking on Mr. Forbes any more than I would Mr. Kucinich, they did some good things for the city...but in the end there was more damage than good done all in the name of forwarding their political carrers. As for MTS comments about deregulation, UAL hadn't shrunk CLE. It had maintained it until if figured out where it was going to put its hub. So deregulation was a non-factor in UAL ops at CLE before they pulled out. Deregulation forced UAL to make a choice, but it was ultimately the city that decided to break ties with UAL when it wouldn't budge.

Cleveland is not going to get Asia routes until it establishes European routes that can be profitable and year-round. Clearly London/seasonal was profitiable enough during the summer for CAL to add Paris/seasonal. But until I hear something offical that London is going year-round followed Paris coming to full term along with an addition of a Frankfurt or Amsterdam....I don't see Tokyo/Narita coming to CLE. So the cutback on the runway addition makes sense. Plus, 10000ft. will accomodate a 767 just fine to Europe and should be more than enough length for the 787 that CAL will acquire in the next few years. I just hope the extra cash saved from the runway and the vendor shakeup is used towards building a quality FIS facility at CLE. It's also good to know that Smith and Co. have their priorities straight. CAL for the most part makes the airport run, not City Council. In fact, 'Mr. #1 councilman-for-life' George Forbes came damn close to killing the airport back in the 80's. On a side note, three of you folks said that London was year round. I haven't seen anything that says it's not seasonal. Outside of MTS sources, is there more something concrete I missed?

Where did you guys see or hear that London was year-round?

NJ is no joke....we can thank them for the two seed. They look especially good after the Bulls just destroyed the Heat. I don't care though MTS, I'm for once in my sports life, getting my hopes up. (ok twice, I thought the Tribe had the Florida Fish) ;)