Go Tribe!

I have no opinion of the Cleveland Indians (don't love them; don't hate them; It's like asking my thoughts on Burkina Faso). 

 

I hate the Chicago Cubs.  If you thought Boston Red Sox fans were bad when they won their WS, can you imagine Cubs fans?  Ugh!

 

I'm rooting for Cleveland.

I'm a good luck charm. I moved to CLE at the beginning of the Cavs season last year the Cavs and Indians have been phenomenal since then. Where's my cut, Dan Gilbert and Larry Dolan?!

 

Seriously though, it's a really exciting time to live in Cleveland right now.

I just realized, it would make sense that the World Series would have an even bigger economic impact on the City of Cleveland, than the NBA finals did. Especially if they win. Though there's an equal number of games for post-season, Progressive Field has a much bigger capacity than the Q. I just found out baseball is actually a lot more popular than basketball. I honestly thought it was the other way around. I just saw an article online stating that over half of Indians fans who attend games are from outside of Cuyahoga Co. and I doubt it's anywhere near half for Cavs fans. That's more people from the outside, spending money here whereas local fans would still be spending money here regardless. Baseball fans also have a lot more disposable income than basketball fans. Even though there was a lot of hype about the Cavs and their impact on the city, I think this is actually going to bring in a lot more money to the city.

I just realized, it would make sense that the World Series would have an even bigger economic impact on the City of Cleveland, than the NBA finals did. Especially if they win. Though there's an equal number of games for post-season, Progressive Field has a much bigger capacity than the Q. I just found out baseball is actually a lot more popular than basketball. I honestly thought it was the other way around. I just saw an article online stating that over half of Indians fans who attend games are from outside of Cuyahoga Co. and I doubt it's anywhere near half for Cavs fans. That's more people from the outside, spending money here whereas local fans would still be spending money here regardless. Baseball fans also have a lot more disposable income than basketball fans. Even though there was a lot of hype about the Cavs and their impact on the city, I think this is actually going to bring in a lot more money to the city.

 

Currently, baseball is NOT more popular than basketball, however, the prestige of the MLB playoffs and World Series will always run further than the NBA finals/playoffs.  Mostly because its so hard to make the MLB playoffs and its a historic event.  16  teams make the NBA playoffs and it seems to run for months.  The younger generations prefer the NBA and the image of the NBA is actually very high right now.  Baseball is trying to appeal to its younger generations and is struggling with that currently.  I believe the NBA finals game 7 had 32 million viewers, thats 1/3 of a typical super bowl audience.  Pretty remarkable.  I dont believe the World Series will get that high, but maybe because of the cubs it will

This is all good news for the hotels; they are all completely booked.  Even the Days Inn in Lakewood can charge $500 a night!  And it's going to be much cheaper to have the World Series in town than the RNC.

 

 

Yeah, this is a pretty incredible bonus for all the hotels that rushed to open in time for the RNC.  Should be a nice jolt for RTA too, unless all the extra fare revenue gets eaten up by additional service costs.

As a Reds fan, this is a tough World Series. On the one hand, I don't want the Cubs to win. The Cubs fans are often insufferable and I don't think anyone wants them winning. Either way, I wouldn't want to be a police/fire responder to Wrigleyville whenever the series concluedes.

 

On the other hand, Cleveland getting two championships in one year will never be forgotten by Cleveland fans. Long gone will be the days of being able to point to Cleveland to make myself feel better. Making fun of the Browns will feel hollow when we all know the 2016 championships.

 

This is almost as bad as the Steelers/Packers Super Bowl.

I just realized, it would make sense that the World Series would have an even bigger economic impact on the City of Cleveland, than the NBA finals did. Especially if they win. Though there's an equal number of games for post-season, Progressive Field has a much bigger capacity than the Q. I just found out baseball is actually a lot more popular than basketball. I honestly thought it was the other way around. I just saw an article online stating that over half of Indians fans who attend games are from outside of Cuyahoga Co. and I doubt it's anywhere near half for Cavs fans. That's more people from the outside, spending money here whereas local fans would still be spending money here regardless. Baseball fans also have a lot more disposable income than basketball fans. Even though there was a lot of hype about the Cavs and their impact on the city, I think this is actually going to bring in a lot more money to the city.

 

Currently, baseball is NOT more popular than basketball, however, the prestige of the MLB playoffs and World Series will always run further than the NBA finals/playoffs.  Mostly because its so hard to make the MLB playoffs and its a historic event.  16  teams make the NBA playoffs and it seems to run for months.  The younger generations prefer the NBA and the image of the NBA is actually very high right now.  Baseball is trying to appeal to its younger generations and is struggling with that currently.  I believe the NBA finals game 7 had 32 million viewers, thats 1/3 of a typical super bowl audience.  Pretty remarkable.  I dont believe the World Series will get that high, but maybe because of the cubs it will

 

In addition to that, the Cavs (especially with LeBron), have a much larger geographical fan base.  There are no NBA teams in Cincy, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.  While those City's may not be loyal to the Cavs, the inbetween areas (Columbus, Erie, Youngstown, etc.) don't have the same split allegiances we see in NFL and/or MLB.  When had season tickets for the Cavs, the seats next to me were routinely occupied by folks from WVa, western NY, central Ohio, etc.

As a Reds fan, this is a tough World Series. On the one hand, I don't want the Cubs to win. The Cubs fans are often insufferable and I don't think anyone wants them winning. Either way, I wouldn't want to be a police/fire responder to Wrigleyville whenever the series concluedes.

 

On the other hand, Cleveland getting two championships in one year will never be forgotten by Cleveland fans. Long gone will be the days of being able to point to Cleveland to make myself feel better. Making fun of the Browns will feel hollow when we all know the 2016 championships.

 

This is almost as bad as the Steelers/Packers Super Bowl.

 

This is really interesting. You are the third cincy area person I've heard say this exact thing, except it was in June before the Cavs. That theybdidn't want cleveland to win, because that would somehow expose Cincinnati as more joke worthy. This mentality actually exists?

Gotta go with the Cubs. At the end of the day, always have to cheer for the NL team. If not the Reds, you pull for the NL. AL baseball sucks.

As a Reds fan, this is a tough World Series. On the one hand, I don't want the Cubs to win. The Cubs fans are often insufferable and I don't think anyone wants them winning. Either way, I wouldn't want to be a police/fire responder to Wrigleyville whenever the series concluedes.

 

On the other hand, Cleveland getting two championships in one year will never be forgotten by Cleveland fans. Long gone will be the days of being able to point to Cleveland to make myself feel better. Making fun of the Browns will feel hollow when we all know the 2016 championships.

 

This is almost as bad as the Steelers/Packers Super Bowl.

 

This is really interesting. You are the third cincy area person I've heard say this exact thing, except it was in June before the Cavs. That theybdidn't want cleveland to win, because that would somehow expose Cincinnati as more joke worthy. This mentality actually exists?

 

Well, as a Cincinnatian, I couldn't be happier for Cleveland. I have early 1970's childhood memories of taking the rapid from the east side downtown with my dad to see the tribe play in that cavernous hulk on the lake. It was so freaking awesome. I can't wait to see the Indians be world champs!

I just realized, it would make sense that the World Series would have an even bigger economic impact on the City of Cleveland, than the NBA finals did. Especially if they win. Though there's an equal number of games for post-season, Progressive Field has a much bigger capacity than the Q. I just found out baseball is actually a lot more popular than basketball. I honestly thought it was the other way around. I just saw an article online stating that over half of Indians fans who attend games are from outside of Cuyahoga Co. and I doubt it's anywhere near half for Cavs fans. That's more people from the outside, spending money here whereas local fans would still be spending money here regardless. Baseball fans also have a lot more disposable income than basketball fans. Even though there was a lot of hype about the Cavs and their impact on the city, I think this is actually going to bring in a lot more money to the city.

 

Currently, baseball is NOT more popular than basketball, however, the prestige of the MLB playoffs and World Series will always run further than the NBA finals/playoffs.  Mostly because its so hard to make the MLB playoffs and its a historic event.  16  teams make the NBA playoffs and it seems to run for months.  The younger generations prefer the NBA and the image of the NBA is actually very high right now.  Baseball is trying to appeal to its younger generations and is struggling with that currently.  I believe the NBA finals game 7 had 32 million viewers, thats 1/3 of a typical super bowl audience.  Pretty remarkable.  I dont believe the World Series will get that high, but maybe because of the cubs it will

 

In addition to that, the Cavs (especially with LeBron), have a much larger geographical fan base.  There are no NBA teams in Cincy, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.  While those City's may not be loyal to the Cavs, the inbetween areas (Columbus, Erie, Youngstown, etc.) don't have the same split allegiances we see in NFL and/or MLB.  When had season tickets for the Cavs, the seats next to me were routinely occupied by folks from WVa, western NY, central Ohio, etc.

 

I can attest to this personally.  I've always been an Indians fan, even growing up in WV.  The Pirates were terrible growing up and really the only time we went to those games was when the Braves were in town.  Pittsburgh being very close meant I was/am a Steelers and Penguins fan as well.  However Pittsburgh did/does not have an NBA team which ultimately lead to me being a Cavs fan.  I remember the days of Brevin Knight, Shawn Kemp, Derek Anderson, Andre Miller, Bobby Sura and most importantly Vitaly Potapenko.  So outside of watching those classic Sunday afternoon Laker/Knick/Bulls games growing up, I was a Cavs fan.  You see in my opinion an even further outreach of Cavs fans than what you even described.  I would say WNY, W.PA, WV and nearly the entire state of Ohio would be your core fanbase for the Cavs.

I would say WNY, W.PA, WV and nearly the entire state of Ohio would be your core fanbase for the Cavs.

 

I wouldn't go that far.  Southwest Ohio is indifferent on the Cavs; I'm presuming NW Ohio is for the Pistons, historically.  Columbus and eastern Ohio are certainly Cavs markets.

 

As a Reds fan, this is a tough World Series. On the one hand, I don't want the Cubs to win. The Cubs fans are often insufferable and I don't think anyone wants them winning. Either way, I wouldn't want to be a police/fire responder to Wrigleyville whenever the series concluedes.

 

On the other hand, Cleveland getting two championships in one year will never be forgotten by Cleveland fans. Long gone will be the days of being able to point to Cleveland to make myself feel better. Making fun of the Browns will feel hollow when we all know the 2016 championships.

 

This is almost as bad as the Steelers/Packers Super Bowl.

 

This is really interesting. You are the third cincy area person I've heard say this exact thing, except it was in June before the Cavs. That theybdidn't want cleveland to win, because that would somehow expose Cincinnati as more joke worthy. This mentality actually exists?

 

I honestly haven't heard that.  Most Reds fans hate the Cubs so I've heard most say they want the Indians to win.

For the Reds sake  I hope the Cubs simply because maybe they don't spend as much money on their players if they get a World championship.  They already dominate us.

 

For the sake of the state, i'll be happy with an Indian win.

Cubs fans have sucked of late.  All of the sudden these people came out of the woodwork as if their franchise has something -- anything --  to be proud of that actually happened on the field.  I mean, they've sucked since...1908.  If their stadium was on the South Side (ouch!) or out in the suburbs nobody would care about them.

 

When I was a kid, the games were on basic cable in Ohio, so I followed The Cubs to some extent by default.  The games were of course on during the day because the damn stadium didn't have lights.  When The Cubs played in Cincinnati, you could watch the local game on WGN, which at the time seemed pretty cool, even though today with sports bars and satellite nobody would think anything of it. 

 

No Reds playoff highlights in Chicago, since The Cubs don't get in the playoffs, ever.

I would say WNY, W.PA, WV and nearly the entire state of Ohio would be your core fanbase for the Cavs.

 

I wouldn't go that far.  Southwest Ohio is indifferent on the Cavs; I'm presuming NW Ohio is for the Pistons, historically.  Columbus and eastern Ohio are certainly Cavs markets.

 

 

 

What they're not indifferent on is the popularity of Lebron James, several Buckeye fans in SW Ohio are probably(and from my experience are) Cavs fans because of the Lebron factor.

As a Reds fan, this is a tough World Series. On the one hand, I don't want the Cubs to win. The Cubs fans are often insufferable and I don't think anyone wants them winning. Either way, I wouldn't want to be a police/fire responder to Wrigleyville whenever the series concluedes.

 

On the other hand, Cleveland getting two championships in one year will never be forgotten by Cleveland fans. Long gone will be the days of being able to point to Cleveland to make myself feel better. Making fun of the Browns will feel hollow when we all know the 2016 championships.

 

This is almost as bad as the Steelers/Packers Super Bowl.

 

This is really interesting. You are the third cincy area person I've heard say this exact thing, except it was in June before the Cavs. That they didn't want cleveland to win, because that would somehow expose Cincinnati as more joke worthy. This mentality actually exists?

 

I was personally rooting for the Cavs this summer. I don't care much about basketball, but I watched Game 7 and was hoping Cleveland would win. There are definitely some obnoxious Browns fans in Cincinnati. They are always barking at each other at bars on game days even though their team has been terrible every single year. These same fans are going to have a superiority complex now if they have two championships in a year.

 

Generally speaking I don't hate the Indians, Cavs, or their fans. There are quite a few Cavs fans in Cincinnati since the only other option seems to be the Pacers, but we don't feel that connected to Indianapolis. It's the Browns fans that are intollerable.

 

Basically, for the Indians fans and the City of Cleveland, I am rooting for the Indians. For the Browns fans, I pray they lose. But the alternative of the Cubs winning is frightening.

I would say WNY, W.PA, WV and nearly the entire state of Ohio would be your core fanbase for the Cavs.

 

I wouldn't go that far.  Southwest Ohio is indifferent on the Cavs; I'm presuming NW Ohio is for the Pistons, historically.  Columbus and eastern Ohio are certainly Cavs markets.

 

 

 

What they're not indifferent on is the popularity of Lebron James, several Buckeye fans in SW Ohio are probably(and from my experience are) Cavs fans because of the Lebron factor.

 

Correct.  LeBron greatly expanded the fanbase.  The Cavs had some good teams, but never had a superstar before him.  Whenever a family from Pa. or NY or Wva sat beside me, the kid (usually a boy between the ages of 5-15) would be decked out in LeBron gear.  Kyrie has also helped greatly.  I'm not sure if any Cavs player before those two ever had a commercial which aired nationally.  I was in Toledo/Bowling Green during the Cavs playoff run and the amount of Cavs gear around there was shocking. 

I hear ya. Although I support the browns (sometimes), there is a portion of our fan base I find deplorable.  I think NFL fans in general have a similar issue though.

There are a few which stand out.  Raiders and Eagles fans might be a category all to themselves.  But not too far behind would be Browns, Bears, and Steelers fans.  All are obnoxious to a certain extend.... and are somewhat proud of it.  It's like they have a rep to protect.  I refuse to go to Browns Stadium with anyone wearing another jersey... even if it is a team we are not playing or not even a rival.  I've seen the mess that causes.

I hear ya. Although I support the browns (sometimes), there is a portion of our fan base I find deplorable.  I think NFL fans in general have a similar issue though.

 

I hate some of the Bengals fans a lot too. Football fans in general are pretty terrible. But at least with Bengals fans I'm rooting for the same team, so their problems don't annoy me as much. There are quite a few Browns fans in Cincinnati as I guess there are a lot of internal transplants in Ohio. I'll probably be rooting for the Indians in the World Series, but I won't be happy about it.

I just realized, it would make sense that the World Series would have an even bigger economic impact on the City of Cleveland, than the NBA finals did. Especially if they win. Though there's an equal number of games for post-season, Progressive Field has a much bigger capacity than the Q. I just found out baseball is actually a lot more popular than basketball. I honestly thought it was the other way around. I just saw an article online stating that over half of Indians fans who attend games are from outside of Cuyahoga Co. and I doubt it's anywhere near half for Cavs fans. That's more people from the outside, spending money here whereas local fans would still be spending money here regardless. Baseball fans also have a lot more disposable income than basketball fans. Even though there was a lot of hype about the Cavs and their impact on the city, I think this is actually going to bring in a lot more money to the city.

 

Currently, baseball is NOT more popular than basketball, however, the prestige of the MLB playoffs and World Series will always run further than the NBA finals/playoffs.  Mostly because its so hard to make the MLB playoffs and its a historic event.  16  teams make the NBA playoffs and it seems to run for months.  The younger generations prefer the NBA and the image of the NBA is actually very high right now.  Baseball is trying to appeal to its younger generations and is struggling with that currently.  I believe the NBA finals game 7 had 32 million viewers, thats 1/3 of a typical super bowl audience.  Pretty remarkable.  I dont believe the World Series will get that high, but maybe because of the cubs it will

 

In addition to that, the Cavs (especially with LeBron), have a much larger geographical fan base.  There are no NBA teams in Cincy, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.  While those City's may not be loyal to the Cavs, the inbetween areas (Columbus, Erie, Youngstown, etc.) don't have the same split allegiances we see in NFL and/or MLB.  When had season tickets for the Cavs, the seats next to me were routinely occupied by folks from WVa, western NY, central Ohio, etc.

 

Do you guys have any data or sources to back up your claims instead of just anecdotal evidence about sitting next to people at games from West Virginia and NY?

 

After finding out the Indians were going to the World Series, I did a bunch of research on this stuff. Unfortunately, I can't find numbers that compare the economic impact of the Indians vs. the Cavs which would be very interesting to see but I did find info for the Indians that is pretty impressive. Over half of the people who go to Indians games live outside Cuyahoga Co. That's pretty damn good. The reason it's important to consider is because local fans are going to spend money locally anyway and the way you generate real money is by getting folks outside of the city to come in and spend money here.

 

All of the articles / studies I've looked at, suggest that MLB generates more money for cities than the NBA. It appears to me that MLB also has more fans than NBA. It looks like the major difference is that MLB appeals to a wide-range audience and has a lot more people who "follow it," meaning it might not necessarily be their favorite sport but they enjoy it, whereas basketball fans are die-hard fans and tend to be more likely to exclusively follow basketball. They're much more likely to only talk about basketball and get on social media and post clips of games and talk about how awesome their team is. You don't even see that strong of an attitude with football fans on social media and we all know Football is America's favorite sport. Basketball is definitely a lot more popular with younger people and I think that's what always gave me the illusion that it was a bigger sport than it is.  If you're fairly young and love basketball and you're around you're peers a lot, it's easy to believe that the Cavs would have a much bigger economic impact on the city compared to the Indians.

 

I'm sharing links to some of the stuff I found the other day, in case you guys are interested in looking at it. I also think it's worth mentioning that MLB has 162 games in a season, vs. the NBA's 82. That's basically double the number of games and like I said, Progressive has about 15k more seats. Granted, they're not guaranteed to get filled but now we're talking about a team in the World Series. Baseball fans have more disposable income as well and so I definitely picture Indians fans pumping more money into the city than Cavs fans.

 

Has there been any talk about a new stadium / arena / ball park? Now would be the best time to consider it. Progressive Field is one fugly, outedated ball park.

 

 

 

 

In 2014, 35 percent of fans call the NFL their favorite sport, followed by Major League Baseball (14 percent), college football (11 percent), auto racing (7 percent), the NBA (6 percent), the NHL (5 percent) and college basketball (3 percent).

 

www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/10354114/harris-poll-nfl-most-popular-mlb-2nd

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Slightly more than half the people who attend Cleveland Indians baseball games at Progressive Field live outside Cuyahoga County, according to a new study commissioned by the team.

 

And those fans typically spend nearly $40 outside the ballpark on things like meals, hotels, parking and entertainment, the study reports.

 

All told, the money fans and the team spent inside and outside the ballpark accounted for about $4 billion in economic activity over 19 years, the study concludes by using an economic forecasting model to analyze the Indians' seasons from 1994 to 2012.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2014/04/cleveland_indians_offer_their_own_study_to_support_sin_tax_request.html

 

LeBron and the $500,000,000 lie: How Sports Economic Impact Studies trick you:

 

http://deadspin.com/lebron-and-the-500m-lie-how-sports-economic-impact-st-1658861205

 

The death of baseball has been greatly exaggerated.

 

We recently ran a chart that showed that the popularity of baseball amongst sports fans was on the rise as the gap between the popularity of the NFL and MLB is at it's lowest point in four years and the gap between MLB and the NBA is widening. This despite the feeling among many that the NBA is either approaching or has already surpassed baseball in terms of popularity.

 

One problem with that data is that they only asked fans to name their favorite sport and did not account for fans that follow more than one sport closely. However, even if we break it down by degrees, we still see that baseball is clearly more popular than the NBA.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/major-league-baseball-nba-popularity-2015-2

 

 

 

Geis has some 'splaining to do. Perhaps he figures that if someone can pay $2,000 to park their butt in a seat, they can spend $100 to park their $30,000 car (average price for a new car)?

 

Has there been any talk about a new stadium / arena / ball park? Now would be the best time to consider it. Progressive Field is one fugly, outedated ball park.

 

After the renovations?  Not a chance.

 

I respectfully disagree with you concerning the ballpark.  The "retro-modern" ballpark may not be in vogue anymore, but since the renovations have occurred, I find the park easy to navigate and aesthetically pleasing for a  baseball stadium.

 

In this case, continued renovations and updates will be more cost effective than a replacement.  Frankly, I don't think Atlanta and Arlington should replace their stadiums either from a cost benefit analysis perspective, but they can all do what they want, I suppose.

Geis has some 'splaining to do. Perhaps he figures that if someone can pay $2,000 to park their butt in a seat, they can spend $100 to park their $30,000 car (average price for a new car)?

 

All the more reason to park 'n ride!

^^^^I don't know about economic impact and wasn't addressing that issue with my 'anecdotal' evidence based on first hand knowledge.  Of course, baseball has twice as many home games in bigger stadiums.  The Cavs sellout all of their games.  The Indians average about half attendance, but due to twice as many home games and nearly twice as many seats, have nearly twice the total attendance.  So the impact on the downtown impact is probably larger based on that alone, and could be even more significant if the attendance went up (like it probably will next year).  Then there also is the consideration that baseball is played in the summer, for the most part, whereas basketball goes right through the heart of winter.  People coming to Cavs games are probably more likely to park in the garage and take a walkway straight into the arena

 

That said, the Cavs are more of a regional draw (and can even be an international draw).  Anecdotal evidence aside, common sense leads to that conclusion.  Terry Pluto does a good job of explaining it in this piece - http://wksu.org/post/terry-pluto-cavs-fan-base-reaches-well-beyond-northeast-ohio#stream/0.  The prestige of the Cavs and LeBron and Kyrie, and the impact that has on the local economy, can't really be quantified.  If you travel and say you are from Cleveland, people are probably most likely to know of the City because of LeBron and the Cavs, not the Indians, not the RRHOF, not the burning river.  I don't know if that impact can be quantified.

 

You don't see celebrities flying in to go the Indians games, that much is certain. 

Has there been any talk about a new stadium / arena / ball park? Now would be the best time to consider it. Progressive Field is one fugly, outedated ball park.

 

After the renovations?  Not a chance.

 

I respectfully disagree with you concerning the ballpark.  The "retro-modern" ballpark may not be in vogue anymore, but since the renovations have occurred, I find the park easy to navigate and aesthetically pleasing for a  baseball stadium.

 

In this case, continued renovations and updates will be more cost effective than a replacement.  Frankly, I don't think Atlanta and Arlington should replace their stadiums either from a cost benefit analysis perspective, but they can all do what they want, I suppose.

 

Oh yeah, stadiums / ball parks / arenas are not a good investment at all but like you said, they can just do whatever they want. Definitely worth putting up with the ugliness (as I percieve it) if it was recently renovated. I didn't know that. I was just curious if there's been talk about that, since the Cavs and Indians have been doing so well. There would be no better time for those franchises to ask the city and county for half of a billion dollars. Clevelanders are so happy about finally winning an NBA Championship and going to the World Series, I could picture the majority jumping right on board.

 

NO new stadium, or area needed. There is nothing wrong with what we already have. Yes, upgrades are needed at times (just like ones home), but I still think Progressive Field is one of the most beautiful stadiums in MLB.

 

Now, let's get this thread back on track.

 

GO WINDIANS!!!!!!!

Cool stats/karma...

 

For the Cubs: there are 108 stitches in a baseball

For the Indians: 216 is twice that of 108.

A Clevelander Gave Up His Seat on a Plane Last Night So Kenny Lofton Could Make His Flight to Cleveland

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2016/10/25/a-clevelander-gave-up-his-seat-on-a-plane-last-night-so-kenny-lofton-could-make-his-flight-to-cleveland

 

Don't Try to Park Downtown Today

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2016/10/24/dont-try-to-park-downtown-tomorrow

I couldn't disagree more about progressive field being out dated and ugly. That's the first time I have ever heard anyone say that, and I've heard Red Sox, yankee, tiger, pirate fans all say it's absolutely gorgeous and that was before they modernized it.  I'm not one to tell you how you feel,  but I think you are in the minority there. 

 

As for baseball/basketball interest, ratings say it all. The highest TV ratings for last years World Series was 17.1 million in game 5.all others were in the 14 million ballpark.  NBA finals this past year average around 31 million.  Baseball probably generates more money for cities because 1.) there are more seats, 2.) more games 3.) nicer weather (people go sit outside for dinner, etc.). Just some hypothesis

Also, demographics.  Baseball fans skew older and fans are more likely to have disposable income.  Basketball fans skew younger and with less disposable income.  (I read this somewhere but cannot find the article right now).

 

(Sorry, David's post was so long - I missed it when he mentioned it above)

The Indians just hosted the 2 least-attended World Series games since 2007.  That would not have been the case had they not replaced the upper deck in right with those hideous supply crate bars.

Talk about first world sports problems.

I couldn't disagree more about progressive field being out dated and ugly. That's the first time I have ever heard anyone say that, and I've heard Red Sox, yankee, tiger, pirate fans all say it's absolutely gorgeous and that was before they modernized it.  I'm not one to tell you how you feel,  but I think you are in the minority there. 

 

As for baseball/basketball interest, ratings say it all. The highest TV ratings for last years World Series was 17.1 million in game 5.all others were in the 14 million ballpark.  NBA finals this past year average around 31 million.  Baseball probably generates more money for cities because 1.) there are more seats, 2.) more games 3.) nicer weather (people go sit outside for dinner, etc.). Just some hypothesis

 

Anyone who thinks Progressive is dated and ugly sure didn't spend time in the upper deck of old Muni when 5,000 people would attend. Muni was about the worst place for baseball anywhere. Progressive is a great facility.

Well said about Progressive being a great facility...especially the lower concourse.

Here's hoping that the upper concourse gets the same treatment soon.

 

 

Anyone who thinks Progressive is dated and ugly sure didn't spend time in the upper deck of old Muni when 5,000 people would attend. Muni was about the worst place for baseball anywhere.

 

You could even tell it by watching games on TV. One time I saw a sparsely-attended game from like 1981 on STO and it looked like the most depressing place on Earth.

I love The Jake and I know the old Muni needed to go, but this is interesting:

 

 

Prog/Jake is in white (now ~38k), Cleveland Municipal is in green (~75k).

 

The row of luxury suites pushes the upper deck higher and farther away than the Muni did.  More fans were closer to the field in the old stadium actually.

Cool graphic. As one who sat in Municipal Stadium many times for baseball, football and one rock concert, it was a great place to watch a game -- if your seat was in front of the many columns. It was also a great place for a game if you didn't have to pee or visit a concession stand. It was an awesome place for baseball on opening day, when the Yankees came to town, or when Marathon gas stations had free ticket promotions. Then you'd have 60,000+ for baseball. But my best memories of Municipal Stadium were of football games, probably because the teams were good and the stadium reflected the grit and toughness of the teams that played there. They say there was blood in the bricks of that old stadium, which intimidated football opponents and made them realize they weren't going to be coddled here. It would be a bad day here for them.

Cool graphic. As one who sat in Municipal Stadium many times for baseball, football and one rock concert, it was a great place to watch a game -- if your seat was in front of the many columns. It was also a great place for a game if you didn't have to pee or visit a concession stand. It was an awesome place for baseball on opening day, when the Yankees came to town, or when Marathon gas stations had free ticket promotions. Then you'd have 60,000+ for baseball. But my best memories of Municipal Stadium were of football games, probably because the teams were good and the stadium reflected the grit and toughness of the teams that played there. They say there was blood in the bricks of that old stadium, which intimidated football opponents and made them realize they weren't going to be coddled here. It would be a bad day here for them.

 

Spoken like a true old school Clevelander!  YES!!

Muni was great on opening day because you'd get 70K to come out. The rest of the season, not so much. I went to damn near every Tribe home game in '86 and I remember when we used to use the open seats in the upper deck to "write" stupid things like GO BROWNS. It was too large and really had no weird quirks like Fenway or ye old Tiger/Comiskey that made them more intimate. It needed to be half full just to make any type of decent crowd noise. It was way, way too large for a team that spent three decades fighting to get out of the basement of the old AL East.

 

The only great thing of the era was you got to meet many of the players. Got to bs with Cory Snyder, Joe Carter, Phil Niekro, Mel Hall, etc. and we used pay $3 and sit in the left field upper deck. No way you could have that kind of access to players in any park today even if you paid $300 for a ticket and were sitting behind home plate.

 

Even though you could sit closer in the upper deck wasn't the field further away because of the oval "track and field" design of Muni? It sure feels like it when I think of the times I go to Progressive and compare.

 

Awesome for football. Maybe the best stadium in the NFL for quite awhile. Between the weather and the noise, there was nothing like it.

 

 

So getting back to the World Series....

 

Joe "I swoon for Schwarber" Buck's environs:

so glad that fat@$$ isnt in the lineup tonight.  He is a scary hitter, but yeah...the Buck fascination is exhausting. 

 

I trust Tomlin very much...tough young man and his pops is there tonight.  All he has to do is stick to the formula.  Keep us in the game.  Bauer could not do that

Damn right!

 

Where’s the love for the Indians?

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2016/10/25/where-all-love-for-indians/ydKFN33X7OMuGuahQjphZP/story.html?p1=Article_Recirculation_Pos14

At Wrigley Field, Cubs and Indians provide America a vote of confidence

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/at-wrigley-field-cubs-and-indians-provide-america-a-vote-of-confidence/2016/10/29/97433fdc-9d6a-11e6-a0ed-ab0774c1eaa5_story.html

World Series Game 5 (15.3 overnight rating) beat Cowboys-Eagles overtime game last night by 32% (11.6 for Sunday Night Football)

On a different note, I think both cities have been good hosts to visiting fans.  I talked to several people that went to Chicago as Tribe fans and everyone said it was friendly and hospitable.