Thoughts with the family, and I wish the ballpark was still named after him.

Farewell to the best owner the Cleveland Indians have ever had.

Bill Veeck died again?!

Sorry. In all seriousness, condolences to the Jacobses and the Indians. He helped bring that team back from an oblivion most franchises never experienced.

Farewell to the best owner the Cleveland Indians have ever had.

Bill Veeck wasn't bad for a short-term owner, but yeah, I'd agree that Jacobs' time as owner was special on a number of levels...

I wish the ballpark was still named after him.

concur... Progressive Field and Quicken Arena are teh suck for names.


I'm a native Washingtonian, but spent a little over a decade in Cleveland... it's a terrific town, and one that (I'm convinced) is gonna have a major revival in a generation or so.

EDIT: I understand Cokes are the custom here for this sort of thing, yes?

it's a terrific town, and one that (I'm convinced) is gonna have a major revival in a generation or so.

It is definitely a better town than it's reputation, but I have to say, I don't see a "major revival" happening anytime soon. I mean, has any Rust Belt city really had a "major" revival?

MAYBE Pittsburgh. Maybe.

It is definitely a better town than it's reputation, but I have to say, I don't see a "major revival" happening anytime soon. I mean, has any Rust Belt city really had a "major" revival?

Actually, I was just laughing about that...Cleveland's already had one fairly large revival (in the 90s), then fell apart again. Another one would be very welcome, but kind of silly too. It's Bipolar Disorder on a municipal scale.

wait, it was new owners that came in and changed the name of the park? classy

It is definitely a better town than it's reputation, but I have to say, I don't see a "major revival" happening anytime soon. I mean, has any Rust Belt city really had a "major" revival?

MAYBE Pittsburgh. Maybe.

---

Cleveland's already had one fairly large revival (in the 90s), then fell apart again. Another one would be very welcome, but kind of silly too.

eh... my impression as an outsider was that Cleveland has virtually all of the benefits of big city life with very few of the headaches, and the cost of living is *very* reasonable... and the winters, although long, are nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. The summers are mild and the autumns are usually nothing short of glorious.

Anyhow, I said "in a generation or so" regarding a true Cleveland comeback... the 90s revival was really just a major cleanup of downtown, yes? I figure it'll take a generation for the last of the manufacturing-economy dependent segment of the workforce population to die off or move back to West Virginia. I was amazed at how focused the NE Ohio political leadership is on what Cleveland lacks instead of making an effort to sell the city and region for what it is, 'cause the area has a lot to offer... are they still jabbering about the convention center, for example? While Cleveland ain't ever gonna be a major convention destination, the city does have the Cleveland Clinic and the University Hospital System, two significant medical institutions. They should be working like crazy to bring in every medical research related organization possible.

I miss the West Side Market.

wait, it was new owners that came in and changed the name of the park? classy

Part of the deal when Jacobs sold the team was that the ballpark would remain Jacobs Field for X number of years, after which the new ownership could do whatever they want with it. I don't recall how many years it was.

the 90s revival was really just a major cleanup of downtown, yes?

Mostly, yeah. The city spent a TON of money in an attempt to revitalize downtown. Built two stadiums and an arena, unsuccessfully tried to turn the Jake/Gund area into a hip destination. Meanwhile the Flats collapsed, the steel industry went to ####, and seemingly everybody lost their job.

Political leadership up there is horribly corrupt and fragmented. You'd think that as essentially a one-party system (the Democrats OWN politics in Cleveland) they'd be able to get things done, but that's not really the case. Everybody's trying to stack the deck so that their consituency benefits at the expense of everybody else, and there's all kinds of infighting inside the party to the point where nothing ever actually happens. The convention center, for instance, which...yeah...is still an issue.

The latest plan for the convention center is to turn most of it into a permanent medical trade show. They're trying to capitalize on the medical infrastructure, but the efforts are hilariously inept. They can't get anything finalized and even if it happens, they're spending massive amounts of time and money trying to develop a service-based business instead of developing research jobs. Those commercial jobs don't seem terribly permanent to me. Someone, somewhere will offer massive tax breaks to lure them away and Cleveland will be left with more empty commercial space and unemployed residents.

But anyway, back to Dick Jacobs: He was a huge, huge positive for the city of Cleveland and Indians fans. He's the only owner they've had since Veeck who's understood that you have to do more than just open up the gates to draw fans. He spent money to make money, built a large and loyal fan base that the Dolans are pissing away, and genuinely loved the team. We'll miss him.

Bill Livingston's PD column on Jacobs

What's funny is when I lived in Pittsburgh in the 90s, people there were envious of what was going on in Cleveland. When I lived outside of Cleveland a decade later, the reverse seemed true.

But anyway, back to Dick Jacobs: He was a huge, huge positive for the city of Cleveland and Indians fans. He's the only owner they've had since Veeck who's understood that you have to do more than just open up the gates to draw fans.

This is true. Baseball needs more owners like the Jacobs brothers, and I say this as someone who is not a fan of Cleveland's baseball team. They did a superb job with fan outreach, and that park is one of the best new ones (along with PNC Park). Their effect on the team will be felt years from now.

Political leadership up there is horribly corrupt and fragmented. You'd think that as essentially a one-party system (the Democrats OWN politics in Cleveland) they'd be able to get things done, but that's not really the case. Everybody's trying to stack the deck so that their consituency benefits at the expense of everybody else, and there's all kinds of infighting inside the party to the point where nothing ever actually happens.

Democrats can't govern. Our cities are proof.

And, no, Republicans can't govern much these days, either...because they've started emulating Democrats.

Meanwhile the Flats collapsed

Yeah, what happened there? I remember hearing how great that area was for a few years after the revitalization, but I never got there till 2 summers ago. Didn't strike me as anything special. (And what was it like in its heyday?)

What's funny is when I lived in Pittsburgh in the 90s, people there were envious of what was going on in Cleveland.

Well, Cleveland had a much better baseball team...

When I lived outside of Cleveland a decade later, the reverse seemed true.

Pittsburgh's definitely had more success in sustaining its urban renewal. I suppose there are a lot of reasons for that, but it seems Pittsburgh's been better at completely reinventing its economic base--there's really not much of a manufacturing base there at all anymore. Lots of health-related and high-tech industry. The rest of the rust belt seems to have had more trouble shedding its dependence on heavy industry.

Pittsburgh has hemorrhaged population, like the other rust belt cities, but it's remained pretty vital despite (because of?) that.

Yeah, what happened there?

underage drinking on the East Bank, mostly... coupla kids fell into the river and drowned, and that was that. There's still a little life on the West Bank with Shooters and the bars/restaurants in The Powerhouse... at least there was when I left in early '08.

The nightlife crowd just moved up the hill to the Warehouse District... if there was anything like The Flats in D.C., it'd be the center of the region.

Democrats can't govern. Our cities are proof.

And, no, Republicans can't govern much these days, either...because they've started emulating Democrats.

It's hard to govern a place whose tax base moves away.

It's hard to govern a place whose tax base moves away.

In Sim City you just protect your revenue by moving up the tax slider a bit when they do that, or is that why I always end up with urban wastelands?