I think one value of professional sports is the validation of a community as significant - I'm sure nothing promotes the Cleveland brand more globally and richly than our sports teams. Pro sports events bring tourists/enthusiasts into town, even if just from the 'burbs, and that we have professional sports keeps people here - I'm sure this is a factor in many "buy" decisions in the region.

Of course, because of genocide in America's past, I cannot support the "Indians", regardless of their economic value to Cleveland - change the name to the "Progressives" and socially conscious people can cheer their home team, and the economic benefit will be even greater (I believe the benefit of thus doing right will be huge).

With an office near Gateway and the Gund/Q, I see the 100,000s of people in town each week spending $ millions at area hotels, restaurants and shops (and especially parking)... in many case, sports is the only thing that will bring folks from the suburbs to the city. I consider the Gateway district a success, although still in early stages of regional economic impact.

Of course, ODOT has set physical boundaries to the value of Gateway by boxing it in with the elevated I-90 freeway, which they now want to expand furtherer toward Carnegie. Compounding the harm of this concrete wall is the lack of community sophisitication planning development around Gateway toward the river. Most disturbing, at hearings about ODOT's impact on development in the area, representatives of the Gateway development corporation stated they do not want to see land open up for more development around Gateway...  they see expansion of the economy around Gateway as competition to existing Gateway property owners and businesses, reflecting a very shortsighted glass half empty mindset rampant among planners impacting Cleveland (like the claim of city planners that only Wolstein can develop the East Bank of the Flats, so we should allow him to do whatever he wants).

But, I was just thinking last night about how negative the impact of all the development along the lakefront has been for the region - not just the Stadium but the Rock Hall and Science Center, isolated out there away from everyone and everything (except miles of surface parking) - little islands of limited attraction with absolutely no synergy or collective value. That is not the fault of taxpayers, the sports industry or fans but the fault of NEO political and social leaders who chose to build two single-purpose stadiums instead of one great facility. Can we undo the damage done?

Nonetheless, I'm glad we have the global status as a major player in professional sports - that's the main thing that keeps Cleveland on the global map these days, and that can be leveraged further (just as we can further leverage being the home of the great team of artists at the Cleveland Institute of Art).

And to me that is the key to a good future for this region - bring folks back into the core for whatever attracts them - sports works fine - and use the opportunity to broaden their appreciation for other things that are great here, like arts, food, culture, music...

Great idea - he could raise $millions for cancer research. For more on St. Baldricks at A.J. Rocco's, see write-up here...

Good point, Susan. I don't care for professional sports and do not gamble. Why people do either is beyond me, but I'm fine with that - my parents watch golf on TV and neither play golf... go figure.

My only problems with professional sports in Cleveland is the identity of the Indians, and that many sports stars seem to drive gas-guzzlers for status. I'd rather see King James paid millions than Brittany Spears, or Oprah. And I'd rather see hords of sports fanatics storming our clubs and restaurants than 1,000,000,000s of religious fundamentalists bombing others' personal freedoms and civil rights - no communities I know of have been massacred over a game of cricket (not to say many insane "football" fans haven't tried)...

People like to get together, whether for entertainment, knowledge or mating - the sports experience is not unlike the concert experience. So perhaps we may do a better job in NEO of leveraging people's enthusism to convene for sports to bolster the community's awareness of other greatness here. If sports events attract 1,000,000s to Cleveland each year, shouldn't we use that opportunity to expose those people to other forms of culture?

The Tremont art walk combines one form of natural social interaction (dining and partying) with art, and that expands the experience and value for all, which attracts a larger and more diverse population that has become a richer version of both root communities - people convene for the combination of Tremont and art. The same could apply with sports and art.

These soprts events "capture" people and their minds and money - no fighting that. So how may the NEO arts community share the cultural pie with the professional sports community? Integrate. Our community leaders haven't been creative and progressive enough to combine arts and sports here, beyond a few public art works hidden around Gateway, so this must be a bottom-up initiative. How may we better leverage sports for higher value here?

Suggestions - before events and at halftime, you could provide modern dance, or opera - Three Tenors and Riverdance show the crossover potential. Use pro sports to highlight local artists - I'd rather a 20 story Derek Hess illustration of King James than the revolting Nike Swoop banner off Public Square - any of the local teams ever hire local artists to help expand the audiences for their teams? I didn't think so.

In the paper today, Larry Dolan is praised for something called college360 - these wealthy team owners are willing to invest in aspects of the community beyond sports, even if just to promote their own brands. So, while I don't like where the money of any of the sports team owners comes from (high interest credit cards and loans, cable TV, home shopping, MTV-nation), nor do I like sports, I certainly see the social and economic activity created by sports as a treasury for other community development. Therethrough, the arts will grow stronger in "brand value", economics and intellectual impact here.