The Building of the Progressive Field Research Paper

The Building of the Progressive Field - Research Paper Example The Gateway project was a major achievement in that it was the first successful construction of two fields at the same location. In the project, the progressive Field, then known as Jacobs Field, was the first to be completed and is heralded as the first baseball-only facility in the US. The Progressive Field was built as part of the Gateway project which envisioned better sports in downtown Cleveland. It was multi-phased strategy to develop a large sports complex in Cleveland and which Sasaki would provide the desired designs It was a sophisticated strategy aimed at revitalizing of the economy through consensus building. The master plan had an important objective of incorporating the entertainment and sports aspects into the downtown areas. This idea would serve as a catalyst for economic growth by opening space fabric in the downtown city. Therefore, before plans for a baseball stadium and a basketball arena were floated, there existed a dream of a domed stadium on the same site. I n the early 1980s, the Cleveland Browns and the Cleveland Indians had complained and grumbled about the state of the aging Cleveland Stadium, which had housed them for many years. The fact that the stadium was 50 years old did not help matters and this kept fans away from cheering their teams. The project was kick started in 1984 when county voters in Cleveland defeated a proposed increase in property tax to fund the construction of a new dome shaped stadium. The Mayor had proposed a 0.9-mill increase in the property tax and would affect home owners.