The 2021 Cleveland Baseball Organization

[Lee]

There are a lot more bad weather baseball games in Cleveland than football games. In March-April-May it's more likely to be cold or rainy at the stadium than 60ish and sunny/warm. Nobody wants to buy advance tickets when it's apt to be 40-45 degree weather at 8 or 9 pm downtown. That's no way to watch baseball IMO. Football fans, OTOH, usually come dressed for colder weather and most games are played in the early afternoon. We don't usually get any game day snow until late December if at all. IMO a roof would be wasted on the football stadium, but would help bring fans in for baseball games before June.

There are 16 now 17 football games a year, 162 baseball, one football game does not equal 1 baseball...its 1 football to 10 baseball.

Last year there were 3 ridiculous football games in a row, that is equal to 30 bad baseball games.

Its just not the same. Not saying one sport is better, just saying its not comparable,.

 

[CATS44]

No dome didn't hurt attendance in the late 1990s.

Would a dome help attendance now? Maybe marginally, but not enough to justify the cost....which is why there are only two retractable roof MLB stadiums in cold weather cities.

 

[sportscoach]

No dome didn't hurt attendance in the late 1990s.

Would a dome help attendance now? Maybe marginally, but not enough to justify the cost....which is why there are only two retractable roof MLB stadiums in cold weather cities.

People vote on the stadiums and of course they want it to feel outside, but then regret it later... There almost isn't any reason for stadiums nowadays not to have the retractable roofs like Milwaukee and Seattle's stadiums...

 

[DCTribefan]

People vote on the stadiums and of course they want it to feel outside, but then regret it later... There almost isn't any reason for stadiums nowadays not to have the retractable roofs like Milwaukee and Seattle's stadiums...

Money is the ultimate deciding factor.

 

[CATS44]

Money is the reason..and its a great reason.

 

[sportscoach]

Money is the ultimate deciding factor.

All of the original proposals for Jacobs field essentially where covered, but those didn't pass... Minnesota also turned down a covered if I remember correctly

 

[Steve_424]

FWIW, I went to American Family Field for the first time last week and it's a beautiful stadium. Game started with the roof closed, small storm passed through, then the roof was open the rest of the night. It would absolutely help attendance for April/May.

 

[Gson]

All of the original proposals for Jacobs field essentially where covered, but those didn't pass... Minnesota also turned down a covered if I remember correctly

Subsequent to Jacob's Field opening.. in the early 2000's. I believe a study was conducted defining what it would take to put a lid on Jacob's Field.. The total cost, if I recall was in the $ 100 - $ 120 MM range.. but it was doable.. That engineering study may not have been the only one..

 

[sportscoach]

FWIW, I went to American Family Field for the first time last week and it's a beautiful stadium. Game started with the roof closed, small storm passed through, then the roof was open the rest of the night. It would absolutely help attendance for April/May.

The problem is cost of modifying Jacobs Field to be able to have a retractable roof... I cannot think of anything within a good budget that would actually work... Between the weight of the roof, the winds off the lake etc... It would almost be the cost of a smaller new stadium to do it...

 

[daddywags]

All of the original proposals for Jacobs field essentially where covered, but those didn't pass... Minnesota also turned down a covered if I remember correctly

Covered is no good unless it's retractable. I don't recall whether retractable roofs were even viable in the early '90s.

 

[sportscoach]

Covered is no good unless it's retractable. I don't recall whether retractable roofs were even viable in the early '90s.

I think the original were domed... If I recall correctly... I think the retractable could have been done, but it was going to be a fair amount more cost wise...

 

[eChameleon]

Hell yeah, let's go back to domes. Just a big UFO plopped in the middle of goddamn nowhere with 300,000 seats.

 

[CDAV45]

Nobody wants a god forsaken dome.

 

[Steve_424]

The problem is cost of modifying Jacobs Field to be able to have a retractable roof... I cannot think of anything within a good budget that would actually work... Between the weight of the roof, the winds off the lake etc... It would almost be the cost of a smaller new stadium to do it...

Oh yeah, I'm not sure it's feasible now. But the people saying it wouldn't help are wrong IMO.

 

[DCTribefan]

Retractable roofs have their issues as well. I went to Chase Field in mid April of 2019 and even though temps were in mid 60s and breezy, the roof was kept closed to my chagrin. Obviously, it is needed in mid May through October. I actually discovered there are MLB rules governing use of retractable roofs,


Retractable Roof Policy
The Diamondbacks are required to follow all MLB policies in effect for retractable roof stadiums. In accordance with MLB policy, the following guidelines must be followed:

• The decision as to whether a game begins with the roof open or closed rests solely with the home club.
• If the game begins with the roof open:
  • It shall be closed only in the event of impending rain or other adverse weather conditions. The decision to close the roof shall be made by the home club, after consultation with the Umpire Crew Chief.
  • The Umpire Crew Chief shall notify the visiting club, which may challenge the opening of the roof if it feels that a competitive imbalance will arise. In such an event, the Umpire Crew Chief shall make a final decision based on the merits of the challenge.
  • Once the roof is closed during a game, it shall not be reopened.
• If the game begins with the roof closed:
  • It may be opened when, in the opinion of the home club, the climatic environment has reached a level where fan comfort and enjoyment will be best served by opening the roof to the natural atmospheric conditions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following guidelines should be applied opening the roof during a game.
  • The roof may be opened only once during the game.
  • The Umpire Crew Chief will be notified at the commencement of the inning that the roof will be opened at the inning's conclusion.
  • The Umpire Crew Chief shall notify the visiting club, which may challenge the opening of the roof if it feels that a competitive imbalance will arise. In such an event, the Umpire Crew Chief shall make a final decision based on the merits of the challenge.
  • The opening of the roof shall only commence between innings.
  • The roof shall be opened in a pair of 2 minute, 15 second intervals; one interval at the conclusion of an inning and one interval at the conclusion of the next inning.