being from northeast ohio and here for the openings of gund arena and jacobs field, it was also said that local business would boom. well, right across the parking lot from the ballpark is a bar which has opened and closed at least four time under new management since jacobs field opened. restaurants come and go on the premise that customers will flock to their establishments before and after games. when the tribe was consistently in the playoffs and tickets were at a premium, this may have been true - people hoping to get cheap tix ended up tipping a few at the nearby tavern, but with crowds dwindled to less than half capacity, this is not the case. and, anyone who thinks that CROWDS will walk in the downtown cleveland winter from a pregame watering hole to the arena has never done so.

Living in San Francisco, I can say that I’ve witnessed a new ballpark (Pac Bell, AT&T;, SBC Park) create more of a boon to the local neighborhood than anyone could ever have imagined.  It moved into an area that was depressed and run down, and has since created high rents for businesses that are profiting where empty buildings once stood.  The property values in the surrounding areas have increased enough to allow anyone who invested beforehand to forever live comfortably on what they’ve earned (even now in this recession period).  The ballpark has led to an incredible revitalization for anything that is in that area.
Simply put, building a ballpark properly will lead to a boon; but with poor planning, it will not.