The area around Goodyear Ballpark, spring home of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, has been pretty desolate, but long-awaited development may finally be on the way.
We have a longer story at our Ballpark Digest site, but here’s the gist. Goodyear Ballpark and an adjoining training camp for the Cleveland Indians opened in 2009, with the Cincinnati Reds arriving a year later. When the Indians first arrived, city officials went forward with a $108 million investment with a vision of a ballpark village surrounding the facility, creating a year-round destination with plenty of bars, restaurant, retail and hotels. But that development never happened in the ballpark vicinity, with the land changing hands and no developer having the ability to pull off any new construction.
Now, however, city officials say they are seeing some potential investments in a growing part of the Valley–but those investments are coming in the form of apartment buildings. Once there are more residents in the Goodyear Ballpark area, the hope is that the retail and entertainment district will follow.
Goodyear Ballpark is, we find, generally an underrated facility, but it’s far enough off the beaten path to be a day-long commitment. Having some area entertainment would certainly be a draw for a facility that fails to bring in a larger base of spring-training fans.
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