Cleveland, OH: I have been to my fair share of All Star games in a number of cities and I have to say that each one has been a positive experience. Apparently, when the teams and cities are notified years prior for an All Star Game in those cities they have several years to prepare for the thousands of visitors and venders coming from all over the country and the around the world.
When this All Star weekend is over, Cleveland will have done much to convince visitors to return as tourist just to enjoy many of the amenities that this city has to offer besides their very popular sports franchises the Indians in baseball, Cavaliers in basketball, Browns in football, Cleveland Monsters in hockey and the Cleveland SC, National Premier Soccer League. For those that also like to try their luck, downtown also has a Casino. Obviously Cleveland is a sports minded city.
Many fine restaurants everywhere. (Photo Latinosports.com)
As I witnessed, downtown Cleveland is redeveloping as a sports and gastronomy hub, with quality restaurants and bars in just about every corner. Cleveland went all out for this All Star game and quite convenient by having all of the MLB events, Fan Fest, Play Ball, and the numerous other venues all relatively within walking distance of each other. The city is very clean. As I walked throughout the city I noticed that the streets had no litter and with so many visitors that was impressive.
Traffic was not an issue thanks to the major highways being so close to the stadium allowing cars to enter and exit the area in relative ease. We only experience a bit of a traffic jam on Tuesday afternoon when they had to redirect traffic and close off local streets for the Red Carpet Parade bringing the players and their families into the stadium on brand new Chevrolet vehicles through downtown. The crowds loved it as was evident by the number of fans lined up on the streets waving to their favorite players. It was a carnival atmosphere that everyone seemed to enjoy.
Congratulations to MLB and the Cleveland city planners for hosting a true and memorable All Star weekend.
