In Cleveland, Marc Bona notes the Indians are among the teams taking part in the "Apollo at the Park" initiative between the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and MLB to "commemorate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, on July 20, 1969." At Progressive Field, a "figure about 5 feet tall of an astronaut stands close to the U.S. flag in the centerfield concourse behind section 101." Workers delivered the statue in late June. Progressive Field is one of 15 MLB ballparks to "have the replica statue." It is "scheduled to remain for the rest of the season" (CLEVELAND.com, 7/16).
BIGGER IS BETTER: In N.Y., Christopher Clarey notes Wimbledon is preparing to expand after the All England Club in December "completed an early buyout of the lease of the Wimbledon Park Golf Club," which will "nearly triple" the club’s footprint to about 120 acres from 42. The All England Club will "take possession of the majority of the new land" in December '21, and the "rest most likely" in '22 or '23. What is "clear is that a large number of grass courts will be constructed on the new site, allowing the club to stage the qualifying tournament at Wimbledon instead of at its current site about four miles away." That "could happen" in time for the '24 tournament (N.Y. TIMES, 7/16).
TAKING CONTROL: In Canton, Kelly Byer noted the Johnson Controls HOF Village at the Pro Football HOF is the "interested buyer" in the sale of the McKinley Grand Hotel. HOF Village CEO Mike Crawford "expects the Village to finalize the purchase in the coming months and begin renovations, during which the hotel likely would close for a time." The Village is in "talks with a national chain to develop a project improvement plan." The Village plans to spend $15-20M on "improvements and retain 35 full-time jobs at the hotel" (OHIO.com, 7/15).
