Abstract

Stadium construction is one of the most prevenient topics in sports today, but cities and teams have been building stadiums since the early nineteenth century. Economists, political scientists, and urban planners have all studied the effects of stadium construction, but historians have largely ignored this topic, especially in how it relates to race and class issues in urban and suburban areas. This study utilizes newspaper articles, census data, and voting records to analyze racial and class-based discrimination in the Gateway Project, a construction project in Cleveland, Ohio that built the Gund Arena and Jacobs Field in the 1990s. An examination of these sources reveals that pro-Gateway politicians ignored the concerns of black leaders and minority residents during the campaign for the tax measure that partially funded the stadiums, and that project organizers struggled to include minorities in the process of constructing the stadiums. This study is a much-needed contribution to scholarship due to the current prevalence of stadium construction and the recent growth in discussions of race through and within the context of sports.

Advisor

Walters, Jordan

Department

History

Disciplines

Other History

Publication Date

2018

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2018 Hannah R. White