Mike DeWine and his family visited Cleveland’s historic League Park on Saturday, July 15th, 2023. The President and Founder of the Baseball Heritage Museum, Bob Zimmer, led the DeWine family and their guests on a tour of League Park and the Museum.

League Park is where the American League Cleveland Indians, now Guardians, played until 1946, the National League Cleveland Spiders before them, and the Negro League Cleveland Buckeyes after them until 1950. The Baseball Heritage Museum occupies the remaining portion of the old ballpark, its ticket office on the northeast corner of Lexington Avenue and East 66th Street.

Ongoing restoration in this part of Cleveland’s historic Hough neighborhood continues with a $5.5 million mixed-use development in the works led by Akron-based M7 Holdings. Anthony Manna, Chairman and Founder of M7 Holdings, provided the Governor with an overview of the planned development, described as the “Cornerstone at League Park.”

“The governor was excited to learn about the vision for this historic neighborhood. The three-building project will give more space to the Baseball Heritage Museum and bring retail space to the area,” said Manna. “We’re thrilled to help breathe new life into the area and provide new opportunities for the surrounding community.”

Developers plan to erect two buildings along Lexington Avenue. One 10,000-square-foot building would include small storefronts and four upstairs apartments. Another 8,900-square-foot building would contain commercial space that could be used for restaurants.

The three new buildings, along with a 22-space parking lot, would be tied together through plazas and landscaping.

To complete their tour in the spirit of League Park, the DeWine family was also able to take in a vintage baseball game between the Whiskey Island Shamrocks Baseball Club and the Black Flags BBC of Drovertown.

Governor Mike Dewine with Tony Manna, Anthony Manna and Cassandra Manna of M7 Holdings.