and other dates where larger crowds were expected, moving to the stadium full-time in 1947. Cleveland Stadium was the largest stadium in the American League during its tenure as a baseball facility and was the largest stadium in Major League Baseball for all but a few seasons. It had been a symbol of the Indians' glory years of the 1940s and 1950s, attracting some of the largest crowds in baseball history. However, during the team's lean years from the 1960s through the early 1990s, even crowds of 40,000 people were swallowed up in the cavernous environment. As a result, the Indians began pressing for a new stadium. Plans for a new stadium first began in 1984 when Cuyahoga County voters defeated a property tax for building a 100% publicly funded domed stadium, which would have been shared by the Indians and Browns. Later that year, committee leaders met to re-evaluate these plans, and a location was later agreed upon. The eventual site of the stadium, the location of the Central Market, was acquired in December 1985. In April 1986, designs for the new stadium were agreed upon and about a year later, demolition at the site started. Cuyahoga County voters approved a 15-year sin tax on alcohol and cigarette sales in May 1990 to finance the new Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex, which included the ballpark (then known as Jacobs Field), Gund Arena for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association, and two parking garages. Construction started in January 1992, and by May of that year, the concrete construction had been poured. In June 1992, Mel Harder, who pitched the opening game at Cleveland Stadium in 1932, and contemporary stars Charles Nagy and Sandy Alomar Jr., executed the ceremonial first pitch at the site of the new ballpark before construction began. The installation of seating was completed in October 1993. The ballpark, which was referred to as "Cleveland Indians Baseball Park" and "Indians Park" on blueprints, cost approximately $175 million to build, of which $91 million was provided by Indians owner Richard Jacobs. The remaining $84 million was raised by the sin tax. An open house was held April 1, 1994, and the following day, an exhibition game was held against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The first official game was held April 4. U.S. President Bill Clinton threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and the Indians defeated the Seattle Mariners