Cleveland Cavaliers say they are "doubling down" on downtown investment
Cleveland Fed president and chief executive officer Beth M. Hammack toured Rocket Arena in downtown Cleveland and learned about a riverfront development project.
Leaders of the Cleveland Cavaliers organization hosted Cleveland Fed president and chief executive officer Beth M. Hammack at Rocket Arena and shared information about the team’s regional economic impact and the Cuyahoga Riverfront Master Plan project.
Hammack (center) tours Rocket Arena with leaders of the Cavaliers organization and a team from the Cleveland Fed (March 31, 2025)
Hammack (center) tours Rocket Arena with Antony Bonavita (right), Cavaliers chief venue and development officer, and Khaz Finley (left) of the Cleveland Fed (March 31, 2025)
The team is a large employer in the region, with about 500 full-time and 1,500 part-time workers.
According to an economic impact report released by the team, Rocket Arena, the home of both the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers and the American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters, hosts between 150 and 175 events each year that attract 1.5 million people to downtown Cleveland.
Hammack (right) is shown the inside of the arena. Bonavita (center) and Ahmed Abonamah (left), Cavaliers chief financial officer, explain that the facility can hold more than 19,000 people for basketball games (March 31, 2025)
The organization’s leadership said the Cavs are “doubling down on downtown” investment.
Team leaders pointed to the Cuyahoga Riverfront project as proof of this commitment to drive more activity to downtown Cleveland. Phase 1 began in October 2024, when construction started on a new Cavaliers practice facility and the Cleveland Clinic’s Global Peak Performance Center which is designed to be a sports medicine hub. The facility is expected to open in 2027.
The Cavaliers are part of Rock Entertainment Group, which is owned by Dan Gilbert, the founder of Rocket Mortgage and the real estate development firm Bedrock Detroit.
Bedrock Detroit is the developer behind the Cuyahoga Riverfront project.
The full Cuyahoga Riverfront project is expected to be a $3.5 billion, 35-acre, mixed-use development located between Tower City and the Cuyahoga River and positioned along a section of the river’s east bank in the Flats. It is expected to include waterfront access and 12 acres of publicly accessible spaces like parks, plazas, trails, and a 3,000-foot riverwalk.
Lisa Barrow (left) of the Cleveland Fed and Hammack (center) listen to Abonamah and Bonavita (right) explain the riverfront project (March 31, 2025)
Hammack listens to Bonavita explain more about the riverfront project as they look at the Cuyahoga River (March 31, 2025)
About President Beth M. Hammack’s Around the District tour
President Hammack is visiting communities across the Fourth District as part of her Around the District tour to meet and connect with the people who live and work in all corners of the region and to gain a better understanding of how the economy is working in different communities. The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Hammack will use this information to inform her policy views and better represent the Fourth District around the Federal Open Market Committee table.
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Beth M. Hammack
Beth M. Hammack is the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, one of 12 regional Reserve Banks in the Federal Reserve System.
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The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (commonly known as the Cleveland Fed) is part of the Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United States.