Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse opened in October 1994 as part of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex with adjacent Progressive Field, which opened in April of that year. The facility replaced the Richfield Coliseum as the primary entertainment facility for the region and the home of the Cavaliers, and supplanted the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University, which opened in 1991, as the primary concert and athletic venue in downtown Cleveland. From its opening in October 1994 until August 2005, it was known as Gund Arena, named for former Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund, after he paid for the naming rights. After purchasing a majority of the Cavaliers in March 2005, Dan Gilbert bought the naming rights in August 2005 and renamed the building Quicken Loans Arena after his mortgage lending company Quicken Loans. It was renamed in April 2019 when Quicken Loans rebranded to Rocket Mortgage, as part of the facility's renovation and expansion.[8][9]
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was preceded in downtown Cleveland by the Cleveland Arena, a facility built in 1937 with a seating capacity for basketball of approximately 12,000. It was best known as the site of the Moondog Coronation Ball in 1952, widely regarded as the first rock and roll concert.[10] Cleveland Arena was the first home of the Cavaliers in 1970.[10]
The Cleveland Arena was also the home of an earlier professional basketball team, the Cleveland Rebels of the Basketball Association of America, the original Cleveland Barons ice hockey team, and hosted several games of the Cincinnati Royals of the NBA in the 1960s. By 1970, however, Cleveland Arena was outdated and in disrepair. The Cavs played there their first four seasons. It was replaced in 1974 by the 20,273-seat Richfield Coliseum, located in Richfield, between Cleveland and Akron.[10]
The Quicken Loans Arena logo and name was used from 2005 to 2019.
During the 1980s, the site of the Central Market, a fruit and vegetable market that dated back to 1856, was selected for construction of a multi-purpose domed stadium for the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians, but the ballot measure to fund it was defeated by voters. The market site was acquired in 1985 and cleared in 1987 in a continued push for new downtown sports facilities by city and business leaders. In 1990, voters approved a sin tax on alcohol and tobacco products in Cuyahoga County to fund the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex, which includes the FieldHouse and adjacent Progressive Field.[11] Construction began in 1992 with the ballpark opening in April 1994 and the arena in October 1994.[12][13] The arena opened with a concert by Billy Joel on October 17, 1994. The Cavaliers played their first regular-season game in the arena a few weeks later, a loss to the Houston Rockets on November 8, 1994.[14]
As part of his purchase of the team and the arena naming rights in 2005, Dan Gilbert, owner of Quicken Loans, funded renovations of the arena, which included installing new wine-colored seats, state-of-the-art scoreboards, video systems, and sound systems, new arena graphics and signage, and upgrades to security, locker rooms, and the suites, all of which were in place for the start of the Cavaliers' 2005–2006 season, except for the seats, which were replaced a few sections at a time.
Gilbert purchased the then-inactive Utah Grizzlies franchise of the American Hockey League on May 16, 2006, and announced that it would move to Quicken Loans Arena to replace the departed Cleveland Barons. The team name was announced as the Lake Erie Monsters on January 25, 2007, and began play in the 2007–08 season. The Lake Erie Monsters changed their name to the Cleveland Monsters on August 9, 2016.
In December 2016, the Cavaliers announced plans for renovations to the arena that included an increase in the square footage of the concourses and open areas, along with upgrades throughout the building.[15] The plan, which relied partly on tax money for funding, faced opposition from activist groups including the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus and the Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC).[16][17] After the groups submitted signatures to force a referendum on the plan, the Cavaliers announced that they were withdrawing from the plan, citing rising costs and delays caused by the prospective referendum.[18] However, in August 2017, after Cuyahoga County made a non-binding commitment to build two mental health crisis centers, the GCC withdrew its petitions.[19][20] In December 2017, the team stated it was moving forward with the renovations. The project was finished in September 2019 by The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, with the final cost being approximately $185 million.[21][22]
Design and operations
The arena seats 19,432 for basketball, with 2,000 club seats and 88 luxury suites. Seating is divided into three levels, with two main levels of suites and five "platinum suites" on the event level. Around the seating there are two main concourses, one on the ground level to access the 100 level seating and 32 lower suites, and an upper concourse for the top 200 level seating. The lower concourse also includes the ticket office and the two-level main team shop. In between is the club level, which provides access to the 60 upper suites and club seating. Also on the club level is an auxiliary gym, which was used by the Cavaliers as their main practice court until the opening of the Cleveland Clinic Courts practice facility in 2007.
In the hockey and arena football configuration, capacity is 18,926. During most Monsters games, the upper-level seating is closed and covered by a large curtain, reducing capacity to 9,447. In the basketball configuration, when the upper-level seating is closed, capacity is listed at 11,751. 60% of the seating is located in the lower two levels.[23] The seating capacity was reduced in 2018 as part of a major renovation project that expanded the concourses, removed three sections of seating in the upper level, and updated other parts of the facility. From the opening of the arena until 2018, seating capacity for basketball was listed at 20,562, with a maximum for ice hockey and arena football at 20,056.[24]
The scoreboard with flames during player introductions in 2014
The main scoreboard at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, nicknamed Humongotron, is the fourth largest scoreboard used in an NBA arena. It was installed in October 2014.[25]
On the roof of the building is a large LED message board that measures 360 feet (110m) by 90 feet (27m). The sign was approved by the Cleveland City Planning Commission in March 2016 with the stipulation that only the arena's name or its naming rights sponsor can be shown. Any other use of the sign needs commission approval.[26][27]
The arena, along with neighboring Progressive Field and an adjacent parking garage, is owned by the Gateway Economic Development Corporation of Greater Cleveland, an entity made up of members appointed by the governments of the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. Gateway leases the arena to the Cavaliers, who also manage the Cleveland Monsters.[28]
In March 2017, in partnership with the non-profit organization KultureCity, the Cavaliers officially introduced the availability of accommodations during all events for guests with hypersensitivity needs, such as attendees with autism spectrum disorders. This includes staff training, free "sensory bags" with headphones, a blanket, and other items geared towards attendees with sensory needs, as well as a sensory room and exemptions from re-entry policies if they are overwhelmed by the environment. The arena became the first in the NBA to be certified by KultureCity as being "sensory inclusive".[29][30]
Tenants
Current
Exterior view in 2022
As the home of the Cavaliers and Monsters, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse has hosted a number of notable events for each team, including playoff and championship games. Through the 2020–2021 season, the Cavs have hosted playoff games in 12 of their 27 seasons at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, including games three and four of the 2007 NBA Finals, 2017 Finals, 2018 Finals and games three, four, and six of the 2015 and 2016 Finals. The arena was also the site of the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the NBA, and it also hosted the 2022 All-Star Game, honoring the league's 75th anniversary.
The Monsters made their playoff debut in 2011 and returned to the playoffs in 2016. In the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs, the team advanced to the Calder Cup final and swept the Hershey Bears in four games for their first Calder Cup in franchise history. Games three and four were held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Game four, held on June 11, was a sell-out and drew 19,665 fans, which set a record for largest crowd to ever see a professional hockey game in the state of Ohio and the second-largest postseason crowd in American Hockey League history.[31]
Former
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse has been home to other franchises that have either relocated or folded. When it opened in 1994, in addition to being home of the Cavaliers, it was also the home arena for the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL). The Lumberjacks played at the arena until 2001, when the team folded along with the IHL. Later that year, a new incarnation of the Cleveland Barons, who played in the American Hockey League, began play and were tenants at the arena until 2006 when the team moved to Worcester, Massachusetts.
Two women's professional teams have also called the arena home. From 1997 to 2003, the Cleveland Rockers, one of the eight charter members of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), played at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The team folded after the 2003 WNBA season because the Gunds, who still owned the Cavs at that point, no longer wished to operate the Rockers franchise, and a new ownership group could not be obtained. The Cleveland Crush of the Lingerie Football League played at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for their 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons before moving to Toledo, Ohio, in late 2013.[34]
In 2015, it was announced that arena management and Cleveland State University came to an agreement where select Cleveland State Vikings men's and women's basketball games would take place at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, while the arena would essentially take over operations of the Wolstein Center, CSU's primary home arena, being in charge of promoting and booking events at the venue.[36]
A view from inside the arena.
WWE
The arena has hosted numerous WWE professional wrestling cards, including pay–per–view events such as:
On August 29, 2021, Cleveland native and internet personality turned professional boxer Jake Paul took on former UFCWelterweight ChampionTyron Woodley in an 8-round professional boxing match. Paul won the eight round bout via split decision in front of a nearly sold-out Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.[38]
Other events
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was selected in July 2014 as the host site for the 2016 Republican National Convention. The arena hosted the first Republican presidential debate of the 2016 election, aired by Fox News Channel, on August 6, 2015. The convention was held July 18–21, 2016.[39] Records obtained by the Center for Public Integrity show that Comcast, Microsoft, the American Petroleum Institute, Chevron, Koch Companies Public Sector, PhRMA, and other trade and lobby groups, "funded a limited liability company called 'Friends of the House 2016 LLC' to pay for "the design and outfitting of an exclusive office, lounge and gathering space, called the 'cloakroom', for Republican lawmakers" on the Cleveland Cavaliers practice court Quicken Loans Arena. The Cleveland 2016 Host Committee, who "facilitated construction of the 'cloakroom" space', received $923,100 from the Friends of the House 2016 LLC."[40]
The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team began play as an expansion team in 1970, along with the Portland Trail Blazers and Buffalo Braves. Home games were first held at Cleveland Arena from 1970 to 1974, followed by the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1994. Since 1994, the Cavs have played home games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland, which is shared with the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. Dan Gilbert has owned the team since March 2005.
The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. The franchise was originally based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and then later in Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Cleveland for the 2008 AFL season. The Gladiators qualified for the playoffs eight times in their history, reaching the ArenaBowl in 2014.
Progressive Field is a baseball stadium in the downtown area of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the ballpark of the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball and, together with Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, is part of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex. It was ranked as MLB's best ballpark in a 2008 Sports Illustrated fan opinion poll.
Northeast Ohio is a geographic and cultural region that comprises the northeastern counties of the U.S. state of Ohio. Definitions of the region consist of 16 to 23 counties between the southern shore of Lake Erie and the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, home to over 4.5 million people. It is anchored by the metropolitan area of Cleveland, the most populous city in the region with over 372,000 residents in 2020. Other metropolitan centers include Akron, Canton, Mansfield, Sandusky, and Youngstown. Northeast Ohio includes most of the area known historically as the Connecticut Western Reserve.
Richfield Coliseum, also known as the Coliseum at Richfield, was an indoor arena located in Richfield Township, between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. It opened in 1974 as a replacement for the Cleveland Arena, and had a seating capacity of 20,273 for basketball. It was the main arena for the Northeast Ohio region until 1994, when it was replaced by Gund Arena in downtown Cleveland. The Coliseum stood vacant for five years before it was purchased and demolished in 1999 by the National Park Service. The site of the building was converted to a meadow and is now part of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Cleveland Arena was an arena in Cleveland, Ohio. It was built and privately financed by local businessman Albert C. Sutphin during the height of the Great Depression in 1937 as a playing site for Sutphin's AHL team, the Cleveland Barons. The arena was at 3717 Euclid Avenue, and seated over 10,000 in the stands and over 12,500 for events such as boxing, where floor seating was available.
The Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Center is a 13,610-seat indoor arena located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the campus of Cleveland State University (CSU). It is home to the Cleveland State Vikings men's and women's basketball teams and previously served as the home of the Cleveland Crunch of the National Professional Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League from 1992 to 2005 and the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League from 2021 to 2024.
The Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex is an entertainment complex located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It opened in 1994 and is owned by the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County and is managed by the Gateway Economic Development Corporation, a non-profit group with board members who are appointed by county and city leaders.
Gordon Gund is an American businessman and professional sports owner. He is the CEO of Gund Investment Corporation. He is the former co-owner of the San Jose Sharks from 1992 to 2002, former principal owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1983 to 2005, and former principal owner of the Cleveland Rockers from 1997 to 2003. Gund lost his sight to retinitis pigmentosa and was a co-founder of Foundation Fighting Blindness.
The Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament is an NCAA Division I postseason single-elimination tournament. The winner of the tournament receives the Mid-American Conference (MAC) automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. As of 2021, the top eight teams in conference play qualify for the tournament. Since 2000, the MAC Tournament has been held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland and is planned to be held there through at least 2030. The finals are broadcast on ESPN2 while the semifinals on CBS Sports Network & the quarterfinals are on ESPN+ for streaming.
Joseph Tait was an American sports broadcaster who was the play-by-play announcer on radio for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and both TV and radio for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. With the exception of two seasons in the early 1980s and illness during his final season, he was the Cavaliers' radio announcer from the team's inception in 1970 through the 2010–11 season. He won the Basketball Hall of Fame 2010 Curt Gowdy Media Award.
Daniel Gilbert is an American billionaire, businessman, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and majority owner of Rocket Mortgage, founder of Rock Ventures, and owner of the National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers. Gilbert owns several sports franchises, including the American Hockey League's Cleveland Monsters, and the NBA G League's Cleveland Charge. He operates the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, home to the Cavaliers and Monsters. As of January 2023, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$18.3 billion.
Rocket Mortgage, LLC, formerly Quicken Loans, LLC, is an American mortgage lender, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. In January 2018, Rocket Mortgage became the largest overall retail lender in the U.S., and it was also the largest online retail mortgage lender. Rocket Mortgage relies on wholesale funding to make its loans and uses online applications rather than a branch system. Amrock is also part of the Rocket Mortgage Family of Companies. The company closed more than $400 billion of mortgage volume across all 50 states from 2013 through 2017.
Olivier Sedra is a public address announcer for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association. He was the public address announcer for the 2016 NBA Finals champions Cleveland Cavaliers. His style of announcing is a combination of Lawrence Tanter of the Los Angeles Lakers and his hero, Montreal Canadiens public address announcer Michel Lacroix. He is known for his baritone voice and precise yet exciting announcements.
The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team based in Cleveland, that play in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team debuted in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Monsters play home games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland and have one Calder Cup championship, after winning their first title in 2016.
Gary Gilbert is an American film producer and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Gilbert Films, a media production and financing company based in Los Angeles, California. He is also a co-founder of Rocket Mortgage, as well as a co-owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA team.
The Cleveland sports community is anchored by three major league professional sports teams: the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Guardians, and Cleveland Cavaliers. The city is also home to two minor league affiliates that serve as developmental teams for major league franchises: the Cleveland Monsters and Cleveland Charge. Another minor league team, the Cleveland Crunch, play in Major League Indoor Soccer. Local sporting facilities include Progressive Field, Huntington Bank Field, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Wolstein Center, and the I-X Center.
Ohio is home to many professional and college sports teams. The metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus are home to major league professional sports teams in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer.
Leonard Albert "Len" Komoroski was Chief Executive Officer of Rock Entertainment Group, the umbrella entity of the teams and venues that are part of Cavaliers Chairman Dan Gilbert’s Rock Family of Companies. It includes the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers, the AHL Cleveland Monsters, the NBA G League Cleveland Charge and Cavs Legion of the NBA 2K League; and the operation of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Legion Lair Lit by TCP home of Cavs Legion in Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic Courts - the Cavaliers’ training and development center in Independence, Ohio.
References
↑ Farkas, Karen (May 5, 2017). "Bonds for Quicken Loans Arena Delayed Until Referendum Issue Resolved". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved May 5, 2017. Komoroski and Offtermatt spoke after a Gateway Economic Development Corp. board meeting...The non-profit organization, a joint entity created by the city and county, owns the arena and Progressive Field and enforces the team leases on behalf of the county.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Tower City 
