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Wouldn’t the increase to the expansion fee just increase the asking price for teams being sold and/or the relocation fee to move a team? I think it’s just going to be expensive to get into the NWSL. I’m torn because I agree with you that February in Ohio is a tough sell and March is hit or miss. I think April/May and late summer/fall would do really well attendance-wise. I don’t know enough about how the soccer landscape works, but would it be possible to start in Super League and try to move to NWSL after showing some success? Didn’t Cincinnati do something like that to get their MLS team? At least if CLE soccer group went that route, they’d come to the negotiating table with an existing stadium, revenue stream, and data pointing to the success of their franchise. And maybe they could even attract more local investors along the way.

I believe it’s Illuminate CLE from Destination Cleveland. Glad to hear it looks good! Improved lighting goes a long way to help make Public Square and downtown feel more inviting when it’s dark out.

I think this is the right way to think about it. Cleveland would likely meet the minimum hotel requirement by the time a new dome is built, and I can't imagine they'd build a stadium that wasn't expandable to 70,000 for the super bowl. The truth is that there isn't a single indoor stadium in the NFL that hasn't hosted a Super Bowl, so we shouldn't act like it's impossible. It wouldn't surprise me if the NFL guaranteed a super bowl as part of the deal to build the stadium. Every other new dome has hosted a super bowl within 2-4 years of opening (Detroit, Indy, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, LA, Las Vegas, Houston).

I can't watch this morning, but the CPC slides are posted: https://planning.clevelandohio.gov/designreview/drcagenda/2025/PDF/slides/02072025 CPC Presentation.pdf Love to see this note about the comments they've received (I'm sure UO was a big part of this):

These are just the defunct team names from former WNBA teams that presumably submitted bids this year. I think the pool of total bids is actually much larger (for example, I heard Nashville submitted a bid with a team named for Pat Summitt).

I think that was more a case of convenience, as Canon had already purchased Quality Electrodynamics, which is located in Mayfield, so Canon Healthcare co-located there as it sought a more permanent location. Now, hopefully they've found that at the IBM building (and maybe would expect QED to move to UC/Fairfax as well eventually?).

Slides from today's NOACA meeting: https://www.noaca.org/home/showpublisheddocument/32293/638733157832302584 Very little mention of the major stumbling block of dealing with CSX.

Nothing new happening on the actual site, but I did notice a few months back that there’s now a Blue Abyss sign on one of the office buildings on Aerospace Pkwy, presumably meaning they’re leasing some space there till their facility is built.

I agree. I also think that there's been plenty of opportunity to develop it if there's any appetite. It was closed for a couple years before Metroparks bought it, and now there should still be significant time for developers to jump in and piggyback on the brownfield grant. If there's no interest, I think tearing it down is the best option. As far as I can tell, the Metroparks' goal for the Columbus peninsula is to get a riverside trail constructed, and they're open to development otherwise. They bought the Catanese Classics property and quickly sought RFQ's for development on the portions of property where the trail wouldn't be. Metroparks or City of Cleveland now owns all property between Rivergate and Canal Basin on the West bank of Columbus peninsula, so hopefully once Graincraft is settled then the trail can be constructed and there would be a blank slate of land along Merwin along a riverside trail that would be attractive to developers.

Love to see the funding rolling in for this! There's also the $20 million from the state, which would put us right around 1/3 of the way there. https://www.clevelandohio.gov/news/ohio-legislature-allocates-20-million-clevelands-north-coast-connector-project

Independently of this announcement, it does appear that they're ready to present the feasibility study. At the November NOACA Executive Committee meeting, it was proposed to present the extension study at the December Board of Directors Meeting. I don't see any indication that that actually happened, so maybe it got pushed back. There's a NOACA Board of Directors in two weeks on 1/24, so maybe it'll be presented then?

Weston would be selling the land to the Haslams, so this project would be done if the Haslams go through with the plan to move the stadium there. The new building looks like it would stay, since it's there in the new stadium renderings.

I received a survey and have an out of state area code (but I do live in 216 now). Maybe they just sent it to people that have bought Browns tickets before (though it has been about 10 years since I’ve done that).

It seems like the Airport Station is much closer than Brookpark Station, so if they're not going to build an infill station, maybe they could establish a connection to that one. Maybe it would be too difficult given that station's integration into airport though. If they are counting on using Brookpark Station, hopefully it's possible to add a pedestrian path next to the rail lines to make the walk closer to the distance as the crow flies (still wouldn't be the most pleasant walk obviously, but at least shorter). It's disappointing that there doesn't seem to be much consideration of ToD with this project. I've always been higher on the idea of moving the stadium here than most, mainly based on it at least being rail-connected, but if there's going to be no effort to make rail access convenient, that kind of vaporizes the best feature of this site in comparison to other non-downtown options.

Would there even be a lease? Wouldn't the Haslams own the stadium and the land in Brook Park?

I should have looked him up before I posted! That does sound really helpful actually. Totally agree that a solid 3/4 starting pitcher is more important than retaining Gimenez.

They're already trading Horwitz to the Pirates, apparently getting back LHP Josh Hartle, Luis Ortiz, and Michael Kennedy. I'm not plugged enough to know about any of these guys, but I'd imagine it'll be a step back in talent for next season at least.

Berea is trying to use the Browns development as a springboard to attract a new developer for the north end of the bridge on Front St. A new RFP was issued 12/1: https://cityofberea.org/DocumentCenter/View/4536/RFP---Revitalization-of-Front-Street--North-Rocky-River-Drive-Corridor

From Jeff Kassouf (NWSL writer for ESPN) on Bluesky at 12:19 today: #NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman says the expansion process is down to three: Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Denver. That's the first public acknowledgement of the finalists.

Personally, I think it could be sustained. For one thing, Caitlin Clark should be around for a long time to come. The recent WNBA finals had good ratings (over 3 million viewers for the deciding game) even without Caitlin Clark. The WNBA signed a big media deal this summer to air more games on ESPN, NBC, and Prime, which is scheduled to start in 2026. That will make it easier to watch games and incentivize those networks to talk more about the WNBA. I've also been hearing a lot about Paige Bueckers, who currently plays at UConn and is expected to be drafted number 1 next year and could be a similar draw to Caitlin Clark. There's obviously a lot of Caitlin Clark buzz, but I do think a decent number of people that are drawn in by the buzz are sticking around because they like the product. So I think the WNBA is still on the upswing in popularity, and I definitely think it's worthwhile for Gilbert to bid on having a team. Plus, there's no real downside for the city, as he doesn't seem to be asking for money, facilities, or anything.

Agreed, I was trying to say that the team folding because of the Gunds’ disinterest is better for their prospects of landing a new team than folding due to lack of fan interest/support.

I wasn’t familiar with the circumstances of the Rockers folding, and I found this article helpful: https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/sports/articles/why-did-the-wnba-cleveland-rockers-leave-20-years-ago-largely-lebron-james It sounds like attendance wasn’t all that bad, and Cleveland mostly lost the team due to lack of interest by the Gunds. There’s a lot of competition for the bid, and my initial thought was they wouldn’t waste it on a city where the WNBA already failed. I still think it’s probably a long shot, but at least there’s evidence to suggest the city would show up for a new team. it would definitely be cool to get a WNBA and NWSL team and have summers packed with women’s sports downtown!

Glad to see Bedrock is involving the Metroparks so early in the riverfront development. From: November Board Meeting Agenda

I think it's now pretty much standard for ownership groups to cover cost overruns. The Jaguars ownership is doing it for their big stadium renovation and the Haslams even said they plan to in their letter announcing they're focusing on the Brook Park site.

I also thought that seemed nuts, but if they ever have close to 6500 people in the stadium, it’ll probably be packed. More often, it’ll probably max out at several hundred parking spots being used (150 apartments + 150 hotel rooms + office + retail).