CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday hosted a press conference to announced that Quicken Loans Arena would immediately change its name to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The change marks the third in the history of the complex, which opened as Gund Arena in 1994 before adopting the Quicken Loans moniker in 2005. Rocket Mortgage is a subdivision of Quicken Loans, which was founded and still run by Cavs owner Dan Gilbert.
Among those in attendance were: Gilbert, Quicken Loans CEO Jay Farner, Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson, Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish, Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena CEO Len Komoroski, and Cavs General Manager Koby Altman.
PHOTOS | Quicken Loans Arena renamed to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
"When you think of 'Rock,' you think of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you think about the basketball being a rock," Gilbert said Tuesday. "We're very excited to kind of merry it all into one brand."
Still currently ongoing, the renovations at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse are expected to be finished in time for the start of the 2019-20 NBA season, and Komoroski says the first event at the newly renovated structure will be a Black Keys concert. Gilbert provided an additional $45 million to the project, bringing the cost of the project -- which is being split between the team and city -- to $185 million.
"It's another example of Mr. Gilbert's and his organization's investment in this facility that houses over 200 events each year," Mayor Jackson stated. "It's also representative of his investment to ensure economic growth in the downtown of the city of Cleveland."
The arena will host the NBA All-Star Game in 2022. However, the first game under the new name will take place Tuesday night when the Cavs host the Charlotte Hornets in the season finale. Rapper Flo Rida is expected to perform at halftime.