CLEVELAND — For the past several months, the city of Cleveland has played host to some of the nation’s most historic sporting and cultural events. These events have brought in big crowds and record-setting dollars.
Since April, it’s been nothing but net for Cleveland. The City of Champions lived up to its historic nickname, hosting record-breaking events like the 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four.
On Thursday, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission announced that the four-day tournament brought in more than $30 million for the city, with people spending at hotels, bars and restaurants.
“It’s really been fun to watch all the people come down here, and it’s helping all these businesses, which has been really awesome as well,” said Scott Davidson, a lifelong Clevelander.
It wasn’t just on the hardwood where the city saw dollars, but also on the tennis court. The Nautica Entertainment Complex in the Flats recently hosted professional tennis players from the Women's Tennis Association tour for the Tennis in the Land tournament.
“There is a lot of money coming into Cleveland for this event, maybe not as much as the Women’s Final Four, obviously, because that’s a massive event, but it’s a consistent $2 million in economic impact that we see here in Cleveland," said Ben Moore, director of marketing for Tennis in the Land. "For a one-week event, that’s pretty impressive.”
Moore said this year’s women’s tennis tournament saw more than 16,000 fans rooting for their top picks.
“The tennis community has been a long supporter of us in Cleveland, but now we’re reaching the casual sports fan and the casual women’s sports fan,” Moore said.
“It’s a sports town, and I think it’s gotten better and better through the decades,” said Scott Bailes, former pitcher for the Cleveland Indians.
Bailes said it’s a no-brainer that Cleveland was the go-to city for these big events.
“When a city like Cleveland can host an NCAA tournament in any sport, it just draws in people. And once people come here and see this downtown, they think, ‘This is really cool,’” Bailes said.
This year was the first time the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship game had more viewers than the NCAA Men’s Championship game, beating it by nearly four million people.