Cleveland officials are considering how a proposed convention-center expansion could fit with the city’s lakefront redevelopment, according to October 5 reporting by Ideastream’s Steven Litt. The county-owned center’s proposed addition would extend north across railway lines and the Shoreway, into the space planned for a pedestrian connector.
County Executive Chris Ronayne and tourism bureau Destination Cleveland support preserving the possibility of expansion. City development chief Tom McNair told Ideastream that Cleveland is open to discussion but wants to protect the lakefront project’s design and timetable.
The financing remains undefined. Destination Cleveland chief David Gilbert declined to give Ideastream a cost or funding plan. City officials linked their timing concerns to a lakefront project supported by $130 million in federal construction grants.
The addition remains a proposal. The reporting does not establish an approved construction budget or a loss of federal funding.