Wolstein Center
Encyclopedia
The Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Convocation Center (more commonly known as the Wolstein Center or The Convo) is an indoor arena
located in downtown
Cleveland
, Ohio
. It replaced the Woodling Gym
. It is the largest basketball arena in the Horizon League
-owned arena in Ohio until Value City Arena at Ohio State University
was completed. The arena seats 13,610 for basketball, and (with additional floor seating) can hold 15,000 for concerts and professional wrestling
.
The main arena is named the Goodman Arena after Henry J. Goodman, former chairman of the Cleveland State board of trustees.
Originally named the CSU Convocation Center, the building assumed its present name on January 1, 2005.
It is home to the Cleveland State University
men
's and women's basketball
teams and the former home of the Cleveland Crunch
and the Cleveland Force
of the NPSL and MISL.
It has also hosted numerous concert
s, recently featuring artists such as Martina McBride
, Avril Lavigne
, Carrie Underwood
, and Justin Bieber
. The Wolstein Center has hosted conferences and has served as a site for NCAA
men's basketball tournament games.
It hosted the 1992 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournament and the 2002 Horizon League
men's basketball tournament.
The PBR's Bud Light Cup
tour hosted a bull riding event at this venue in 2000 and 2001.
NBC News
held a Democratic Party presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama
on February 26, 2008 at the Wolstein Center. The debate was broadcast live on MSNBC
, and was moderated by Brian Williams
with Tim Russert
.
The Wolstein Center also hosted World Wrestling Entertainment
's Monday Night Raw on January 26, 2009, and Friday Night Smackdown on December 28, 2010. World Championship Wrestling
also held numerous events (including episodes of Monday Nitro) at the center until WCW's folding in 2001.
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
located in downtown
Downtown Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of the City of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. Reinvestment in the area in the mid-1990s spurred a rebirth that continues to this day, with over $2 billion in residential and commercial developments slated for the area over the next few years...
Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. It replaced the Woodling Gym
Woodling Gym
Woodling Gymnasium is a gym on the campus of Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. It opened in 1973. One of its facilities is a 3,000 seat multi-purpose arena that was home to the Cleveland State Vikings basketball team until the Wolstein Center opened in 1991. It is named after former...
. It is the largest basketball arena in the Horizon League
Horizon League
The Horizon League is a ten school, NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located in five of the Midwestern United States....
History
Completed on November 1, 1991 at a cost of $55 million, it was the largest universityUniversity
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
-owned arena in Ohio until Value City Arena at Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
was completed. The arena seats 13,610 for basketball, and (with additional floor seating) can hold 15,000 for concerts and professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
.
The main arena is named the Goodman Arena after Henry J. Goodman, former chairman of the Cleveland State board of trustees.
Originally named the CSU Convocation Center, the building assumed its present name on January 1, 2005.
It is home to the Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College, and it absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969...
men
Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball
Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball started in 1929. Before as Fenn College they were known as the Fenn College Foxes. Cleveland State has been in Division I since 1972. They are a member of the Horizon League Cleveland State was formerly in the Mid-Continent Conference...
's and women's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
teams and the former home of the Cleveland Crunch
Cleveland Crunch
The Cleveland Crunch was formed in 1989 as an expansion team in the Major Soccer League to replace the Cleveland Force, which had folded on July 22, 1988. Akron businessmen George S. Hoffman and Stuart Lichter formed an ownership group, named Al Miller general manager and former Force star Kai...
and the Cleveland Force
Cleveland Force
The Cleveland Force has been the name of two indoor soccer teams based in the Richfield, Ohio area:*Cleveland Force , of the original MISL*Cleveland Force , known as the Crunch from 1989 to 2002...
of the NPSL and MISL.
It has also hosted numerous concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s, recently featuring artists such as Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
, Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
, Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...
, and Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
. The Wolstein Center has hosted conferences and has served as a site for NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
men's basketball tournament games.
It hosted the 1992 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournament and the 2002 Horizon League
Horizon League
The Horizon League is a ten school, NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located in five of the Midwestern United States....
men's basketball tournament.
The PBR's Bud Light Cup
Built Ford Tough Series
The Built Ford Tough Series is the "major league" tour of the PBR competitions. It is a 30-city event series culminating in the PBR World Finals every year in Las Vegas, Nevada. The top 45 riders of the PBR compete in the BFTS with the rankings determined by points and money won...
tour hosted a bull riding event at this venue in 2000 and 2001.
NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
held a Democratic Party presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
on February 26, 2008 at the Wolstein Center. The debate was broadcast live on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, and was moderated by Brian Williams
Brian Williams
Brian Douglas Williams is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, the evening news program of the NBC television network, a position he assumed in 2004...
with Tim Russert
Tim Russert
Timothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...
.
The Wolstein Center also hosted World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
's Monday Night Raw on January 26, 2009, and Friday Night Smackdown on December 28, 2010. World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
also held numerous events (including episodes of Monday Nitro) at the center until WCW's folding in 2001.
See also
- Krenzler FieldKrenzler FieldKrenzler Field is a soccer stadium in Cleveland, Ohio on the campus of Cleveland State University. It serves as the home field to the men's and women's varsity teams and formerly the Cleveland City Stars of the USL First Division...
- Woodling GymWoodling GymWoodling Gymnasium is a gym on the campus of Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. It opened in 1973. One of its facilities is a 3,000 seat multi-purpose arena that was home to the Cleveland State Vikings basketball team until the Wolstein Center opened in 1991. It is named after former...
- Quicken Loans ArenaQuicken Loans ArenaQuicken Loans Arena , is a multi-purpose arena, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States....
- List of indoor arenas in the United States