Cleveland’s Rocket Arena Welcomes New WNBA Team, Debuts Upgrades

Cleveland’s venerable Rocket Arena was originally named Gund Arena after Gordon Gund, the blind, then-owner of the NBA Cavaliers, who moved from the 20,000-seat Richfield Coliseum in the suburbs back to a soon-to-be-revitalized downtown when it opened in 1994. That district now includes the 35,000-capacity Progressive Field, home of the MLB Guardians since also ‘94, and down the street, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which debuted the following year.

Both Rocket Arena and Progressive Field are part of the city-operated Gateway Sports Complex, managed by the non-profit Gateway Economic Development Corp, with the arena, the basketball team, the AHL Monsters (an affiliate of the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets) and a WNBA expansion team, all owned by Rocket head Dan Gilbert, who acquired the Cavs from Gund in 2005.

Renamed the Quicken Loans Arena at the time, the venue has undergone a quarter-billion dollars worth of renovation over the last 30 years to bring it up to date, hosting more than 5,000 events since its inception, including five NBA finals, the 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies, the most recent iteration last October.

Earlier this year, Rocket Arena was rebranded from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, reflecting the company’s move to integrate its mortgage, real estate and personal finance business under the “Rocket” name. Summer through fall boasts a full slate of shows, including Maxwell, Benson Boone, Tate McRae and Nine Inch Nails in August, with Deftones, Eric Clapton and Sleep Token in September, Ice Cube and Eric Church & Marcus King in October and Jonas Brothers and Maroon 5 in November. Comics Matt Rife, Nate Bargatze and Adam Sandler are also slated to perform. Drake headlined the venue’s most successful concerts last year with two sold-out shows in February that grossed $7.5 million and 35,185 tickets sold.

Allison Howard is chief commercial officer for the Rock Entertainment Group, which includes the Cavaliers, the Monsters and operations for the Rocket Arena, which will be the home for the WNBA franchise starting in 2028.

“We’re so fortunate to have such a close relationship with the Rocket folks, so we were able to be privy to their redesign options early on, so we could start a couple of months ahead of time,” she says of the rebranding, first revealed via a Super Bowl ad back in February. “And it’s been quite a heavy lift… designers, procurement, construction, finance, ordering, everyone on the team was involved.”

Part of the rollout includes new in-game entertainment features (including a “Country Roads” singalong), enhanced lighting and a comprehensive marketing campaign both inside and outside the arena publicizing the new Rocket brand. Concessions are a combination of credit card “grab and go” and traditional manned food stands.

With the upgrades, Rocket Arena now boasts the largest lighting rig in the NBA, with more than 500 light fixtures debuting before the playoffs and allow for in-game effects such as a “Cavalanche” that includes synchronized lighting and snow machines.

“Rocket Arena is a good-looking, well-maintained, beautifully elevated building for a 30-year-old venue,” Howard said. “We’re lucky it was so well-designed from the start, that it allowed us to continue making adjustments to accommodate every single type of fan that comes through here, whether it’s for a sporting event, concert or family show.”

With the experience of hosting the record-breaking ’24 NCAA Women’s Finals – which marked the coming-out party for Caitlin Clark – Rocket Arena is particularly looking forward to welcoming a WNBA team – as yet unnamed – as an occupant for the 2028-’29 season. A previous WNBA Cleveland franchise, the Rockers, was disbanded in 2003, with previous ownership citing low attendance and financial losses.

“Dan Gilbert has always expressed disappointment he wasn’t able to take over that team,” explains Howard. “We recognized this as a great opportunity for us to match the fan enthusiasm and bring a WNBA team to Cleveland as the only professional female team in Northeast Ohio.”

As for the team’s name, Allison says, “We listen very intently to our fans. We want to hear from them. Even before we announced we were getting an expansion team, we were out in the community gauging their reaction, and the enthusiasm for women’s basketball was real. We are pouring so much oxygen onto this fire. We are already selling out of our merchandise.”

Depending on configuration, Rocket Arena has a capacity up to 19,000 for concerts. The most direct competition comes from Blossom Music Center in nearby Cuyahoga Falls, an outdoor amphitheater with room for 23,000.

“We certainly believe we are a good fit for a large variety of acts,” Allison says.

After celebrating its 30th anniversary with a year-long celebration in 2024, Rocket Arena is now a linchpin of an impressive urban development that also includes Progressive Stadium and the nearby Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“We maintain a really strong relationship with the Hall of Fame,” says Allison. “We are certainly aware of Cleveland’s influence in rock ‘n’ roll and we try to express that in booking the widest variety of musical acts into Rocket Arena. There’s something for everyone.”

The organization has recently broken ground on construction of a 210,000 square foot Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center for the NBA Cavs, set to open Q1 2027, with the team’s former 52,000 square foot training facility in suburban Independence, Ohio, being retrofitted and renovated to serve as a practice court for the new WNBA team starting Q1 2028.

Other recent upgrades include adding a premium hospitality space, named HIPP, debuting for the 2025-2026 season. Designed as an intimate space for 160 guests, HIPP looks to blend Cleveland’s history with an upscale hospitality element while providing a front-row seat to the action on the court.

Allison says everyone in the organization is committed to the goal of investing and developing the urban core in downtown Cleveland. “Dan Gilbert, his family and the Rock Entertainment Group are completely behind every initiative in that area.”

One of the newest future additions to the neighborhood will be Cosm, a fully immersive sports-bar-esque concept akin to the Las Vegas Sphere, which also has locations in the Los Angeles market (along the stretch that includes the Kia Forum, SoFi Stadium, YouTube Theater and Intuit Dome) and Dallas, with plans to open in Atlanta, Detroit and now, Cleveland, right across from Rocket Arena. Gilbert is one of the original investors in the concept.

Dubbed the Rock Block, the area is slated to be a full-on entertainment and restaurant center for sports, concerts and all kinds of special events.

“Just when I think we’re done for a moment, we get another incredible announcement,” laughs Howard. “It just goes back to the original vision of Dan Gilbert and REG to continue to build Cleveland up to the most incredible city it can be.”