VenuesNow 2025 All-Star Honoree: Antony Bonavita

ANTONY BONAVITA
Executive Vice President, Chief Venues & Development Officer
Cleveland Cavaliers / Rock Entertainment Group

CLEVELAND ROCKS
New WNBA team to debut at Rocket Arena in 2027.

Venues remain as not only gathering places for sports and entertainment but anchors of culture and development in cities and towns across the world. That includes Cleveland, Ohio, where Rocket Arena has undergone $250 million worth of renovations in recent years as home of the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team. The success of the team and its arena has spread beyond the walls of the Rocket Arena.

“This past year has been defined by transformative initiatives and milestone projects that exemplify the vision of our chairman, Dan Gilbert, and his commitment to true city building,” says Antony Bonavita.

Topping that list was the groundbreaking of the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, a 210,000-square-foot facility set on Cleveland’s Cuyahoga riverfront. “Designed to be one of the world’s largest and most advanced sports training and performance centers, this project is more than an elite athletic resource for the Cavaliers — it’s a catalyst for revitalizing the downtown waterfront and a flagship for Cleveland’s $3.5 billion riverfront redevelopment.”

Known as a team-builder and mentor himself, Bonavita prides himself and the Rock Entertainment Group on its staff at the 18,000-capacity Rocket Arena specifically.

“We remain committed to championing diversity, reflected in a leadership structure that proudly features strong female representation, spanning our housekeeping leadership, events team, head of security and VP of sustainability,” he says. “We take pride in both the longevity and advancement of our team members, underscoring our ongoing commitment to invest in people.”
With recent shows from major artists like Tyler, The Creator, Matt Rife, Disturbed, Ghost and many others, Bonavita says live entertainment remains a priority for consumers despite any macroeconomic uncertainty.

“The live market, despite global turbulence, has shown resilience, highlighting a fundamental truth: entertainment brings communities together and fulfills an essential human need,” he says.