Cleveland Arena was an arena in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. It was built and privately financed by local businessman Albert C. Sutphin during the height of the Great Depression in 1937 as a playing site for Sutphin's AHL team, the Cleveland Barons. The arena was at 3717 Euclid Avenue, and seated over 10,000 in the stands and over 12,500 for events such as boxing, where floor seating was available. In addition to the Barons, the arena was home to the Cleveland Rebels of the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

, also owned by Sutphin, for the 1946–47 season, and hosted several games for the

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA), who played more than 35 of their home games there from 1966–1970. The arena and the Barons were purchased by

Nick Mileti Nick James Mileti (born April 22, 1931) is an American author, retired lawyer, former businessman, sports entrepreneur and former sports franchise owner who was, during the 1970s, the owner of the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Clevelan ...

in 1968. In 1970, the expansion

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

of the NBA moved into the arena and played there for their first four seasons, from 1970–1974. The

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1976. ...

of the new

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

began play in 1972, hosting games there until 1974. Cleveland Arena was also a regular concert and boxing venue and six day bicycle races were held there between 1939 and 1958, moved there from Public Hall. On March 21, 1952, it was the site of the

Moondog Coronation Ball The Moondog Coronation Ball was a concert held at the Cleveland Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 21, 1952. It is generally accepted as the first major rock and roll concert. Background Alan Freed "had joined WJW Radioin 1951 as the host o ...

, considered the first

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

concert, organized by

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout N ...

. The concert was shut down after the first song by fire authorities due to overcrowding. It was estimated 20,000 people were in the arena or trying to enter it, when the capacity was roughly half that. The arena also had a medical facility, Arena Clinic, run by Ivan Lust. It was run primarily to provide medical care for visiting athletic teams and other entertainment, but also served as a walk-in clinic for the community. Its sign can be seen in photographs of the clinic. While the arena was a showpiece when it opened, by the 1970s it had become decrepit. It also lacked adequate parking. It closed in 1974, replaced by

Richfield Coliseum Richfield Coliseum, also known as the Coliseum at Richfield, was an indoor arena located in Richfield Township, between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. It opened in 1974 as a replacement for the Cleveland Arena, and had a seating capacity of 20, ...

; it was demolished in 1977. The headquarters of the Cleveland Chapter of the American Red Cross now occupies the site. It was the last major sporting facility to open within Cleveland's borders until Jacobs Field, now

Progressive Field {{Infobox stadium , name = Progressive Field , nickname = ''"The Jake"'' , logo_image = Progressive_Field_Logo.svg , logo_caption = , image = , caption = Progressive Fiel ...

, opened for the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

in 1994.

References

External links

Cleveland Arena
(Encyclopedia of Cleveland History)

{{Cleveland Cavaliers Sports venues demolished in 1977 Sports venues in Cleveland History of Cleveland Defunct basketball venues in the United States Defunct indoor arenas in Ohio Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Basketball venues in Ohio Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) Cleveland Rebels Cleveland Cavaliers venues Cleveland White Horses National Basketball League (United States) venues World Hockey Association venues Basketball Association of America venues Sports venues completed in 1937 Music venues in Cleveland Defunct sports venues in Ohio Demolished music venues in the United States 1937 establishments in Ohio 1977 disestablishments in Ohio Demolished sports venues in Ohio