The Sirens Call Is Answered: CLE Daily

🌦️ 83°; Humid

🏙️ Down to the Wire: The owner of Downtown's long-vacant 925 Euclid Ave. won a last-minute reprieve — a federal judge granted Millennia affiliate HH Cleveland Huntington a 30-day extension (to Aug. 30) to pay off some $40 million and keep the 1924 landmark out of a possible Nov. 3 auction. The plan: turn it into The Centennial, with 870 workforce apartments, offices and retail. 

🏟️ Bigger Already? Just two years after a $52 million renovation, a new consultant's report says Cleveland should add roughly 100,000 square feet of exhibit space and up to 2,100 nearby hotel rooms at the Huntington Convention Center to keep pace with peer cities — even as the center touts a record 2025. No expansion is in the pipeline yet. 

🎡 Fair Game: The 129th Cuyahoga County Fair runs Aug. 11–16 in Berea/Middleburg Heights, debuting a "Fair Nights, Enchanted Lights" drone-and-fireworks show alongside the Sunday demolition derby, harness racing and the midway.

ICYMI: Just 30-some minutes east, Lake County is having a summer moment — Madison's wine country keeps growing with newcomers like Emerita and Fossil Creek wineries, while downtown Willoughby has gained Jeff's Candy Shop (relocated from Cleveland's Waterloo Road) and the Nashville-style Double D's Honky Tonk & Smokehouse. 

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Trivia Question

Cleveland interests built what Las Vegas casino, which was also protected by the Cleveland mob?

Sports: Cleveland's WNBA team name is the Sirens.

By Annie Nickoloff

From the shores of Lake Erie, a siren song. At Rocket Arena on Tuesday, the city’s new WNBA organization unveiled its new name and branding as the Cleveland Sirens.

• Coming Soon: The new team is set to hit the Rocket Arena court for the 2028 season. It’ll be the city’s second WNBA team to exist, following the 1997-2003 run of the Cleveland Rockers.

Nic Barlage, Rock Entertainment Group CEO: “The enthusiasm and support behind the Cleveland Sirens underscore Cleveland’s role in the league’s next chapter of growth and affirm our readiness for a return of women’s professional basketball. From the beginning, our vision has been to build a franchise that harnesses the power, visibility and opportunity that define this moment in women’s sports and fortifies the city’s momentum.”

• Siren's Song: Fittingly announced during the box office mania of Christopher Nolan’s hit movie The Odyssey, the team’s name found inspiration from Greek mythology, pulling elements from the beautiful, yet dangerous sea creatures that lure sailors to their deaths.

• Like the Lake: Lake Erie's not a sea. And it already has its own famous mythical creature: the Lake Erie Monster, the namesake of Cleveland's American Hockey League team. The lake still proved central to the Sirens' conceptual development; the team's colors are "Sirens Blue" and "Erie Blue," which are also a nod to the Cleveland Rockers' colors.

Allison Howard, Cleveland Sirens president of business operations: “The Cleveland Sirens are sharp, unapologetic, fearless and relentless, representative of this region, our Great Lake and the future of our city and women’s basketball. Powered by unrivaled fandom and a level of civic pride found only on the shores of Lake Erie, the Sirens will sound a new era for women’s basketball while creating space for the next generation to dream even bigger.”

Read more and watch some of the announcement here.

Talk of the Town

Irishtown Bend loses its restaurant. Plans for a restaurant and big patio atop Ohio City's new $100 million-plus hillside park have been scrapped as too costly — so the city revised its hard-won settlement with developer Tony George, giving him two billboards elsewhere instead of a 10-year restaurant lease. The 25-acre Metroparks park has raised $27 million of its $45 million goal and aims to open in 2029. 

How many officers does East Cleveland have? The city won't say. After a former employee claimed the force is down to four patrol officers and one detective, city officials denied it but refused to release staffing numbers, citing security — even as outside estimates and News 5 put the count near six, with the county sheriff providing weekend patrols. The department has been battered by years of indictments and is under state financial control. 

New Medicaid work rules are coming. By Jan. 1, many Ohioans on Medicaid ages 19 to 64 will have to prove 80 hours a month of work, school or volunteering to keep coverage — and the state could begin reaching out to those affected as soon as this summer. Medicaid covers about a quarter of Ohioans. 

Ohio is putting $120 million on the table to clean up its messes. Gov. Mike DeWine announced the largest-ever round of Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program grants, with applications open Aug. 11 to Sept. 11. Cleveland's Midline district and the West Side Market renovation both drew from the last round.

Summa Health has a new boss. The Akron system named Jennifer Eslinger its next president and CEO — its first permanent chief since the HATCo sale took Summa for-profit. She arrives Sept. 21 from Rochester Regional Health, where she was president and COO of a $4.2 billion system.

Protected status ended for thousands of Ohio Haitians. Cities with large Haitian populations are bracing for more ICE activity after TPS expired July 27, affecting roughly 50,000 people statewide. Gov. DeWine has called the removal policy "a mistake."

Gordon Square can't stop building. Close to 300 residential units are under construction around Detroit Avenue and West 65th Street — including 51 affordable senior apartments going up directly on top of a rebuilt Walz Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, plus 135 market-rate units at Canopy next to Herman Park. 

Things To Do: MGK Day, Blossom concerts, comedy and other fun.

By Jeff Niesel

MGK Day at Crooked River Skatepark and North Coast Yard | Festival | Aug. 7-8

This annual event celebrating the success of local rapper Machine Gun Kelly returns to Downtown Cleveland. The weekend begins at 5 p.m. Friday with the Red Bull Best Trick Contest at Crooked River Skatepark. The event will also feature vendors, food trucks, live music, exclusive merchandise and additional activities. On Saturday, the celebration moves to North Coast Yard, where MGK and rapper Wiz Khalifa will perform. Crooked River Skatepark: 1785 Merwin Ave. Cleveland; North Coast Yard: 515 Erieside Ave., Cleveland; mgkday.com

Riley Green at Blossom Music Center | Music | Aug. 7

The country music superstar and former college football quarterback became a sensation upon the release of his debut album, 2019's Different 'Round Here. On tour in support of his new album, That's Just Me, he performs at 7 p.m. Friday at Blossom. 1145 W. Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com 

Cuyahoga River Rally at Hart Crane Park | Festival | Aug. 8

This free community festival celebrates the renewal of the Cuyahoga River with riverside yoga, kids crafts, water-themed experiences, free rides on the Holiday Boat, live music and a beer garden. The event begins at 10 a.m. at Hart Crane Park. 1820 Merwin Ave., Cleveland, 814-746-2350, canalwaypartners.com 

LoveMuffinPalooza 2026 at the Treelawn | Music | Aug. 9

Launched in 2008 when Love Muffin label owner Adam Rich wanted to do his own version of Undercurrents, the popular yearly music showcase that took place in Cleveland in the '80s and '90s, LoveMuffinPalooza benefits the Gathering Place. This year's incarnation of the benefit concert includes the G Strings, Blue Drivers, Mal SanMarco, Lost State of Franklin, Flowers Love, Being Eerie and Bill DeGidio. It takes place at 7 p.m. at the Treelawn. 15335 Waterloo Road, Cleveland, 216-677-8733, thetreelawn.com

WKYC Channel 3 Talent Showcase at Hilarities | Comedy | Aug. 9

Local comedian Mike Polk Jr. hosts this special fundraiser for VeloSano cancer research. The show will feature local celebrity comedians. It begins at 7 p.m. at Hilarities. 2035 E. Fourth St., Cleveland, 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com

For our full list of things to do visit clevelandmagazine.com/things-to-do.

Yesterday's Trivia Answer

This industrialist and philanthropist, known as Cleveland’s first citizen, is buried at Lake View Cemetery, but his largest monument is floating in Lake Erie in Downtown Cleveland. William G. Mather

Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's question

From the Editor

The Sirens! Chatting with fellow journalists at the team's media event yesterday, some folks were a little bit disappointed the team name wouldn't return to the Rockers. But this is a new team, a new time and a new vision. Shouldn't they have their own name and identity?

For what it's worth, I think it's cool. 

Do you like "The Sirens" as Cleveland's WNBA team name choice? Let us know at conversation@clevelandmagazine.com.

 — Annie Nickoloff, Senior Editor

Have a story idea? Tell us what we should cover at conversation@clevelandmagazine.com.

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