The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebrated its $135 million expansion with a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday afternoon — reminiscent of the first time the organization broke ground in 1995 as musicians and local officials came together in celebration.
Guests included inductees such as Sam Moore of Sam & Dave, who was present at the first groundbreaking almost 30 years ago.
Other inductees present this week included Martha Reeves, Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas and Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Go’s — many of whom got the crowd singing a cappella between speeches.
CEO Greg Harris led the day, thanking everyone from guests and rockers to local officials, including County Executive Chris Ronayne and Mayor Justin Bibb, for their contributions to the Rock Hall.
"The reason that we’re doing this is because of our community, because of our inductees, our supporters, our staff and over 14 million fans that have walked through those front doors since we opened this museum in 1995," Harris says.
He added that a ribbon cutting on the expansion is expected in 2026.
Adding 50,000 square feet to the museum, fresh spaces will feature a new entry lobby and publicly accessible space; exhibition areas, offices, a state-of-the-art education center and a 6,000-plus-square-foot multipurpose venue.
Since the Rock Hall opened its doors, the millions of fans who have walked its halls have garnered Cleveland an estimated economic impact of $2 billion.
Touching on that impact, Harris proudly announced that local donors provided the majority of funds — more than 90% — to make the groundbreaking a reality.
The museum will remain open to the public through the entirety of construction.
