Each year in the NBA, every team receives a new uniform. That uniform is called the “City Edition” and is supposed to represent something unique about the market each specific team calls home. The new threads don’t have to mesh with the normal branding and colors of the organization, and typically, they don’t.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have partnered with places such as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Metroparks and Playhouse Square.
This year, the Cleveland Cavaliers are partnering with the Cleveland Museum of Art on the 2024-25 City Edition uniforms.
Internally, the Cavs have a saying that can frequently be heard: “Cleveland to the world.” That saying speaks to showcasing what this city has to offer and using the Cavaliers to get it there. That was the case last winter when the team played a game against the Brooklyn Nets in Paris and has been the mantra behind the City Edition uniforms, in each of the previous two seasons.
“It gives you an opportunity to tell a story or something unique, or talk about a unique cultural gem, or a unique cultural piece that maybe the rest of the country wouldn’t know about, shine a light on that,” Cleveland Cavaliers chief marketing officer Chris Kaiser told Cleveland Magazine.
The 2024-25 City Edition uniforms are unique to Cleveland and help tell the story of one of the most respected museums in the world, the Cleveland Museum of Art. The two shades of blue that are the primary colors represent the museum’s iconic blue shade.
“The color is bright, it stands out,” Todd Mesek, Cleveland Museum of Art chief marketing officer told Cleveland Magazine. “It's powerful. And the uniform and the program itself just pays homage to great assets in Cleveland.”
Across the chest, the jerseys read “THE LAND” in a font that is meant to characterize the architectural design of the museum’s west wing.
“The lines of the west wing, and the kind of the design of not only the CMA logo, but the atrium, and the architecture the building, this design invokes that, and kind of is homage to that design,” says Mesek.
Additionally, the uniforms feature a side panel that gives off the “tear away” look, revealing the base of the art. In this case, it is designed to look like a coloring book pattern that features multiple Cleveland designs, logos and works of art. On the court, these will be untouched, but fans who purchase these jerseys are encouraged to design this portion themselves, creating a unique piece of art.
That same art can be found on the City Edition court, too.
In today’s NBA, no uniform rollout is complete without an alternate court to go with it. When the Cavs wear their City Edition uniforms, they will not be playing on the court you might be used to seeing at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. There will be a court that matches the uniforms, complete with both shades of blue — one on each half of the court — and that tear-away section that runs across the floor.
The decision to turn the side panels of the uniforms and the section of the court into something resembling a coloring book was intentional. For most, the first experience with art comes as a child with a coloring book. This is a way the Cavaliers and the Cleveland Museum of Art can help to inspire youth in both realms. The goal of the uniforms is to merge the lines between sports and pop culture. The uniforms are thought of as pieces of art, complete with a “Designed By” label right on the jocktag (the part of the jersey that sits on the wearer’s left hip.
“The whole program is about youth and inspiring youth, and bringing art and sports together to not only inspire, but kind of connect audiences,” Mesek says.
Part of inspiring youth is the two partners in this program donating $10,000 to Rainey Institute.
“Rainey is a place where the arts change lives,” Jennifer Harris, executive director of Rainey Institute told Cleveland Magazine. “Really, our mission is to enrich and inspire the youth in Cleveland through excellent, accessible arts programming. We do offer year-round music, drama, dance, visual arts and culinary programs during after-school, summer and weekends. Each year, we serve approximately 1000 youth from Cleveland in both of our campuses, Hough and then Clark-Fulton. Our goal is not to have every child become a master artist, but whether they're interested in intensive study, we could do that or just seeking an arts enriching experience, we kind of provide the entire gamut to them.”
Doing more than just designing jerseys was important to both the Cavaliers and the Cleveland Museum of Art. The City Edition gives them an opportunity to give back to the community in a unique way.
“Part of the reason we also partner with [Rainey Institute] is that we align in a lot of different ways in regards to our commitment to the community here in Northeast Ohio. Our mantra is always ‘For the Love. For the Land.’ Their mantra is ‘For the Benefit of All People Forever.’ So those two things, we wanted to come together and make sure we could inspire youth through basketball and art.”
The uniforms will be worn six times throughout the remainder of the 2024-25 regular season, with their on-court debut coming Sunday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse against the Charlotte Hornets.
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