Two pro all-star games, a Republican National Convention and multiple NCAA basketball tournament games have made Cleveland’s name as an event host. Now, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission is in the process of bidding for the 2030 Special Olympics USA Games.
Gov. Mike DeWine, the local 2030 Special Olympics Host Committee and a representative of the Special Olympics USA Games Site Committee visited Cleveland at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse today to announce updates on the location bid for the 2030 Special Olympics.
“If you know Cleveland, if you know Ohio, you know this is a city that loves sports [and] a state that loves sports,” says DeWine at Thursday’s press conference. “But we also love our Special Olympic athletes.”
The Special Olympics site selection committee is considering Cleveland or Nashville to host the 2030 Special Olympics. A decision is expected to happen in April or May.
Special Olympics USA Games are hosted in major cities every four years. Attendees include more than 5,500 athletes and coaches and 100,000 family members and spectators from all 50 states and the Caribbean. The eight-day event includes more than 16 sports and daily programs focused on athlete and family wellness. The event is predicted to bring in more than $70 million to the local economy, organizers say. About $10 million has been raised and 10,000 volunteers have already signed up.
“We want this because we know the kind of impact it can have,” says David Gilbert, the president and CEO of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland. “And we believe the kind of impact in our city it can leave, [and] on our state, is higher than any other event truly we can think of to possibly host.”
The goal of the bid process is to show that Northeast Ohio is the leading destination for inclusion and has the capacity to host large-scale events. The competitive bid process is conducted to select a host that has the proper infrastructure, resources and community support to operate successful games.
If the Special Olympics were to come to Cleveland, the primary hubs would be Downtown Cleveland, including the Huntington Convention Center, all Downtown hotels and Cleveland State’s and Case Western Reserve’s dormitories and sports facilities.
“I cannot thank David Gilbert and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission [enough] for all that they have done in this partnership,” says Jessica Stewart, the president and CEO of Special Olympics Ohio. “This has launched our program and our athletes beyond any expectation I have ever had, so quickly and so rapidly to the forefront of the work that we do every single day in the intellectual disability space for our Athletes.”
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