In 2016, Cleveland will host the Republican National Convention and the Transplant Games of America. The mass of visitors and competitors will be able to zip in and out of downtown over the new Innerbelt Bridges or in the new trains cars on the RTA Red line from the airport. They'll be staying, among other places, at the new Hilton Convention Center Hotel which will be adding 600 new hotel rooms to downtown. They'll also have the opportunity to stay at any of 450 other new rooms that will be added to downtown as part of 3 other hotel projects. Public Square will have a totally new look with less concrete and more green space. It will be a relaxing central recreation spot for a downtown population that will have over 2000 new apartments to fill, that is if the occupancy rate stays over 95% as it has over the past few years. The 2nd Phase of the Flats, which will include 242 of those new apartments, 12 restaurants, and 1200-feet of boardwalk along the Cuyahoga River will be a year old and a cornerstone of that new and vibrant mixed use neighborhood. Sports fans will have a chance to see the Indians from a newly renovated Progressive field or can fight for a handful of remaining tickets to see a settled in Lebron leading the Cavs to hopefully another championship. The Gladiators could be pushing for a possible AFL 3-peat... and I can only hope that Johnny Football is still the last name on the bottom of the infamous Brown's quarterback jersey.
2016 sounds like it is going to be pretty great for the city of Cleveland but every day starting with today we need to prove ourselves as a city that not only deserves all of these great opportunities... but can handle all of the responsibilities that come with them. That's why this week was so important for the city. We had our first big test of our new found glory in the form of Gay Games 9. It was over a week filled with event coordination, visitors appreciation, and a bit of controversy to overcome. Did Cleveland shine on the big stage?
I decided to volunteer through work for the games. Why? Lots of reasons. Mainly because I have yet to find a way to make a lasting positive impact on this city. I've been racking my brain on how to leave my mark in a positive way on Cleveland in the time I'm going to spend here and haven't come up with anything yet. I know I have to start finding the right people and asking the right questions but until I get the nerve to do that, I figure volunteering is a great way to help out and where better to do so than at the biggest event of the summer... and anyone who doesn't believe that Cleveland being the host city for the Gay Games is a huge deal really needed to come downtown and see everything going on. There were people on the streets when there would normally not be. There were activities going on throughout the city. There were events happening in the stadiums, centers, and facilities. The city really was alive with activity!
On Sunday I came back to help out some more at the festival village before it opened. This time, instead of manual labor, I was tasked with passing out flyers about the village to the athletes going into the Convention Center and really anyone who passed by. I got to talk to a lot of people from all over the globe about what the festival village was, were to check in, what was there to do, and how to get to places. This was right up my alley because all I do is keep up on everything Cleveland in my spare time. I was able to get people to where they wanted to go and give them some options on what to do. I loved it! I got people to go to the Rock Hall, East 4th, University Circle, the Casino, The East 9th pier... I was in some small way directly responsible for helping sell tickets and promote the city! This was truly a thrill for me.
I decided to volunteer through work for the games. Why? Lots of reasons. Mainly because I have yet to find a way to make a lasting positive impact on this city. I've been racking my brain on how to leave my mark in a positive way on Cleveland in the time I'm going to spend here and haven't come up with anything yet. I know I have to start finding the right people and asking the right questions but until I get the nerve to do that, I figure volunteering is a great way to help out and where better to do so than at the biggest event of the summer... and anyone who doesn't believe that Cleveland being the host city for the Gay Games is a huge deal really needed to come downtown and see everything going on. There were people on the streets when there would normally not be. There were activities going on throughout the city. There were events happening in the stadiums, centers, and facilities. The city really was alive with activity!
On Saturday I helped setup the festival village. It was a lot of manual labor but I was able to see and be a part of Mall C's transformation into the center of all of the Game's activities downtown. There were booths, tables, and a big stage area all going up at the same time in preparation for it's opening on Sunday. There were a lot of volunteers out and about doing various tasks. Actually, there were a lot more than I thought there would be. Definitely a pleasant surprise! The Terminal Tower was lit up in rainbow lights and welcome banners and flags were up all around downtown welcoming the athletes and visitors. The city looked great and all of the construction downtown made it look like we were definitely the up and coming city that we were expected to be based on all of our recent publicity. After my volunteer shift was done, I went to the casino and turned $25 into $90! I know I know... a casino so close to where I live is going to be great until it isn't. Until then though... whooohooo!
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On Sunday I came back to help out some more at the festival village before it opened. This time, instead of manual labor, I was tasked with passing out flyers about the village to the athletes going into the Convention Center and really anyone who passed by. I got to talk to a lot of people from all over the globe about what the festival village was, were to check in, what was there to do, and how to get to places. This was right up my alley because all I do is keep up on everything Cleveland in my spare time. I was able to get people to where they wanted to go and give them some options on what to do. I loved it! I got people to go to the Rock Hall, East 4th, University Circle, the Casino, The East 9th pier... I was in some small way directly responsible for helping sell tickets and promote the city! This was truly a thrill for me.
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Later on Sunday I worked the Key Bank (who in no way is affiliated with this blog or the comments expressed in it) booth at the festival village. We had a wheel to spin with prizes on it and everyone who spun won something. The village was rocking with lots of people and that one dance song base line that seemed to continue all through the night. It really was the place to be! Some of the spinners were not too happy that my scruffy beard and I weren't on the wheel as a prize... by the end of the night I was declared festival man meat and like a rock star had to slip out undetected when my shift was over to avoid my adoring fans... think I'm exaggerating? I'm not. It was a fun time!
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Monday was my last day of volunteer work for the games and this time it was for an actual event... water polo. Why water polo? Truthfully it was all that was left really when I signed up. I've never played or even watched it before but that was good because I like learning new things. The water polo event was at Case and I'd never been there either so that was 2 new experiences in one night. Some call that a bonus! If you've never been to Case... go for the architecture alone! Especially if you're a dummy like me and wouldn't get accepted if you tried. Because I got there a tad late, I missed getting a chance to work the scoreboard or be a spotter but it worked out for me. They gave me a sharpie and put me in charge of updating the scores on the 2 schedule boards. Yup, sounds exhausting huh?! Seeing as I only had to do this between games, it gave me the opportunity to watch and learn a little about the sport. The matches were very entertaining and I even got a chance to see the hometown Cleveland team play.
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I didn't get a chance to make it to any of the other events that week (except briefly to the rowing event) but I did follow it closely in the paper and on social media. There was only really great press. There actually should have been more in the Plain Dealer on the events in my opinion. Either way it was a success! The city came together and was a great host city for out new friends from the Gay Games. We couldn't have asked for a better group of people to come to our fair city and hope each and every one of you had a positive experience. 2016 is a long ways off but, if this past week was any sort of indicator, we will be ready for our future visitors. Bravo Cleveland and bravo to the Gay Games! What an amazing week it was.
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