Wolstein Center

Indoor arena in Cleveland, Ohio, United States

The Wolstein Center
(Goodman Arena)

Wolstein Center

Location within Ohio

Show map of Ohio

Wolstein Center

Location within the United States

Show map of the United States

Former names| CSU Convocation Center (1991–2005)
Address| 2000 Prospect Avenue
Location| Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Coordinates| 41°29′57″N 81°40′37″W﻿ / ﻿41.49917°N 81.67694°W﻿ / 41.49917; -81.67694
Owner| Cleveland State University
Operator| Cleveland State University
Capacity| 15,000 with floor seats[1]
13,610 permanent seats
8,500 for CSU games[2]
Surface| Multi-surface
Construction
Broke ground| August 1989
Opened| November 1, 1991
Construction cost| USD$55 million
($158 million in 2024 dollars[3])
Architect| URS-Dalton Consultants
Whitley/Whitley Architects
Tenants
Cleveland State Vikings (NCAA) 1991–present
Cleveland Charge (NBAGL) 2021–2024
Cleveland Crunch (NPSL/MISL) 1992–2005
Website
wolsteincenter.com

The Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Center is a 13,610-seat indoor arena located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the campus of Cleveland State University (CSU). It is home to the Cleveland State Vikings men's and women's basketball teams and previously served as the home of the Cleveland Crunch of the National Professional Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League from 1992 to 2005 and the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League from 2021 to 2024.

The building opened in 1991 as a replacement for Woodling Gym and was known until 2005 as the CSU Convocation Center. It is named for Bert Wolstein, a Cleveland area real estate developer, former owner of the Force, and CSU alumnus, and his wife Iris. The main arena is known as Henry J. Goodman Arena, named for a businessman and former chairman of the CSU Board of Trustees.

In its full configuration, it seats 13,610 for basketball, and with additional floor seating can hold 15,000 for concerts and professional wrestling.[1] In addition to the arena, the Wolstein Center also has a practice gym and grand ballroom. It is the largest basketball arena in the Horizon League and the second-largest college basketball arena in Ohio by total seating capacity.

In recent years, Cleveland State has downsized capacity for basketball to 8,500 for most Vikings games. The basketball floor is placed closer to the eastern baseline, and the western third of the arena is curtained off. For many games only lower-level seating is available and upper-level seating sections are covered with tarps, further reducing available seating.[4] The area behind the curtain is used for a variety of other purposes, including a "Kids Fun Zone" children's play area during games. The curtain itself was adorned with a large American flag for several years and since 2023 features a video board and auxiliary scoreboards facing the court.[2]

The Wolstein Center has also hosted numerous concerts, featuring artists such as David Bowie, Elton John, Martina McBride, TLC, Carrie Underwood, Justin Bieber, Janet Jackson, 311, The Beastie Boys, The Cure, The Blue Man Group and Twenty One Pilots. The arena was site of the 1998 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and served as host for first and second-round games of the 2000 and 2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments as well as the 2019 NCAA Fencing Championships.[5][6]

## History

[edit]

Interior view of the arena during a CSU men's basketball game in 2015

Construction on the Wolstein Center began in August 1989 in the aftermath of the team's run to the Sweet Sixteen in the 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.[7] Prior to its opening, the team played at Woodling Gym on campus or (for higher profile games) at the 10,000-seat Public Auditorium. The arena was completed on November 1, 1991, at a cost of $55 million. The 13,610 seats made the Wolstein Center the largest arena in downtown Cleveland until the opening of Gund Arena in 1994, and it was the largest university-owned arena in Ohio until 1998 when Value City Arena opened at Ohio State University.

The main arena is named Goodman Arena after Henry J. Goodman, former chairman of the Cleveland State board of trustees, while the building is named after Bert and Iris Wolstein, who donated $6.5 million towards the building's construction, the largest philanthropic gift in CSU history. The building also contains a practice gym, a 23,744 square feet (2,205.9 m2) grand ballroom, six-room conference center, and eight concession stands. In the arena, there is a 100-seat party loge located above the seating in the west baseline.

### Cleveland Charge

[edit]

Charge game in 2024

From 2021 to 2024, the arena was home to the Cleveland Charge, the NBA G League affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team, previously located in Canton, Ohio, as the Canton Charge, announced the move to Cleveland on June 9, 2021, and began play at the Wolstein Center in the 2021–22 season.[8][9]

The team announced a six-year agreement with the city of Cleveland in June 2024 to move home games to Public Auditorium in downtown Cleveland beginning with the 2024–25 season.

While a rumored "impending demolition" of the Wolstein Center as part of Cleveland State University's 2022 master plan was mentioned as a reason for the move to Public Auditorium, Cleveland State University stated that there are no immediate plans regarding the arena's future.[10][11]

## Other events

[edit]

### Basketball

[edit]

Both the 1992 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournament and the 2002 Horizon League men's basketball tournament were held at the Wolstein Center, then called the CSU Convocation Center, as well as being the site for first and second-round games of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, in 2000 and 2005.

In the 2005 tournament, the 12th-seeded Milwaukee Panthers and 7th-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers won both of their respective games played at the Wolstein Center to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Cleveland hosted the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. As part of the All-Star Weekend events, the All-Star Celebrity Game was held at the Wolstein Center on February 18, 2022.[12]

### Professional wrestling

[edit]

The Wolstein Center also hosted multiple professional wrestling events from numerous companies, including WWE's Monday Night Raw on January 26, 2009, and Friday Night SmackDown on December 28, 2010.

TNA Wrestling's weekly Impact program taped two weeks worth of shows on August 29, 2013.[13]

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) did a live broadcast of their flagship program AEW Dynamite at the arena on January 29, 2020, in its Cleveland debut, and returned for their Beach Break event – which encompassed Dynamite and it's companion show Rampage – on January 26, 2022. Another Dynamite/Rampage broadcast and taping took place on August 24, 2022. A Halloween themed edition of Dynamite titled Fright Night Dynamite took place on October 30, 2024.

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) also held numerous events (including episodes of their flagship show WCW Monday Nitro) at the center until WCW's folding in 2001.

### Other sports

[edit]

The 1998 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were held in the arena, won by the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Professional Bull Riders Bud Light Cup tour hosted a bull riding event at the Wolstein Center, then known as the CSU Convocation Center, in 2000 and 2001.[14]

The arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions in 2016[15] and the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live in 2019 and 2020.

Real American Freestyle will hold its inaugural event at the venue on August 30, 2025.[16]

### Concerts

[edit]

On February 26, 2015, Barry Manilow performed at the Wolstein Center during his "One Last Time! Tour."[17]

AJR headlined the arena on May 11, 2022, for their tour in support of their album "OK Orchestra".

### Miscellaneous

[edit]

NBC News held a Democratic Party presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on February 26, 2008, at the Wolstein Center. The debate was broadcast live on MSNBC, and was moderated by Brian Williams with Tim Russert.[18][19]

### COVID-19 vaccination center

[edit]

On March 5, 2021, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the Wolstein Center would host Ohio's first mass COVID-19 vaccination center, which ran from March 17 - June 7, 2021.[20]

## Management

[edit]

Since 2015, the Wolstein Center has been managed in partnership with Rocket Arena. The Rocket Arena staff works as a consultant to assist in promoting and booking events at both venues, while in return, select Vikings men's basketball games are played at Rocket Arena each season.[21]

## See also

[edit]

* Krenzler Field
* List of indoor arenas in the United States
* List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Our Venue - Wolstein Center.com
2. ^ a b Wolstein Center review - Stadium Journey.com
3. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
4. ^ "Wolstein Center Seating Diagram (Single Games)". CSUVikings.com. Cleveland State University. 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
5. ^ Wolstein Center - Global Spectrum.com
6. ^ "David Bowie Concert Setlist at CSU Convocation Center, Cleveland on January 7, 2004 | setlist.fm". setlist.fm.
7. ^ Bishop, Greg (March 12, 2009). "Cleveland State's Healing Begins With an N.C.A.A. Bid". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
8. ^ "NBA G League's Canton Charge moving to downtown Cleveland, starting with upcoming season". CantonRep.com. June 9, 2021.
9. ^ "New City, Same Charge!". Cleveland Charge. July 26, 2021. Retrieved Jul 28, 2021.
10. ^ Sands, Ethan (June 4, 2024). "Cleveland Charge moving its home court to a new location for the 2024-25 season and beyond". Cleveland.com. Retrieved June 4, 2024. "This 1.3-mile westward relocation is driven by the impending demolition of the Wolstein Center."
11. ^ Jarobe, Michelle (June 4, 2024). "Basketball at Public Auditorium? Cleveland Charge plans move to city-owned landmark". News5Cleveland.com. WEWS-TV. Retrieved June 5, 2024. "By email Tuesday, a university spokeswoman stressed that "there are no immediate plans to demolish the Wolstein Center." Despite what's in the master plan, she added, "no final decisions about the future of the Wolstein Center have been made.""
12. ^ All-Star Celebrity Game - Wolstein Center.com
13. ^ Impact Wrestling at the Wolstein Center - Impact Wrestling.com
14. ^ "Promoter's Guide" (PDF). Global Spectrum. 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
15. ^ "2016 Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions takes center stage beginning Sept. 15". usagym.org. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
16. ^ Brunt, Cliff (June 18, 2025). "Real American Freestyle wrestling to debut at Cleveland's Wolstein Center with Olympic medalists". Associated Press. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
17. ^ "Manilow wows Cleveland one last time". The Plain Dealer. 31 March 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
18. ^ Clinton-Obama debate - nbcnews.com
19. ^ Clinton-Obama debate - NY Times.com
20. ^ Bamforth, Emily (2021-03-05). "Ohio mass coronavirus vaccination center will open March 17 at Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
21. ^ "Quicken Loans Arena and Cleveland State University Announce Partnership to Grow the Sports and Entertainment Landscape in Downtown Cleveland". RocketMortgageFieldHouse.com. August 26, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Official site
* Wolstein Center CSU Profile

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City of Cleveland

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Sports, concert,
and convention venues|

* Agora Theatre and Ballroom
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Traditions|

* Feast of the Assumption
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Neighborhoods|

* Broadway–Slavic Village
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Sports|

| Major League|

* NFL: Cleveland Browns
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* WNBA: Cleveland WNBA team (2028)

|

Minor League|

* G League: Cleveland Charge
* MLIS: Cleveland Crunch
* AHL: Cleveland Monsters

College|

* NCAA D1 (Horizon League):  Cleveland State Vikings
* NCAA D3 (UAA):  Case Western Reserve Spartans

* v
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Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball

Venues|

* Woodling Gym (1973–1991)
* Wolstein Center (1991–present)

People|

* Head coaches
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* List of seasons
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Cleveland State University

Located in: Cleveland, Ohio

Academics|

Colleges/Schools

College of Arts and Sciences
College of Education and Public Affairs (Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs)
College of Graduate Studies
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Campuses

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Wolstein Center
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Robert F. Busbey Natatorium
Woodling Gym
Viking Field
Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion

History|

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Baseball

Student life|

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Other

Expansion

Founded: 1964

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Basketball arenas of the Horizon League

* Wolstein Center (Cleveland State)
* Calihan Hall (Detroit Mercy)
* Resch Center (Green Bay, men's)
* Kress Events Center (Green Bay, women's)
* The Jungle (IU Indy)
* Corteva Coliseum (IU Indy, men's alternate)
* UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (Milwaukee, men's)
* Klotsche Center (Milwaukee, women's)
* Truist Arena (Northern Kentucky)
* OU Credit Union O'rena (Oakland)
* Hilliard Gates Sports Center (Purdue Fort Wayne)
* UPMC Events Center (Robert Morris)
* Nutter Center (Wright State)
* Beeghly Center (Youngstown State)

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Music venues of Ohio

Outdoor venues|

* Andrew J. Brady Music Center
* Blossom Music Center
* Glass Bowl
* Great American Ball Park
* Historic Crew Stadium
* Huntington Bank Field
* Jacobs Pavilion
* Ohio Stadium
* PNC Pavilion
* Paycor Stadium
* Progressive Field
* Riverbend Music Center

Theaters and clubs|

* Agora Theatre and Ballroom
* Aronoff Center
* Bogart's
* Cincinnati Music Hall
* Memorial Hall OTR
* Newport Music Hall
* Ohio Theatre
* Severance Hall
* Stranahan Theater
* Taft Theatre

Arenas|

* Beeghly Center
* Canton Memorial Civic Center
* Cintas Center
* Covelli Centre
* Fifth Third Arena
* Heritage Bank Center
* Huntington Center
* James A. Rhodes Arena
* Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center
* Nationwide Arena
* Nutter Center
* Public Auditorium
* Rocket Arena
* Savage Arena
* SeaGate Convention Centre
* University of Dayton Arena
* Value City Arena
* Wolstein Center

Historic venues|

* Battelle Hall
* Cleveland Stadium
* Cincinnati Gardens
* Coliseum at Richfield
* Emery Theatre
* Franklin County Veterans Memorial Auditorium
* Germain Amphitheater
* Hara Arena
* Rubber Bowl
* Time Warner Cable Amphitheater
* Toledo Sports Arena

* v
* t
* e

Current venues in the Women's Flat Track Derby Association

East
region|

* Abe Stark Rink
* Shriners Auditorium
* Class of 1923 Arena
* D.C. Armory
* Dorton Arena
* Du Burns Arena
* Earls Court Exhibition Centre
* Greater Richmond Convention
* Haygood Skating Center
* Inline Skating Club of America
* Independence Family Fun Center
* John F. Kennedy Memorial Coliseum
* John Jay Doghouse
* Kennedy Arena
* Overlook Activities Center
* Portland Exposition Building
* Rhode Island Convention Center
* Rainbow Rink
* Romp'n Roll Roller Skating Rink
* Skate Safe America
* Sports Centre at MCC
* Le Taz

West
region|

* 1stBank Center
* Albuquerque Convention Center
* Bladium
* Castle Sports Club
* Climate Pledge Arena
* Colorado Springs City Auditorium
* Everett Community College
* Lane County Fairgrounds
* Portland Expo Center
* Roller King Roseville
* Salt Palace
* Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
* Skateland
* Spartan Recreation Center
* Sport Center of Las Vegas
* TISC
* Veterans Memorial Auditorium

North Central
region|

* Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
* Alliant Energy Center
* The Bunker
* Central Ohio Roller Hockey
* Cincinnati Gardens
* Dave Andreychuk Arena
* Detroit Masonic Temple
* Indiana Farmers Coliseum
* Indiana Convention Center
* Midwest Sport Hockey Complex
* Minneapolis Convention Center
* Rivertown Sports
* Roy Wilkins Auditorium
* Sioux Falls Expo Building
* Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum
* Swonder Ice Arena
* UIC Pavilion
* UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
* Wolstein Center

South Central
region|

* Austin Convention Center
* Bayou Music Center
* Fair Park Coliseum
* Knoxville Civic Coliseum
* Mid-America Center
* MidSouth Fairgrounds
* Municipal Auditorium
* North Florida Fairgrounds
* NYTEX Sports Centre
* Pershing Center
* Rollercade
* Starlight Skatium
* Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena
* Tulsa Convention Center
* UNO Human Performance Center
* USA Skateplex
* Von Braun Center
* Wichita Ice Center
* Yaarab Shrine Center

Authority control databases: Geographic |

* MusicBrainz place

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