The Cavaliers are targeting 2027 to open the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance CenterCavaliers
The Cavaliers have unveiled renderings of their new tech-infused training facility, a 210,000-square-foot complex on the Cuyahoga River that -- in concert with Cleveland Clinic -- will simultaneously become a global sports science and wellness center for the general public.
Known as the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center and designed by the architectural firm Populous, the building is the first vertical centerpiece of real estate firm Bedrock’s impending 35-acre, $3.5B mixed-use Cuyahoga Riverfront Master Plan to revitalize the downtown area. The Cavaliers’ arrangement with longtime partner Cleveland Clinic was negotiated in-house, while Bedrock is tied to the team through Cavs owner Dan Gilbert -- who doubles as Bedrock’s founder and chairman. Whiting Turner is the project’s contractor, and Jonathan Mallie of Populous is the design lead and principal-in-charge.
The training facility will not only serve Cavaliers players, but athletes of all levels, medical and healthcare patients, first responders and military personnel. Perhaps more advanced than the Spurs’ recently christened Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, the Cleveland complex will include a “shot lab’’ with an immersive half-court that that allows Cavalier players to simulate playing in Madison Square Garden or any NBA arena. Team CEO Nic Barlage also said the lab will contain an LED court from the German company ASB GlassFloor -- similar to what was leveraged at this year’s NBA All-Star Saturday night -- as well as projection mapping and Al for analytics.
“What we've tried to do, honestly, is just thread best practices from what we’ve seen with the Spurs, what the Cowboys did, what the University of Oregon has done, what the Hawks and the Falcons have done with Emory in Atlanta," Barlage said. “Look, you can't go wrong playing basketball in any one of these facilities. Let’s be real. But I think ours will be its own competitive advantage."
Assuming the project is approved by Cleveland’s planning commission in mid-April, followed by the construction documentation process, Barlage suspects builders will break ground by the end of this year, leading to a possible 2027 completion date. The facility is only blocks from the team’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and the Guardians’ Progressive Field, and Barlage said the entire Cuyahoga Riverfront Master Plan should ultimately resemble other NBA mixed-use projects such as Milwaukee’s Deer District and L.A. Live.
“A very permeable development that could have a mix of residential, could have some hospitality," he said. “We’re calling it the shore-to-core-to-shore strategy, where you can literally go from the riverfront to the waterfront here in Cleveland -- a 15-minute walkable city. It’s going to create that kind of iconic landmark that is going to symbolize a resurgence and renaissance for the city of Cleveland and for Northeast Ohio, I think in a unique way."
Cavaliers' training facility renderings
1/5
2/5
3/5
4/5
5/5
The Cavaliers are targeting 2027 to open the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center
Photo: Cavaliers PREVIOUS
NEXT
