Media contacts:   
Rich Luchette, (216) 797-0931, rluchette@cuyahogacounty.us



Republican National Convention– Clevelanders learned last week that their city will host the 2016 Republican National Convention, an event that is expected to bring tens of thousands of visitors and roughly $200 million in economic benefits to the region.

• Plain Dealer: “As politicians and others scramble to board Cleveland’s convention-bound bandwagon, it’s important to remember who was there first. Months before anyone of note was even talking about bringing either the Republican or Democratic conventions here in 2016, County Executive Ed FitzGerald was doing something about it.”
  
  
• BuzzFeed:“FitzGerald, the first county executive of Ohio’s most populous county and the home of Cleveland, showed an early interest in bringing a 2016 political convention to the city. ‘I remember when Cleveland tried to get the convention in 1992,’ FitzGerald told BuzzFeed about his quest to bring a political convention to the city. It was FitzGerald, along with his chief of staff and David Gilbert, the president of Positively Cleveland, the region’s convention and visitors bureau, who took a day in Charlotte during their 2012 convention to see how Cleveland could get it to their city."
  
  
• Youngstown Vindicator: “Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the Democratic nominee for governor, said, ‘This is an incredible victory for Northeast Ohio and the hardworking men and women who live here. Hosting our first national convention in 80 years will bring as much as $200 million in economic benefits to our region, strengthen our local tourism industry, and help tell the story of Cleveland’s ongoing renaissance to the rest of the nation.’”
  
  
• New York Times: “Mr. FitzGerald…was an early organizer of the city’s effort to woo a convention from either party. ‘It was a little surreal,’ he said of his meetings with the Republican site selection committee. ‘The Republican convention is going to happen somewhere, and if there’s going to be an economic impact, I want that to be in my community,’ he said. ‘Cleveland has had a lot of disappointments over the years. This is going to be a very high-profile opportunity for us to introduce the country and the world to what this city really is.’”
  
  
• USA Today: “Cleveland's last shining moment of greatness — a pro sports championship, no less — is half a century old and peeling like an old bleacher seat. But a new glimmer of hope — or two — may be dribbling into town…Cleveland's got a sports empire primed for a rebound. It's got an economy arguably on the mend. And now, It's got the kahuna of conventions coming to town.”
  

LeBron– The announcement that LeBron James is returning to Cleveland provided Northeast Ohio with an intangible jolt of self-confidence and, as County Executive FitzGerald outlined, the prospect of significant financial and economic benefits.

• Plain Dealer: “LeBron James's return to Cleveland could help bring almost $50 million a year in new economic activity to the city and region, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald said Monday. FitzGerald said his fiscal office worked with Positively Cleveland, the local convention and tourism bureau, to reach that figure.”
  
  
• CNBC: “Is the city that was once derided as ‘The Mistake by the Lake’ about to stage a big rebound? Hopes are high. ‘There is no doubt that Cleveland is coming back stronger today than ever before,’ said Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald after Friday's announcement. FitzGerald's office estimates James' return to the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers will raise the team's economic impact in the region to around $500 million—roughly a 25 percent increase from where it is today. The estimate is based on increased ticket sales as well as what officials call a‘multiplier effect’ from the added spending.”
  
  
• ABC Cleveland:“The help is coming from LeBron both on and off the court. In fact, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald is predicting that LeBron James’s return to Cleveland could mean as much as $53 million a year in additional revenue for the County.”
  
  
• CBS Cleveland:“Cleveland is the talk of the country. It seems downtown businesses are already coming back, and it’s all thanks to a couple of things.
  
  
• NBC Cleveland:“Sellout crowds for Cavs games mean more admissions tax, which will mean millions of County dollars are able now, instead of paying off debt, to go to other purposes.”
  
  
• MSNBC:“LeBron James’s decision to go back to Cleveland to play for the Cavaliers is becoming less of a sports story and more of an economic headline. LeBron left Cleveland while it was still reeling economically, mired in the foreclosure crisis.”

Revitalizing Public Square – The Group Plan Commission received an $8 million grant from the Cleveland Foundation to put towards turning Public Square into a 10-acre public park – a vision County Executive FitzGerald first outlined last year during a press conference with Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.

• Plain Dealer: “Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald underscored that Cleveland has had a very good couple of weeks, following the announcements last week that the Republican National Convention will be held here in 2016 and that NBA star LeBron James would return to the Cavaliers after four years with the Miami Heat. The good news seemed to encapsulate a sense of rising momentum in the city following the completion of civic projects such as the Global Center for Health Innovation and the new convention center, which could not have happened without cooperation between the city and county. ‘We've gone through a lot of tough years,’ FitzGerald said, adding that it has been natural to wonder ‘when are we really going to get our act together and finally get some national credit for what we have here? It's happening now, and we have to take a moment to see it and appreciate it," he said, adding that it has taken collaboration among the business community, local government and foundations to promote projects such as the redesign of Public Square. I'm incredibly proud that everybody put aside rivalries that would have stopped things like this.”
  
  
• Plain Dealer: “FitzGerald pointed to a site adjacent to the global center. The site, currently more or less a hole in the ground, formerly held the county's administrative headquarters, until the building was demolished in January. FitzGerald said the county's hotel -- along with others built by the private sector -- were the linchpin in helping bring in the convention.”

• WKSU: “The plan to remake downtown Cleveland’s signature public square got a big boost from the Cleveland Foundation. The foundation today committed $8 million toward the $30 million project.”

• Cleveland Crain’s Business: “The Cleveland Foundation has committed $8 million toward a $30 million effort to dramatically overhaul downtown Cleveland’s iconic, yet dreary, central artery, Public Square. The grant, which was announced at an event on the square Tuesday morning, July 15, is the first public financial commitment toward the fledgling project.”