Product Code Database
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 Cleveland Crunch of Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The center previously was home of 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. 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. 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.
The Wolstein Center has also hosted numerous concerts, featuring artists such as David Bowie, Elton John, Martina McBride, TLC, Pearl Jam, 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. Wolstein Center - Global Spectrum.com
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 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.
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.
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. All-Star Celebrity Game - Wolstein Center.com
TNA Wrestling's weekly Impact program taped two weeks worth of shows on August 29, 2013. Impact Wrestling at the Wolstein Center - Impact Wrestling.com
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 its companion show AEW 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.
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.
The arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions in 2016 and the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live in 2019 and 2020.
Real American Freestyle held its inaugural event, RAF 01, at the venue on August 30, 2025.
AJR headlined the arena on May 11, 2022, for their tour in support of their album "OK Orchestra".
|
|
