8 Places to Watch Basketball in The Land

Each year, as the weather turns cool, a case of basketball fever sweeps over Cleveland. We can probably thank the Cavaliers and their curse-breaking 2016 NBA Championship for that. Now, for months at a time, we’ll hang on every jump ball, groan at questionable foul calls, and jump for joy with every made basket.

With the Cavaliers back on the rise, Cleveland State plotting another Cinderella run in March Madness, and the MAC Tournament in town each spring, we know how to do basketball right in The Land. Even better, in 2022, Cleveland will host the NBA All-Star Game as the league celebrates its 75th anniversary in our recently transformed Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. It doesn’t get much better than that.

If you can’t snag a ticket to any of the above, no worries. CLE is jam-packed with great places to catch the game. Some of them might even put Loudville to shame.

The Clevelander Bar

Pull up a seat at this quintessentially Cleveland sports bar and chow down on one (or two) of their signature burgers before tip-off. With more than ten flat-screen HDTVs, you’ll never miss a second of the action. Warning: This place attracts the diehards, so expect lots of high fives after every Evan Mobley bucket.

Gillespie’s Map Room

Pizza and beer. Just try to name two better companions for a night out watching basketball. This Warehouse District fave turns the area’s trendy rep on its head with a laidback neighborhood bar vibe full of sports fans cheering on the home team. Oh, yeah, the pizza. Trust us, the Map Room’s pies are one of the best kept secrets in CLE.

The Corner Alley

This upscale bowling alley/sports bar on East 4th is blanketed with 4K HDTVs, making for a lively game-time atmosphere. If you get a case of the fourth quarter jitters, why not bowl a few frames to settle those nerves? Pro tip: Before tip-off, stop in at nearby CLE Clothing Co. to pick up the latest tee from their Wine & Gold collection. A frequent hotspot for Cleveland athletes, you never know who you'll run into there.

Wild Eagle Saloon

Celebrate that buzzer-beating win — or cry in your beer after a tough loss — with a trip to Wild Eagle’s famous Inebriation Stations. Yep, we’re basically talking about an entire wall of self-serve draft beer. With multiple locations around Northeast Ohio, this modern saloon is a slam dunk choice for game time. (…we’ll see ourselves out.)

City Tap

Take one step into this Gateway District hotspot and you’ll know you’re in sports heaven. City Tap’s impressive bar features a large display of Cleveland sports bobbleheads — including plenty of legendary Cavaliers — alongside about a million bottles of every kind of adult beverage imaginable.

Dive Bar

The younger crowd rocks all game long on the corner of West 6th and Lakeside. With 32 big-screen TVs (and lots of beers on tap behind the bar), how can you go wrong? Dive Bar even has an NBA Hoops arcade game for those looking to live out their hoop dreams in the digital world.

Lino’s

Who knew that a Wickliffe sports bar could put fans closer to the action than a courtside seat downtown? With three 120-inch (!) projection screens — and twenty other televisions for good measure — there’s not a bad seat in the house. Mom might have told you not to sit too close to the TV, but here, that’s all part of the fun.

Hooley House

Basketball fans can be a superstitious lot, so add a little luck of the Irish with a stop at Hooley House. With locations all over The Land, it more than lives up to its name (Hooley is Irish slang for “party”) with raucous fans packed around the horseshoe-shaped bar, willing every Cavalier shot to find the bottom of the net amidst cold brews and delicious Irish pub fare.