Every memorable meeting has two stories. The first comes from inside the conference room where ideas spark, partnerships take shape and conversations move organizations forward. The other begins the moment attendees step outside.
It’s the dinner that turns into a standing tradition, the brewery where colleagues become friends, the museum no one expected to love or the walk through Downtown that shows visitors the magic of Cleveland. Those moments don’t appear on the agenda, but they’re often the ones people remember long after the closing session. That’s where Cleveland shines.
Across Downtown and beyond, bold investments are creating an even better experience for everyone who gathers here. A reimagined Huntington Convention Center, expanded air service, a growing residential Downtown, new hotels and transformative developments, and revitalized cultural attractions are making it easier to meet, easier to explore and easier to see why so many organizations choose The Land for their meeting.
A Downtown Built for Gathering
For planners, location is more than a point on a map. It is the difference between an event that feels fragmented and one that feels connected. Downtown Cleveland has become more than the region's business district. Its population has grown 22% over the past decade, with an estimated 26,000 residents expected to live in the city center by 2032. That growth brings more restaurants, energy and street life to the same neighborhood where attendees gather for meetings, conventions, sports, dining and entertainment.
New projects are adding to that momentum. Erieview Tower is set to include W Residences and a W Hotel, while the former Ohio Bell headquarters has become The Bell, an upscale apartment complex. Skyline 776 adds a 23-story residential tower with a rooftop pool, doggie daycare and restaurants. Additional projects, including Ten60 Bolivar and plans for the Scranton Peninsula, point to a Downtown that is increasingly lived in rather than simply visited.
A Convention Center Ready for What Comes Next
Following a $49 million update, the nearly 519,000-square-foot Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland is built to support large-scale events, concurrent meetings and flexible programming. Its 104,000-square-foot expansion includes state-of-the-art technology and 50 meeting rooms, while four luxury suites offer big-screen TVs and pool tables for smaller gatherings or VIP experiences.
The redesigned 20,000-square-foot Atrium Ballroom can be divided into six rooms, giving planners more flexibility for general sessions, meals, receptions and breakouts. The new 11,000-square-foot rooftop terrace creates another signature setting, with panoramic Downtown views that turn a reception into a Cleveland moment.
Just as important is what surrounds it: restaurants, theaters, sports venues and nearly 5,000 nearby hotel rooms. For attendees, that means fewer shuttle schedules and more time experiencing the city. For planners, it means a compact, walkable event footprint that still feels full of options.
Easier Arrivals, Stronger First Impressions
A great event experience begins before attendees reach the registration desk.
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport's $1.6 billion evolution began in 2025, with a modernized terminal planned to open in 2032. Early phases include 3,600 additional public parking spaces, while the future terminal is planned with window walls, expanded ticketing areas and high ceilings designed to improve the passenger experience.
Air service is expanding, too. Frontier Airlines has added 10 new direct flights, bringing its total to 30 destinations from Cleveland. Newer nonstop flights from Seattle on Alaska Airlines and Dublin on Aer Lingus add important access points for domestic and international travelers.
For planners, those connections matter. For attendees, they make Cleveland easier to choose.
More to Experience After the Agenda Ends
When you walk out the doors of the convention center, the Cleveland meeting experience is only beginning.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is undergoing a $135 million expansion that will add more room for concerts, traveling exhibits and artifacts from its archives. Progressive Field recently completed a $202 million renovation with new seats, a private lounge behind home plate, a beer and food hall and open-air, terraced ticketed boxes. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History recently completed a $150 million transformation featuring a new Visitor Hall, reimagined exhibits, new Dynamic Earth and Evolving Life wings and the hands-on Ames Family Curiosity Center.
For attendees, these are not just things to do. They are shared experiences that help define a meeting's sense of place.
A City Investing in Every Visit
The investments shaping Cleveland go beyond the meeting and visitor experience:
- Sherwin-Williams' new Downtown global headquarters is set to include a one-million-square-foot complex, a 36-story skyscraper, a multilevel parking garage and a two-story pavilion designed as a front porch to Public Square.
- Cleveland Clinic continues to expand, with projects including a new Neurological Institute on its main campus, an expansion of the Cole Eye Institute and a strategic research partnership with Canon Inc. to create a comprehensive imaging research center.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Clinic are also partnering on the Global Peak Performance Center, a more than 210,000-square-foot athletic training facility planned as part of Bedrock's $3.5 billion vision for the Cuyahoga Riverfront.
Taken together, these projects tell a larger story: Cleveland's not waiting for the future of meetings, travel and urban life to arrive; it's building toward it right now. Whether someone comes here to plan a convention, attend a conference, visit an attraction or see the city for the first time, they will find a Cleveland with momentum, confidence and more ways than ever to gather.