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The Arena

By Arthur Kinney
High School Championship Game, 1959
High School Championship Game, 1959 St. Ignatius vs. East Tech at The Arena in 1959 Source: Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University Library Special Collections

The Arena at 3717 Euclid Avenue was built in 1937 by sports promoter Albert C. Stuphin. Originally designed to be the home ice for Stuphin's Cleveland Barons hockey team (which until that point had played as the Indians and then the Falcons further up Euclid Avenue at the Elysium), the Arena also hosted many other sporting events throughout its history, including boxing, basketball, wrestling, and racing. The Arena served as the original home of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers in the early 1970s before the team moved to the Richfield Coliseum in Summit County.

The Cleveland Arena was also the site of one of the first rock and roll concerts ever held: the Moondog Coronation Ball of 1952. Cleveland DJ Alan Freed organized the concert, which drew crowds of teenagers so large and unruly that the fire department canceled the show before most of the acts could play.

By the 1960s, the arena's facilities were becoming outdated, and in 1974, after the Cavaliers moved to the Coliseum and the Barons to Jacksonville, the Arena stopped holding large events. The building was demolished in 1977.

Audio

The Place to Be Bob Sheridan describes the attraction of the Cleveland Arena Source: Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection
Penalty Box Fights Bob Sheridan recalls a fight between the Hershey Bears and the Cleveland Baron's hockey teams Source: Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection
Up Close in the Arena Bob Sheridan describes the up-close experience of the Cleveland Arena Source: Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection

Images

High School Championship Game, 1959
High School Championship Game, 1959 St. Ignatius vs. East Tech at The Arena in 1959 Source: Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University Library Special Collections
Spectators at the Arena, 1939
Spectators at the Arena, 1939 Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections
Boxing Match, 1943
Boxing Match, 1943 Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections
Arena Skating Rink, 1938
Arena Skating Rink, 1938 Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections
Hockey at the Arena, 1950
Hockey at the Arena, 1950 Notice the low, chicken-wire barriers (early versions of today's "boards"), the moveable seating, and the absence of separate team benches and penalty box areas. These features made the Arena an exciting and unpredictable place for Cleveland hockey fans to watch games. Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections
Indoor Auto Racing, 1952
Indoor Auto Racing, 1952 "Midget races," as they were often called, became popular in the mid-1930s. Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections
Moondog Coronation Ball, March 1952
Moondog Coronation Ball, March 1952 In 1952, Cleveland DJ Alan Freed organized one of the first rock and roll concerts in history. Image courtesy of Western Reserve Historical Society
Arena Postcard
Arena Postcard The back of this postcard reads: "The Arena is Cleveland's most modern structure devoted exclusively to sports events. It is here the Cleveland hockey team, the Barons, play their home games. The Arena is also used for such other sport events as Roller Derbies, Wrestling, Six Day Bicycle Races, etc." Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections

Location

3717 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115 | Demolished

Metadata

Related Resources

  1. "Cleveland Arena." Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-arena

Citation Info

Arthur Kinney, “The Arena,” Cleveland Historical, accessed May 17, 2024, https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/85.
Published Nov 16, 2010. Last updated Sep 28, 2023.

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