September 16th | DAY TWO – Session
Schedule: 8am-8:30am Continental Breakfast | 8:30am-9:30am Keynote Speakers Nic Barlage, Rock Entertainment and Chris Ronayne, Cuyahoga County Executive | 9:30am-9:55am Summary of Tuesday’s Sessions, Audience Interaction, Takeaways | 10:10am-11am A conversation with Baiju Shah, Greater Cleveland Partnership | 11am-11:50am Jeff Appelbaum | Noon-1:50pm Lunch, Awards, Chapter Presidents | 1:50pm-2pm Cogence Call to Action | Close of Town Hall and transition to Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame for Project Tour starting 2:45pm
8:30am – 9:30am
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Collaboration Creates Forward Progress: A Fire Side Chat
Nic Barlage | Rock Entertainment Group & Chris Ronayne | Cuyahoga County Executive
Nic Barlage, Chief Executive Officer of Rock Entertainment Group (REG), leads the organization as part of Chairman Dan Gilbert’s Rock Family of Companies. REG encompasses the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, the Cleveland WNBA 2028 Expansion Team, the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, the NBA G League’s Cleveland Charge, Rock Entertainment Sports Network (RESN), and the PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic (Detroit). REG also manages operations of key venues such as Cleveland Clinic Courts and Rocket Arena, the epicenter of sports and entertainment in Northeast Ohio and the largest driver of economic impact in Cuyahoga County.
Since becoming CEO in 2021, Barlage has led REG’s transformation into a global force in sports and entertainment. Under his leadership, REG has been recognized twice by Sports Business Journal as a “Best Place to Work in Sports” and has driven significant community impact, investing more than $48 million and contributing over 52,000 volunteer hours to education, youth development, food security, and other critical initiatives.
Barlage is also shaping the future of Cleveland through major city-building projects, including the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center (opening 2027), the Rock Block entertainment district featuring Cosm’s cutting-edge immersive reality experience, and the revitalization of Cleveland Public Hall. In addition, he is now guiding Bedrock, the city’s leading real estate developer, in its strategic direction to help redefine Cleveland’s urban core, cementing REG’s role as both a cultural anchor and an engine of urban growth.
Previously, Barlage held senior leadership roles with the Phoenix Suns and Charlotte Bobcats and earlier within the Cavaliers organization. A graduate of Saint John’s University (Minn.), he serves on multiple boards, including Cosm, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Ohio.
Chris Ronayne, Cuyahoga County Executive has served in this position since January 2023, leading a vision for a healthier, more equitable county while overseeing services for more than 1.2 million residents and a $2 billion budget. A longtime public servant and community leader, he has held key roles in Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland and spent 16 years as President of University Circle Inc., where he helped drive significant neighborhood, education, and economic development initiatives. Chris is a lifelong Cuyahoga County resident and lives in Cleveland with his wife and two children.
Brief Summary of Keynote Focus: Discussion of the major design and construction projects in Greater Cleveland region and how private and public owners will collaborate. This discussion on the private/public collaboration is not only a local topic, but a topic that crosses our state and nation.
The timing of this conversation is even more critical with several major projects planned in the Town Hall host city’s region in the immediate future. These include:
COSM (Privately Funded) – $86.5M
Huntington Bank Field (Privately Funded) – $2.6B
CAVS Practice Facility (Publicly Funded) – $200M
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Addition (Privately Funded) = $135M
Cuyahoga County New Jail (Publicly Funded) = $900M
Irishtown Bend (Publicly Funded) – $100M
The Land Bridge (Publicly Funded) – $280M
Cheers (Publicly Funded) – $400M
The Burke Lakefront Project (Private-Public Partnership) = $1B
John Hopkins Airport (Publicly Funded) $2B
Cuyahoga County Justice Center Renovations (Publicly Funded) = $160M
9:00 am – 9:55am
Day One (September 15th) Session Summaries
What Did Everyone Else Learn? Our Track Leaders will provide a recap of the Day 1 | 3 Tracks – 9 Sessions, Audience Interaction and Takeaways.
10:10 am – 11:00 am
Downtown Cleveland’s Comeback…and Moving Forward
Brief Summary: Downtown Cleveland’s revitalization is the result of decades of alignment and execution. And the work is never done. A conversation on priorities, policies, and partnerships and sustaining momentum across decades.
Baiju Shah | President and CEO, Greater Cleveland Partnership
Baiju R. Shah is the President & CEO of Greater Cleveland Partnership, the region’s leading economic development organization and with over 12,000 members, the nation’s largest metropolitan chamber of commerce. Guided by a board of CEOs, GCP focuses on accelerating growth and prosperity through strategic initiatives, business services, real estate development, and advocacy.
Previously, Shah was CEO of BioMotiv, CEO of BioEnterprise, and a Senior Fellow of the Cleveland Foundation. Throughout his career, he has developed strategic alliances with pharmaceutical companies, health institutions, universities, and foundations, and raised significant funds for health ventures. He also served on the Boards of Invacare and Athersys, and as a Senior Advisor of Faster Cures. Shah began his career at McKinsey.
Mr. Shah serves on numerous civic boards and is recognized as one of Cleveland’s most influential leaders. He received a JD from Harvard Law School and a BA from Yale University.
11:00 am – 11:50am
Jeff Appelbaum | Managing Partner, Thompson Hine / Project Management Consultants
TBD…
Short description…To be updated
Noon – 1:50pm
Lunch | Chapter Presidents updates | Walter Jones Drive Award Presentations
- We will hear updates from each of our Chapter Presidents.
- Award presentations in the following categories:
- Emerging Leader / Rising Star Award
- Individual Award
- Small Project (Construction Costs Under $15M)
- Mid-Size Project (Construction Costs $15M-$30M)
- Large Project (Construction Costs $30M-$350M)
- Extreme Project (Construction Costs over $350M)
1:50pm – 2:00pm
Call to Action
2:00pm – 2:45pm
Tour attendees transition to Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame
2:45 pm – 4:30 pm
Project Tour | Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Expansion
Tour sign-up on-line at registration page and sheets will be available during registration on Day 1.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Addition project is highlighted by a 50,000 square-foot addition to the existing pyramid structure that was originally designed by architect I.M. Pei and completed in 1995. The new addition on the west side of the building will allow for more programming spaces which can be used for the following:
- Multipurpose spaces for indoor performances, community gatherings and private rentals
- Open space for event & education programming
- A new entrance lobby that will improve the flow of visitors
- Relocation of the administrative offices from the lower level to 2nd floor of the Addition
- Renovation work creates an additional 7,500 square feet for large-scale traveling exhibits
- Renovation of Cafe and new Howley Family Student Center