CLEVELAND, Ohio – This year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony will be the biggest Cleveland has ever seen. The Rock Hall announced Tuesday that the annual event, which alternates between Cleveland and New York City, will take place at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Oct. 30, rather than the usual Cleveland home of Public Auditorium.
The move more than doubles (and possibly triples) the number of fans that can attend this year’s ceremony at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. In terms of seating capacity, the arena will be the biggest venue to ever host an Induction Ceremony.
However, ticketing measures and capacity could be determined by the state of the coronavirus pandemic. As an indoor entertainment venue and sports arena, The FieldHouse is currently approved for up to 25 percent of its normal capacity, which could approach 20,000 people for a concert, plus or minus a few hundred people depending on the stage setup.
The list of nominees for the Class of 2021 includes big names like Jay-Z, Tina Turner, Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, Rage Against the Machine and others. The potential for an incredible lineup of honorees, the move to a bigger arena and plans for the show to air live on HBO could put more eyes on a live Rock Hall ceremony than there have ever been.
“We’re so excited to announce this multi-year partnership with our friends at the Cavaliers and the FieldHouse,” said Rock Hall CEO and president Greg Harris.
Rumors of the Rock Hall Ceremony moving to a bigger venue in Cleveland heated up in 2018 with the renovations made to Quicken Loans Arena, which was renamed Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
“This speculation and chatter has existed since 2009,” Harris admitted back in 2018. “It comes up every single year, given that it’s in an arena in New York now. It’s also natural given the investments that the region, the city, the county and the Cavs are making in their arena.”
When held in New York, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony draws roughly 18,000 people to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. An arena also makes room for more VIP tables at the Induction Ceremony.
VIP Packages for floor seats at tables usually start around $3,000. The price goes all the way up to around $100,000 for a table in the front row. Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse also offers other amenities no other venue in Cleveland can, such as private clubs and 60 luxury suites that are typically rented for a single Cleveland Cavaliers game at around $3,000.
When asked about a potential move to the arena in 2018, Harris cited Public Auditorium’s history of hosting legendary concerts by acts like The Beatles and David Bowie as part of the venue’s appeal. However, economics seems to have won out this time around.
“This is a jewel for our community and to have it at the FieldHouse, we could not be more proud,” said Len Komoroski, CEO of the Cleveland Cavaliers during Tuesday’s press conference. “The timing is perfect. We’ve undergone a $185 million renovation of the FieldHouse. [It’s] a venue that’s worthy of the magnitude of an event that the Inductions are.”
The Induction Ceremony generates an economic impact of more than $30 million for Cleveland, said Harris. That number could go up assuming more people attend this year’s ceremony especially if they’re from out of town.
“The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a huge asset to the region,” said Armond Budish, County Executive Cuyahoga County, in a statement. “The Induction Ceremony creates immediate excitement and economic benefits in terms of supporting jobs and generating new revenue for the region, and the residual benefits live on a lot longer for our community. We look forward to its return and safely celebrating this year’s class.”
The 2021 ceremony will be the sixth to be held in Cleveland. It would mark the first time the event has been hosted by a Cleveland venue other than Public Auditorium since 1997 when it took place at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel.
“Cleveland is a major cultural destination and we always look forward to having the Induction Ceremony in our city every two years,” added Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.
The Rock Hall’s Class of 2021 will be announced in May. Ticket information and venue capacity will be announced in July. President Joe Biden recently announced the country will have enough of the coronavirus vaccine to cover every American adult by the end of May.