When Cleveland last hosted the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions in April 2015 the buses picking up the guests from downtown hotels for the event navigated around the walled-off work zone that was the freshly dug up Public Square and passed the new Hilton Hotel across the mall from Public Hall.
On that warm Saturday in April crews were still hard at work in the early evening hours making sure the hotel would be ready in time for the Republican National Convention, it was all for the RNC.
Fast forward three years and Cleveland will get to show off this April the finished product.
"We've got more hotels, more infrastructure, we've got a rhythm going with the events that we've had over the past couple of years," said the Rock Hall's V.P. of Marketing and Communications Todd Mesek. "The things that we were preparing for the last time the inductions were here are now real assets."
That's something he said that extends to the Rock Hall itself. "The new film by Jonathan Demme before he passed away, the new colors, the new store, the new celebrity chefs downstairs, all of that activity is now ready to go," he said.
While much attention is focused on the induction itself this year of artists that include Bon Jovi, The Cars, Dire Straits, The Moody Blues, Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, there will be a greater emphasis on the week leading up to it.
"It'll be a series of events with inductees and other programs, special exhibit openings we'll have that week of April 7th to the 14th. What we're also expanding on is the things that we'll do out in the community with local partners like the public library, PNC is going to allow us to some things. We're working with the clubs, the venues, the hotels, to bring the programming out into the city," Mesek said.
That's done with two things in mind, including the local community in the festivities as well as many of the fans who studies show come to Cleveland the week of the induction without tickets just to be around it.
Tickets to the Induction Ceremony will go on sale to the public on February 8 at 10 a.m. EST. A two-ticket limit applies to all purchases. Rock Hall Member pre-sale begins Feb. 6.
The event brings in an estimated $10-$20 million dollars to Cleveland businesses.
The Rock Hall itself was built in the 90's at a cost of $92 million but returns annually more than $100 million in economic impact.
