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Team NEO has poor showing in JobsOhio report, says it’s ‘looking for ways to get better’ — P. 4 A trio of residential developers envisions big things for former elementary school sites — P. 5
Nonprofits are making it work by collaborating Magnet and Wire-Net have different approaches, but similar goals for region By DAN SHINGLER and RACHEL ABBEY McCAFFERTY dshingler@crain.com/rmccafferty@crain.com
In manufacturing, competition is often a good thing, but so is collaboration. It’s mostly the latter that’s been bolstering the fortunes of Cleveland’s two manufacturing-oriented non-profits, Magnet and WireNet. Today, as Magnet prepares for a change in leadership and Wire-Net works to bring on new members, the two are cooperating more than ever and their supporters say it’s benefitting them both. “Our region’s economy will be more competitive the more those two organizations and others can collaborate to create value for manufacturers,” said Chris Thompson, director of regional engagement at Cleveland’s Fund for Our Economic Future, which supports Magnet’s Prism program. Also known as the Partnership for Regional Innovation Services to Manufacturers, Prism works with local manufacturers as a consultant on issues from funding to product design and development.
Different approaches Magnet pays its bills, in part, by selling its consulting services, while Wire-Net is mostly funded by member support. They both want to see manufacturing grow and thrive in the region, but one is selling a menu of services and the other is a memberdriven trade group. That also might be why they work well together. Wire-Net has begun to use its contacts
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See NONPROFITS, page 12
Q GETS ‘A’ FOR EFFORT 21-year-old arena has favorable place in world rankings and a stacked calendar By KEVIN KLEPS kkleps@crain.com
About six hours before the tipoff of Game 3 of a first-round playoff series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics on April 23, an enthusiastic group of youth hockey players from Northeast Ohio entered Quicken Loans Arena. As the group was being led to the Cavs’ practice floor, where a partnership between the Lake Erie Monsters and Columbus Blue Jackets was being celebrated in typical Cavs style (with an introductory video, music, balloons and speakers holding water bottles), the
arena was being readied for a Cavs watch party that would include all of the typical gameday bells and whistles (minus basketball being played on the court, since the game was in Boston). In other words, it was a typical day at The Q. Playoff hoops is back at the 21-year-old arena after a four-season absence, but the rest of the craziness — the concerts, family shows, college basketball, banquets, meetings, and even 600 men and women doing yoga on a late-November night — never left. In a typical year, The Q hosts more than 200 ticketed events and has more than 2 million people walk through its doors.
More than 60% of that total is from the three sports teams that call the arena home — the Cavs, Monsters and Cleveland Gladiators — but The Q’s calendar usually is more packed than a professional sports club’s private jet. According to numbers provided by the Cavs, The Q in 2014 hosted 16 concerts, 43 family shows, 12 other sporting events (including the Mid-American Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments), three conferences and events that weren’t open to the public and more than 1,300 banquets and meetings. Once the home games of the Cavs, See THE Q, page 6
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ALSO INSIDE: NEWSPAPER
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GETTY IMAGES (3). LAKE ERIE MONSTERS (1)
LeBron James and the Cavaliers are the marquee attraction at Quicken Loans Arena, which also hosts such events as an Usher concert (top right), the Gay Games opening ceremony (bottom left) and hockey games featuring the Lake Erie Monsters.
HIGHER EDUCATION University of Akron president and wife are major players in education, health care ■ Pages 15-22 PLUS: SCIENCE OF BEER ■ CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION ■ & MORE
Entire contents © 2015 by Crain Communications Inc. Vol. 36, No. 18