20160606-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_--
6/3/2016
4:24 PM
Page 1
VOL. 37, NO. 23
JUNE 6 - 12, 2016
Source Lunch
Business of Life
Jeneen Marziani, Bank of America
Graham Veysey wants wine to be fun
Banking industry veteran brings a unique perspective to Cleveland life. Page 20
Page 19
CLEVELAND BUSINESS
The List Highest paid female executives. Page 23
Y
ou’ve likely read too many numbers to count on the NBA Finals rematch between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. (Case in point: The graphic that accompanies this column.) Here are a few we’ve really been focusing on this past week, as LeBron James’ legacy was again being dissected as if he had just announced that his seventh Finals appearance would be his last: ■ All three of the Cavs’ NBA Finals trips have occurred during James’ nine seasons with the organization. ■ In those nine years, the Cavs have won at least 50 games six times. ■ In 37 non-James seasons, the best the Cavs could do was a pair of
SPORTS BUSINESS
The numbers prove Cavs fans are all in Economic impact $3.6 million:
Estimated impact of each home playoff game at The Q during the first three rounds.
$5 million: Projected
economic impact for each 2016 NBA Finals game at Quicken Loans Arena.
$927,000: Combined admissions taxes the city pulled in on primary and secondary ticket sales for 2015 Finals Games 3 and 4.
Attendance Tickets
TV ratings
100: 2016 Finals Game 3
145: Tickets for Game 3
43.7: Average rating for the 2015 NBA Finals in the Cleveland designated market.
31: All but 10 of the Cavs’
6: Tickets for Game 3 of
will be the 100th consecutive home sellout since LeBron James returned.
41 road games were sellouts in 2015-16.
of the 2016 Finals that sold for under $300 on Flash Seats, as of the morning of June 1.
the 2015 Finals that sold for under $325 on Flash Seats, as of June 1, 2015.
9.31: Average rating for Cavs regular-season games on Fox Sports Ohio in 2015-16, breaking the 2008-09 record (8.77).
International reach 26: Percent of traffic to Cavs.com from international users during the regular season. 50-plus: Percent of the Cavs’ 5.5 million Facebook followers living outside the U.S.
SEE CAVS, PAGE 21
Photograph by Jason MIller, Getty Images
GOVERNMENT
LAW
Corridor has its share Bar’s approach is more diverse of business obstacles By JEREMY NOBILE
By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com @millerjh
In the same way that gardeners view a furrow ready for new plantings, civic leaders are hoping that the Opportunity Corridor, the $331 million roadway being tilled through Cleveland’s East Side, will prove fertile ground for new business devel-
opment — as well as becoming a fast route between University Circle and the freeways to the west. But several existing businesses along the 3.5-mile route being plowed between East 55th Street and University Circle see the process damaging their roots, or worse. Some are being transplanted from familiar ground and the process may have killed a business that couldn’t SEE CORRIDOR, PAGE 22
Entire contents © 2016 by Crain Communications Inc.
jnobile@crain.com @JeremyNobile
Data show that diversity in the legal industry continues to improve at a snail’s pace. But a new initiative by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association should give that mission in Northeast Ohio some thrusters. The need has always been there. Besides the well-established business case for diversity, the promo-
tion of diverse people and ideas is, naturally, the right thing to do in any industry, said Majeed Makhlouf, a Beachwood attorney and vice president of diversity and inclusion for the CMBA. “When the recession hit, if you were looking at diversity and inclusion programs as a luxury, those were cut. But this isn’t something we do as an add-on,” Makhlouf said. “Years later, this is an existential question. The discussion has changed, just as the very profession has changed. And if you want to sur-
vive, diversity is something you need to have.”
The findings A first-of-its-kind diversity and inclusion survey by the CMBA is at the heart of a new approach to help groups from law firms to courts to corporate counsels not only achieve more cultural and gender diversity in their ranks and retain those people over time, but to promote them up the leadership chain to the most visible and influential management roles. SEE BAR, PAGE 6
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH
As grant money tightens, more grad students turn to crowdfunding FOCUS, Page 13