Crain's Cleveland Business, February 19, 2024 by Crain's Cleveland Business

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Hydrogen bet is paying off for Cleveland-Cliffs By Dan Shingler

Amid all of the hoopla and headlines over its attempted but failed takeover of U.S. Steel, Cleveland-Cliffs might have been doing something even more important in Indiana: making steel with hydrogen. The company said in January that it completed a successful hydrogen injection trial at its No. 7 blast furnace at its Indiana Harbor facilities in East Chicago, Ind. It’s the third time and the third place in which the company has proven the technology works. The next step is getting a steady supply of hydrogen gas to the Indiana steelworks so it can begin regularly using the gas in steelmaking. That will require the fed-

eral government to work with states to make good on its promise to develop hydrogen hubs around the nation — including a planned Midwest Hydrogen Hub being developed in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, which is expected to expand to other states. (While Ohio will also participate in such a hub in conjunction with West Virginia and Pennsylvania, Cliffs is focused on the ILIN-MI hub.) Cliffs says the government is doing just that. The feds last fall awarded $1 billion in funding toward the development of the hub, which includes several projects to produce, handle and ship hydrogen gas to industry. See CLIFFS on Page 16

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Craft beer crossroads

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New production facility is key to Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s future viability By Jeremy Nobile

Great Lakes Brewing Co. is at a crossroads. To remain competitive in a shrinking and increasingly challenging market for craft beer, one that’s already weakened some brands to the point of collapse, the 36-year-old business requires a new, modernized factory to unify a collection of inefficient operations. But prime space for such a

facility in Cleveland proper is limited. And an eight-acre site on the city’s up-and-coming Scranton Peninsula—purchased by the company in 2018 under former GLBC CEO Bill Boor— may not be as ideal of a fit for the business’ needs today as was once envisioned. As a result, GLBC’s next desperately needed production facility may be planted outside Cleveland, possibly in the western suburb of Avon.

For a storied company with deep ties to the Forest City, pursuing a project like this outside its home city of nearly four decades is not exactly the first choice. But it may be nonetheless necessary for the brewery’s future viability at a time when craft beer’s market share has plateaued and cost controls are of critical importance. See BEER on Page 16

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Cleveland Talent Alliance sets sights on wooing young workers By Kim Palmer

What if everyone who visited Cleveland had such a good time they opted to just stay? Like the musical "Brigadoon," but staying would be voluntary, and there'd be less singing but more employment opportunities. The idea to woo Cleveland visitors into moving to the city — subsequently growing the economy and, eventually, making the city one of “the fastest growing and most diverse, inclusive and welcoming areas in the Midwest by 2030" — is the very real idea behind the Cleveland Talent Alliance (CTA). In the year since the group’s inception, CTA — a coalition made of more than a dozen high-profile public, private and nonprofit organizations — has been looking into just how to capitalize on the increasingly positive perception of Cleveland with younger, working-age visitors. “We’re leveraging the progress we’ve made with Cleveland’s reputation as a place to visit over the past 10 years as a springboard,” explains David Gilbert, president and CEO of Destination Cleveland. “It’s part of a long game, but we think it is one that ultimately could bring more talent to the region.” The idea behind CTA’s creation is to build off the well-researched data from Destination Cleveland that historically the city has “a perception issue” but that, on a broad level, the best way to get people to change their minds about Cleveland is to visit and experience the city. Using that logic, CTA’s three main entities — Greater Cleveland Partnership, Destination Cleveland and Team NEO — have mined, surveyed and compiled data to come up with metrics and a strategy around attracting and retaining talent. “We had a series of pilot events last year with college interns and students, with business conferences and interns coming for the summer that Destination Cleveland led. And with those events, we've learned a lot,” said Baiju Shah, president and CEO of Greater Cleveland Partnership. Mining the data from events like the Summer in the Land, which brought together more than 1,000 summer interns from across the region, and technology conferences like last April’s Women in CyberSecurity allowed CTA to refine a strategy from everyone’s favorite 18- to 45-year-old (prime working age) demographic. “We had to choose segments to go after and it was decided to focus on college student retention and attract recent grads,” Shah said. “The second was to refine the industry sector in high demand, and we landed on IT professionals who are in high demand and have a high rate of mobility.”

David Gilbert is president and CEO of Destination Cleveland. | CONTRIBUTED

Baiju Shah is president and CEO of Greater Cleveland Partnership. | CONTRIBUTED

In Greater Cleveland, there are more than 58,000 people employed in the IT industry with about 13,000 unfilled positions remaining, according to Team NEO. Shah said one of the main goals for CTA is to create a sense that if you're exploring an opportunity in Cleveland, there's a multitude and diversity of employers in IT and other fields to choose from. “We need them to know that if they choose to move here and that job doesn't work, there is another job. Or if their partner is looking for a job, there is one for them, too,” Shah said. Success in attracting more IT professionals to relocate to the area first depends on changing the impression of Cleveland with tech professionals, Gilbert said.

fessional sectors, Gilbert points out. Even though there is a lot of need in that industry, whatever “tools” CTA creates, he said, eventually will translate to other strategies when attracting professionals to the region. “We looked at visitors and focused on efforts around very specific types of IT meetings, conventions, trying to sway people here experiencing Cleveland and on college students because they are temporary residents. But ultimately, we'll expand on bringing back Cleveland expats,” Gilbert said. With strategy and a focus in mind, CTA set a series of performance metrics for the next six years. Those metrics come with biennial updates regarding the growth of working-age adults in the area. For example, by 2030, CTA partner Destination Cleveland hopes to increase from 42% to 46% the number of visitors willing to relocate by improving the perception of Cleveland as a place to live and work Gilbert notes that according to a 2023 survey, 38% of the 2,500 working-age respondents said they were willing to relocate anywhere, and 15% said they were undecided about if or where to relocate. The target of 46% willing to relocate to Cleveland will need to include a significant portion of the 38%, combined with a portion of the “undecided” respondents, he added. In terms of retaining graduates from Northeast Ohio colleges and universities, the goal is to move from 48% to 55% by 2030. If the CTA strategies are able to reach that goal, about 2,000 additional workers with degrees would stay or move to the area, putting Cleveland in line with the highest-performing Midwest markets and comparable with Philadelphia and Boston.

“We need them to know that if they choose to move here and that job doesn’t work, there is another job. Or if their partner is looking for a job, there is one for them, too.” — Baiju Shah, president and CEO of Greater Cleveland Partnership “We've put research behind a lot of this of how people make their decisions of where to move, when to move, how to move and where we rank as a community so that we could focus the efforts,” he added. One of the main selling points of the area is the diversity of industry because all companies rely on some sort of technology. “It is not just a pure IT company, it's IT in manufacturing, IT in health care, IT in finance and insurance. Every company needs more IT talent,” Gilbert said. The focus on bringing in IT talent is not to exclude other pro-

Also in the survey of 2,500 working-age respondents, Cleveland ranked last among six Midwest cities strongly associated with the IT sector. The goal is to improve that in the next six years so that Cleveland ranks in the top half of peer markets. “We have tech innovators, entrepreneurs, company leaders working for both tech firms and major corporations," Shah said. "Once tech talent understands the depth and breadth of our tech industry, we’re confident they will consider Cleveland as a top city for establishing and growing their career."

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Report finds mixed performance for city against peers for ’23 By Kim Palmer

Teddy Baldassarre in the new boutique at Crocker Park that bears his name | CONTRIBUTED

Luxury watch brand readies new boutique at Crocker Park Kirtland native Teddy Baldassarre builds on online success with first location If you spend time on YouTube looking for videos about luxury watches, you’ve probably seen Kirtland native Teddy Baldassarre. He is, Men’s Journal says, the “new face of the luxury watch industry,” with millions of monthly viewers on YouTube, TikTok — of course a watch guy would be on TikTok — and other platforms, making him a “modernday luxury purveyor for the new generation.” The brand that Baldassarre and business partner Mike Clum have built isn’t just influential; through its website, the brand sells about 1,000 watches per month, Clum said in a phone interview. And it’s about to enter a new phase, with the opening of its first physical location, at the Crocker Park lifestyle center in Westlake. The 1,385-square-foot boutique was scheduled to open last week in a portion of the space formerly occupied by fastfashion retailer H&M, a Crocker Park spokesperson confirmed in an email. Clum said finishing touches were being put on the store ahead of the opening. The Teddy Baldassarre boutique will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. (It will be closed on Sunday.) Lidia Richani, executive vice president of leasing at Crocker Park developer and operator Stark Enterprises, said the addition of Teddy Baldassarre to the center’s retail mix “aligns seamlessly with our commitment to excellence and will elevate the shopping experience for our patrons.” Clum said major brands repre-

sented at the boutique include Breitling, Glashütte Original, Grand Seiko and Omega, with each operating as “a shop within the shop” featuring prominent signage and display space. Clum and Baldassarre have built the brand with an understanding of marketing in the digital age.

ported by content, as the company has more than 1 million followers on social channels and more than 10 million monthly viewers. What Clum describes as a “high-touch, luxury shopping experience” only now is the goal for the new location at Crocker Park. Planning for a traditional retail site has been underway for about two years. Clum, also a Northeast Ohio native, said the company was determined to make the Cleveland area the site of its first physical location, and it looked at sites in Ohio City and to the east of Cleveland before settling on what he called “a perfect space” at Crocker. It has taken some effort to pitch the Cleveland area to global brands, which don’t traditionally see this market as a high priority, Clum said. But the power of the brand helped convince retail partners of the viability of the Crocker Park location. It has helped, though, that Teddy Baldassarre has forged several high-profile content relationships over the years, including with Kevin O’Leary of “Shark Tank.” O’Leary will be in Cleveland in March to film new content with Baldassarre, Clum said. He said the company plans to use the retail space not only for selling watches but for events in which watch enthusiasts can connect and share their experiences. The store will have three to four employees, Clum said, and Baldassarre will be there at times. “We’re excited to build something brand new,” Clum said.

The company plans to use the retail space not only for selling watches but for events in which watch enthusiasts can connect and share their experiences. Baldassarre, now 29, from a young age was fascinated by watches, starting when he first heard a story of an old watch owned by his great-grandfather, Canio Baldassarre. Less than a decade ago, he was working as a sales rep for Clum Creative, a video production company headed by Clum, now his partner in the watch venture. Clum said Baldassarre was a driven sales rep for Clum Creative during the day, and they built the watch brand simultaneously with a focus on producing high-quality videos about luxury watches that were uploaded to YouTube. “Teddy was the real watch guy,” Clum said. “I was the video guy.” Views for watch-related content grew organically, Clum said, to the point that by 2020, the company was able to become an authorized online retailer for many top watch brands. The e-commerce portion of the business, which now employs about 20 people, continues to be sup-

MICHAEL COLLIER/GCP

By Scott Suttell

Greater Cleveland continues to come up short in a one-on-one business and job growth comparison with rival Columbus, but the region did see gains when ranked against other peer cities, according to data compiled for the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s annual report. GCP’s 2023 “Big Ideas. Bold Ventures. All in Plan” report looked at data related to three key metrics that track the relative progress of growth and prosperity in the region compared with 10 peer cities. The goal, of course, is to rank near the top in all the growth categories when compared with the following cities: Buffalo, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Rochester and St. Louis. Not all the rankings went in an ideal direction, but there were some positive trends, the report showed. “As you will see in the peer rankings, Greater Cleveland had a good year. Our year-over-year rankings show promise and we remain confident that the region will be among the top tier of our peers for the decade,” said Baiju

Shah, GCP president and CEO, in a statement. Greater Cleveland’s Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in 2023 ranked No. 4 out of the 11 regions in business growth, the report shows. The business growth ranking is trending in the right direction, up from No. 6 out of 11 based on 2022 data. Cleveland’s MSA boasts a gross product of $266 billion and a population of 3.7 million. Cleveland had a year of improvement in income growth. That metric moved placing the region in the No. 5 spot, up from last year’s No. 8 overall ranking. The region still lags behind all but Pittsburgh, Rochester and Buffalo when looking at income growth data over a longer period, from 2019 to 2022, but 2023 showed a trend upward. Greater Cleveland ranked No. 8 out of 11 in post-secondary education attainment and population growth. Last year’s job growth ranking of No. 7 out of 11 remains consistent with the region’s place against other peer cities when averaged from 2019 to 2022. But the trend there went in the wrong direction, as Cleveland was No. 5 in that category in the 2022 report.

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Clinic saw record number of organ transplants last year By Paige Bennett

Cleveland Clinic saw a record number of organ transplants last year as emerging technology in lung and liver transplants allowed the health system to reduce waitlist time significantly and safely preserve more organs. The Clinic performed a total of 1,232 organ transplants in 2023, an increase of 17% compared with 2022, according to the health system. The Clinic conducts transplants at its main campus in Cleveland, Weston Hospital in Florida and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Of the 129 lung transplants completed last year, nearly onefourth involved a process called ex vivo lung perfusion, a technique that allows surgeons to evaluate donor lungs outside of the body. Dr. Kenneth McCurry, a cardiothoracic surgeon and surgical director of the lung and lungheart transplant program at the Clinic, said the idea is that “you can take a set of lungs that either were questionable for transplant, or they were what we would describe as marginal or perhaps not suitable … if we think there’s a chance we can do things to make them better, we can put them on this device and then do some maneuvers, treatments, and we can try to make the lungs better.” The process is completed using a stationary machine that features a pump, oxygenator and tubes connecting to the lungs. During ex vivo lung perfusion, a medical professional treats the lungs with a bloodless, nutrient-rich solution, which can improve the quality of the lungs. McCurry said the Clinic evaluated 40 sets of lungs using the machine last year and ended up using about 30 of them. “Those are 30 sets of lungs that otherwise we would not have felt comfortable transplanting,” he said. “It helps our program significantly. It helps our patients get to transplants sooner and to

be able to get the gift of a lung transplant.” McCurry said the Clinic has been clinically active with the technology for about six years. Before that, medical professionals in the lung program conducted experimental work using the technique on animal lungs or human lungs that had been deemed not transplantable. The technology has had a significant effect on the program, McCurry said. In the U.S., lung transplantation has one of the lowest organ utilization rates among solid organs. Only 22% of lungs donated are used for transplantation as many are found unsuitable or contain an infection. McCurry said a solid portion of donated lungs have questionable parameters, such as findings on a CT scan, which make surgeons hesitant about using them for transplant. With the technology, surgeons can treat those questionable lungs and, in some cases, improve them enough to make them acceptable for transplant. “It’s helped us to transplant patients quicker and get patients through the process quicker and to decrease their chances of dying waiting for an organ,” he said. A similar tactic is being used to increase liver transplants and reduce time patients spend on the waitlist, said Dr. Koji Hashimoto, director of liver transplantation at the Clinic. A process known as normothermic machine perfusion has led to a significant decrease in the amount of time patients spend waiting for a liver transplant. Prior to the introduction of the technology, the median wait time for a patient on the waitlist for a liver transplant was 78 days, Hashimoto said. About 20% of patients on the waitlist died or became too sick to receive a transplant. After the program started using the tech, the median wait time for a patient on the waitlist became about 20 days.

And only about 8% of patients on the wait list die or become too sick to receive a transplant. Historically, when surgeons have removed a liver from a donor, they have stored it in an icecold solution to minimize metabolic activity and preserve quality before that organ is transplanted to a recipient, Hashimoto said. But the longer a liver is preserved in ice, the lower the quality becomes, and the chances of the recipient not doing well after the transplant get higher. Normothermic machine perfusion, which is only used at the Clinic for livers from deceased donors, enables a surgeon to keep a liver perfused or diffused with human blood. The nutrientrich environment helps the organ stay healthy for longer stretches of time. “We used to be able to preserve the donor liver up to 12 hours to safely transplant,” Hashimoto said. “Now, with using this technology, we can keep the liver up to even 20 hours.” Hashimoto said this process is becoming a standard of care, though many centers in the U.S. have not yet started using it. At this time, there is no clear cutoff that allows surgeons to determine if a donated liver is suitable for transplantation, Hashimoto said, so the future could be finding a biomarker that indicates whether a liver is usable. McCurry added that some researchers are exploring whether they can use the technology to treat donor organs to eradicate infections before a transplant. If a donor had Hepatitis C, for example, that infection would be transmitted to the recipient with the organs. “We still do that sometimes now, because the drugs we have to treat Hepatitis C are so good that we’re able to transplant and it works out OK,” he said. “But another option might actually be to treat the organs while they’re on the machine to get rid of the Hepatitis C.”

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Cleveland Foundation VP named director of journalism coalition Press Forward is a national movement aiming to strengthen local news By Paige Bennett

Dale R. Anglin, vice president for proactive grantmaking at the Cleveland Foundation, has been named the inaugural director of a national movement aiming to strengthen local news. Anglin, who has been at the Cleveland Foundation since 2017, is taking the helm at Press Forward, a coalition of funders investing more than $500 million to “strengthen local newsrooms, close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage, advance public policy that expands access to local news and scale infrastructure the sector needs to thrive.” Press Forward is based at The Miami Foundation, which is the coalition’s fiscal sponsor. The Miami Foundation manages a pooled fund and coordinates grantmaking on behalf of participating funders. Press Forward launched in September 2023. Participating funders include the Archewell Foundation, Democracy Fund, MacArthur Foundation and others. Anglin will begin her new position March 11.

In her role at the Cleveland Foundation, Anglin led an effort to invest in regional nonprofit journalism initiatives, including the creation of Cleveland Documenters and nonprofit newsroom Signal. She also helped launch the Cleveland Black Futures Fund, built the racial equity capacity of local foundations and commissioned Cuyahoga County’s first report on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) equity to call attention to the lack of access to STEM programming for minority students. “We are at a critical juncture in our democracy, with clear evidence that the lack of information is harmful to our country and is leading to a more divided America,” Anglin said in a statement. “Through Press Forward, we see this moment as an opportunity for reinvention, the time to accelerate investment in promising models and innovative leaders so that we can ensure that news and information are accessible to more Americans.” In a Q&A posted to Press Forward’s website, Anglin described

the position as a “once-in-alifetime opportunity to support an issue and sector vital to our democracy.” Anglin’s experience leading racial equity initiatives will benefit Press Forward, which names closing long-standing gaps in journalism coverage as one of its four funding priorities, according to a news release issued Feb. 13 by Press Forward. “We are thrilled to have Dale lead Press Forward in support of promising and proven models, a diverse set of leaders, and solutions that are ready to scale to revitalize local news,” said John Palfrey, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a Press Forward coalition member, in a statement. “Dale’s deep experience in leading funder collaboratives, centering equity, and growing nonprofit journalism initiatives will serve this coalition well as we continue to build a movement for local news.” In a statement, Maribel Wadsworth, president of Knight Foundation, said: “Dale’s clear commitment to local journalism and

Dale R. Anglin, vice president for proactive grantmaking at the Cleveland Foundation, has been named the director of a movement aiming to strengthen local news. | PRESS FORWARD

extensive background as a philanthropic leader equips her well to lead Press Forward. Together, our growing group of funders will invest in new ideas, back new ventures, and provide a runway for journalism to succeed as a pillar of democracy in the digital age.” Anglin currently serves on the boards of Signal Ohio, the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation and Adopt a Classroom. Before

she joined the Cleveland Foundation, she was associate director for programs at the Victoria Foundation in New Jersey. A Chicago native, Anglin earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in government and African American studies from Smith College and a master’s degree from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.

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EDITORIAL

Yes on Issue 26, a Health & Human Services levy

“This is about as bipartisan an issue as you can get.” — Jack H. Schron Jr., a Cuyahoga County Council member They underscored the broad support for programs funded through Issue 26. About 200,000 families in Cuyahoga County, and about 500,000 individuals, make use of these programs every year. The services are critical for helping people get through difficult periods in their lives and, in many cases, put them back on a path to improve

UNSPLASH

rograms that protect children from abuse and neglect. Trauma and burn care at MetroHealth. Meals on Wheels for seniors. Mental health and addiction treatment. Emergency housing for veterans and the disabled. Those are just some of the vital services in Cuyahoga County that rely on the support of taxpayers, who have an important responsibility on the March 19 ballot: passing Issue 26, a 4.8-mill renewal levy that provides about half the funding for Cuyahoga County Health and Human Services. It’s not a tax increase. Issue 26 renews a levy that passed eight years ago. (The county’s other health and human services levy passed in 2020 with the support of about 70% of voters.) We encourage voters to continue that level of support for the Issue 26 renewal levy, which generates about $137 million a year and, critically, allows the county to attract matching dollars from the state and federal governments. “This is about as bipartisan an issue as you can get,” said Cuyahoga County Council member Jack H. Schron Jr., a Republican, last week during a discussion with Crain’s about Issue 26. Also part of the meeting were two prominent Democrats: Council president Pernel Jones Jr. and, by phone, County Executive Chris Ronayne.

their quality of life. “This is the core of our purpose in county government,” Ronayne said. He noted, correctly, that the county can’t grow jobs, education and its economy “if we can’t take care of the people who need us the most.” These are challenging financial times for many voters. The backers of Issue 26 don’t take support for granted, even on an issue that traditionally has been favored broadly by voters. They laid out, clearly and with purpose, how the programs supported by the levy’s renewal benefit everyone who lives in the county. “It’s about human development and economic development,” Jones said, adding that Issue 26 is “an investment in the well-being of our residents.” This Tuesday, Feb. 20, is the deadline to register to vote in the March 19 primary. If you don’t typically vote in primaries, do it this time. Early voting starts Wednesday, Feb 21. Issue 26 deserves your support.

State of the HB6 scandal O

ne of the most shameful chapters in Ohio political and corporate history has taken a new turn, potentially toward accountability on the state level. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Monday, Feb. 12, that three people — former FirstEnergy Corp CEO Chuck Jones; former FirstEnergy senior vice president Michael Dowling; and Sam Randazzo, former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio — have been charged by the state in connection with the House Bill 6 scandal. (Randazzo already is facing federal charges on the matter.) If you’ve somehow forgotten — and no Ohioan should — the HB6 mess was a $61 million bribery scheme in 2019 focused on securing a legislative bailout for two nuclear

power plants with the help of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who last year was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for masterminding the scheme. Jones, Dowling and Randazzo face a combined 27 counts of felony violations, including including bribery, theft, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with records and money laundering. Yost, a Republican, said the indictments are “about more than one piece of legislation. It is about the hostile capture of a significant portion of Ohio’s state government by deception, betrayal and dishonesty.” The three all pleaded not guilty, as Randazzo did to the federal charges, and they should be afforded the presumption of innocence. Make the state prove its case. Ohio’s taxpayers (and ratepayers) deserve something, too: a full telling of FirstEnergy’s role in the scandal and how state government was open to the highest bidder. Outside the scope of the legal matter are the questions, very much still alive, of why HB6 wasn’t just repealed outright (portions related to nuclear plants did go) and why this bad legislation continues to generate costs for Ohio ratepayers and why there has been no meaningful attempt to enact ethics legislation to prevent a recurrence of this kind of scandal. The HB6 scandal illustrated, quite clearly, that Ohio has a pay-to-play political culture, and little has been done over the last five years to change that. A FirstEnergy spokesperson told The New York Times that the company, which fired Jones and Dowling in October 2020, had cooperated fully with law enforcement and said, “Today, FirstEnergy is a different, stronger company with new leadership, a sound strategy and a best-in-class compliance program.” Could be. Certainly hope so. You can’t chart a stronger future without an understanding of mistakes from the past, though, so we hope there’s clarity and accountability soon on the HB6 mess.

PERSONAL VIEW

By Jim Malz and Marianne Crosley

ocial enterprise is about much more than doing well by doing good. The projects that emerge from the annual Accelerate: Citizens Make Change civic pitch competition make a difference for people across Greater Cleveland that is real, impactful, and enduring. Accelerate has become widely recognized as a catalyst for vital projects that transform lives and communities. Each year, the Cleveland Leadership Center, Citizens and other partners invite residents to share unique concepts for new ventures, from educational resources that prepare children for kindergarten to the unveiling of pop-up “literary lounges” where skills are polished and a love of reading is encouraged.

On Thursday, Feb. 22, people of every age, cultural background and identity will bring their creative approach to problem-solving to the 10th annual competition. It is increasingly important for the Greater Cleveland business community to embrace these creative ways to support equity and workforce development, encourage activism and civic engagement, and foster a spirit of innovation across the region. Since its inception in 2015, 550 ideas have been submitted and almost 250 pitches have been presented at Accelerate by doers, makers, dreamers, and creators aged 11 to 70. Our job as corporate, foundation, public sector or nonprofit leaders is to convene, facilitate, listen, support and open doors. Over the last 10 years $167,000 in seed money has helped these homegrown innova-

Interim Editor: Ann Dwyer (adwyer@crain.com) Managing Editor: Marcus Gilmer (marcus.gilmer@crain.com) Contact Crain’s: 216-522-1383 Read Crain’s online: crainscleveland.com

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A corporate role for civic impact

tors establish goals and timelines and develop, refine, and launch their enterprises. They have leveraged Accelerate to receive tens of thousands of additional dollars in subsequent pitch competitions and from corporations, foundations, and individuals. All the while having a tremendous and immediate impact. For example: ◗ Anycia Grady, who won last year, has raised more than $60,000 to dollars to develop an app that will address mental health

issues in Black communities. She plans to launch it later this year. ◗ The “Clean and Beautiful Neighborhoods” pitch last year resulted in cleaning up 60 Cleveland blocks within several months. With the support of hundreds of students and teachers from 18 schools and educational organizations, the group planted 600 flowers, enriched soil, applied 500 bags of mulch, and piloted an environmental curriculum. ◗ Research confirms that students benefit when they have access to classroom teachers who look like them. Thanks to the “Read Like Me” pitch in 2021, a new career pipeline was established between the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and John Carroll University to introduce BIPOC and first-generation college students to the field of education.

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited. Send letters to Crain’s Cleveland Business, 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113, or by emailing ClevEdit@crain.com. Please include your complete name and city from which you are writing, and a telephone number for fact-checking purposes.

See IMPACT on Page 17

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Health center targets disparities with expansion plan CEO: New East Side location is logical next step for Neighborhood Family Practice

great care is because our care is integrated. Your medical provider is connected to your behavioral health provider or your clinical pharmacist or other people on that care team, which creates more touch points for a patient who has chronic conditions or needs additional screenings or information or support from us. We’re seeing a lot of urgent cares popping up around our community, which is a needed touch point for our health care system, but the challenge is if you’re uninsured or underinsured, you can’t afford to show up to an emergency department and pay that flat fee. People end up relying on getting care at much more expensive and not appropriate levels, whether that be the emergency department or the emergency room. If we don’t have that true access for primary care, then that really creates a lot of additional havoc on the system and drives poor outcomes.

By Paige Bennett

Neighborhood Family Practice, a federally qualified health center serving Cleveland’s West Side, is expanding eastward with plans for a new location in the city’s Central neighborhood. The provider of value-based, integrated care is working to identify a location for the new center, which it hopes to be open within 12 to 18 months, said Domonic Hopson, president and CEO of Neighborhood Family Practice. Hopson said the decision is the result of an increase in patients coming from the East Side. The community provider serves more than 22,000 patients across seven locations on the West Side. As a federally qualified health center, the agency is funded by the Health Resources & Services Administration and provides health care services to underserved communities. Neighborhood Family Practice is intentional about where it puts sites, Hopson said, focusing on areas where the organization has community partners to ensure they are meeting the community’s needs. “So many of our communities have been underrepresented, underserved for so long, and overpromised and undelivered,” he said. “We are very sensitive to that. We’re not looking to make grand plans and say we’re going to open up four or five different sites in all of these neighborhoods.” Hopson joined Neighborhood Family Practice in 2022 after serving as assistant health commissioner of the Cincinnati Health Department and CEO of City of Cincinnati Primary Care. Improving access to quality health care is a personal fight for him, he said, noting that he grew up in Mississippi, where one of the country’s first community health centers was established. In a recent interview, Hopson spoke to Crain’s about current challenges in the health system, disparities affecting Cleveland’s marginalized communities and changes needed to improve health outcomes. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. It’s a challenging time for U.S. health systems. What does it look like for federally qualified health centers? It’s a tough time for almost all health care organizations right now because our costs are rising, but the unique thing about a federally qualified health center is we provide a large amount of care to both people who are uninsured or underinsured, especially those who have Medicaid. Whenever that is the majority of people

The exterior of Neighborhood Family Practice’s Ridge Community Health Center | CONTRIBUTED

you’re serving, sometimes those reimbursement rates aren’t what they need to be. We offer a sliding fee scale to all of our patients. It’s by family size and income level, but someone could pay $5 for a primary care visit from us. So, you can imagine it costs much more for us to provide that care, but that is the purpose of our organization, to be the true bottom of that safety net. The other unique thing for us that makes it especially challenging is that we are the primary health screener for refugees and newcomers who arrive in Cuyahoga County. We’re blessed that many of those newcomers and refugees, after they receive their health screenings, they decide to get their care from us. Our patients speak over 59 different languages, and 25% of our patients prefer to receive their care in a language other than English. We pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for interpretation costs and then some additional costs to translate our materials in the languages that our patients prefer to receive their care in, because it is a requirement but it’s also a best practice. What we’ve also done is hire cultural health navigators and individuals who are from some of the countries where our refugees are coming from or those who are Hispanic or Latina or Latino individuals from our local communities who speak the same language as many of our patients do. We’ve been very intentional about hiring people who can really understand the experience of the patients that we’re serving. That’s one of the ways I think our costs are a little bit different than some organizations that don’t have that unique payer mix. I would say the foundational

Domonic Hopson is president and CEO of Neighborhood Family Practice. | JASON MILLER

“Our desire is that there’s more access — that everyone within a short walk or short commute or short transit ride has access to quality and affordable primary care services.” piece just from a (federally qualified health center) perspective is that some of our patients are uninsured and others who even do have insurance are living and navigating poverty. More than 60% of our patients are at or below more than 200% of the federal poverty level. And from that sliding fee scale, many of them are paying a discounted rate for care, so we can make sure they have true access. What are the biggest problems we’re seeing right now when it comes to health

disparities in Cleveland? The two most important and most frustrating areas are life expectancy and infant and maternal mortality. We know that neighborhoods — especially here in Cleveland — that historically were redlined neighborhoods are also neighborhoods that have a higher degree of people living in poverty. Also, (they) have a much shorter life expectancy. Sometimes, it’s more than 20 years different than other neighborhoods that are maybe one or two miles away. We know that our local rate for both maternal mortality and infant mortality for our Black mothers and Black kids when compared to white mothers or kids are two times or in some cases more (times) likely to die either from childbirth or before their first year when we talk about our infants. Those are some things that are especially concerning for our region, and I think something that we have to do a better job of addressing. How can we address these disparities? What needs to change? I have to start with access to care, and I truly believe in primary care. The unfortunate thing about how our health care system is set up is that you can’t get to specialty care without first having a referral from a primary care provider and, unfortunately, too many people across our community and especially in our city don’t have access to timely and affordable and quality health care services. I think there needs to be a higher investment but also more focus on expanding access to highquality, high-value primary care services. The same goes to access to behavioral health services. We are a true believer in integrated health care. One of the reasons we believe we provide such

What is your hope for Neighborhood Family Practice? My biggest hope is not even for our organization. Our desire is that there’s more access — that everyone within a short walk or short commute or short transit ride has access to quality and affordable primary care services. From my perspective, that does not have to be Neighborhood Family Practice providing that care. We can’t serve all the needs of our community, and we know that. We’re hoping we can be a part of the solution and that is both creating those nontraditional collaborative opportunities and partnerships between health care organizations, whether that be our larger hospital systems or between our federally qualified health centers. Is there anything else you think it’s important for people to understand about addressing health disparities in Cleveland? It’s been proven time and time again that when people have access to primary care services there are improved outcomes. We have so many rich resources here, so many quality health care services, but historically we have not met the need. We’re still ranking near the bottom when it comes to health outcomes for our residents, and we can only (change) that if we do things different. For our leaders, we have to put our egos to the side. For our nonprofit board of directors, we have to put our egos to the side. For those in positions of power, we have to come to the table with very clear and actionable solutions around how can we pool our resources where applicable to have a true impact and start to move some of these numbers that have been very discouraging for far too long.

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SPORTS BETTING

MORE MONEY, MORE PROBLEMS First year of legalized sports betting draws surge in interest, adding to the state’s bottom line and sportsbooks’ profits, but it also raises concerns

By Joe Scalzo

n early December, an anonymous football fan walked into Cleveland’s downtown JACK sportsbook and wagered $1 on a 16-leg parlay bet with 4,000 to 1 odds. For those who don’t know: a parlay bet involves combining several individual bets into one, like betting that Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco will throw a touchdown pass AND wide receiver Amari Cooper will have 100 yards receiving AND your father-in-law will throw a Bud Light through the wall after cornerback Greg Newsome gets beat on a deep crossing route.

“Typically, we call these lottery ticket-type bets,” said Adam Suliman, JACK’s senior vice president for sports and digital gaming. “You might bet $1 to win $4,000 or $5,000 or $50,000, but the odds are very long. Typically, those bets don’t hit.” This one did. “The odds were incredible but, man, he really shouldn’t have won that bet,” Suliman said. “It was a good day for him. It was not a good day for us.” Or was it? Suliman’s story is the local version of “Nevada’s sportsbooks lose record $2.6 million on Super Bowl XLII,” a sticky headline that overlooks the fact that Nevada’s sportsbooks also won $136 million on sports bets that calendar year and are 30-2 against the betting public for the Super Bowl since 1991. As financial decisions go, betting on sports is like buying all your groceries at CVS. No matter. On Jan. 1, 2023, Ohio rolled

out the largest simultaneous launch for sports gambling of any state in American history, offering Buckeye staters the chance to bet online and on their mobile phones, as well as in person at more than a dozen brick-and-mortar sportsbooks and hundreds of lottery-style kiosks in bars, restaurants and grocery stores. And bet they did. Stoked by countless gambling-related commercials, news stories and viral social media posts (many involving parlays), Ohioans wagered more than $7.6 billion on sports in 2023, a figure that, a year earlier, would rank Ohio fifth nationwide behind New York ($16.3 billion), New Jersey ($10.9 billion), Illinois ($9.6 billion) and Nevada ($8.7 billion). Ohio’s first year of legalized sports betting has drawn a surge in interest, adding to the state’s bottom line and sportsbooks’ profits, but it also has raised some concerns along the way.

FORUM UNDERWRITERS

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Cash to go around While 97% of sports bets in 2023 were placed online or on mobile devices, sports gambling did nothing to hurt Ohio’s casino industry, with the state’s four locations posting a record $1.015 billion in revenue. There are plenty of storylines from sports gambling’s first year, but maybe the biggest? Ohio’s sports fans gambled away a LOT of money. They lost most of it betting online (just under $915 million), but they also lost it at sportsbooks (more than $23 million) and from lottery-style kiosks ($1.2 million). Yes, 10% to 20% of that cash went to Columbus rather than an offshore sportsbook or someone wearing a pinky ring, but most of it went straight into the coffers of industry heavyweights like FanDuel and DraftKings, which combined to control 73% of Ohio’s online market and whose promotional blitz led Ohioans to gamble $1.1 billion in January 2023, second only to New York nationally. Ohioans also set the wrong kind of record in that first month, with the house claiming $208.9 million in revenue, per Sportshandle.com. “There is an illusion of control with sports gaming because you know the teams and the coaches and the turf and the refs and the weather conditions and the opponents and you think, ‘Ah, I know this,’” said Matthew Schuler, the executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission. “But the fact of the matter is, it’s gambling. It’s a game of chance. And as with any type of gambling, the chances are high that you are going to lose.” For some bettors, those losses were bigger than beer money. Calls to Ohio’s problem gambling helpline increased 55% compared to 2022, continuing a trend that has seen Ohio’s problem gambling rate triple since 2012. “Whenever I get into a conversation with people who ask, ‘How bad could the problem really be?’ my answer is, ‘There are 800 Ohioans a month calling to say they have a problem with gambling. How many know they have a problem and aren’t calling?’” said Mike Buzzelli, the associate director of the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio. “Plus, how many are experiencing consequences but aren’t relating it to a problem yet? “There is a much larger problem than what’s even noted in the helpline numbers.” Still, Ohio did have its share of wins in 2023, from Schuler emerging as America’s rock-star regulator, to state legislators doubling the tax rate mid-year to the fact that, for the first time in the state’s 200-year history, Ohioans 21 and older could place a bet with an operator that wouldn’t also threaten to break their thumbs. “I would consider our first year, all things considered, to be a pretty smooth year,” Schuler said.

“There is an illusion of control with sports gaming . . . But the fact of the matter is, it’s gambling. It’s a game of chance. And as with any type of gambling, the chances are high that you are going to lose.” — Matthew Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission

Here are some notable developments that emerged in that year:

Ohio, we have a problem When done responsibly — by setting time and money limits and betting only what you can afford to lose — sports gambling can be entertaining, like when Ed Sheeran sings. But when bettors go too far by chasing losses or gambling large sums of money, it can be upsetting, like when Ed Sheeran raps. Too many Ohioans are doing the latter, with the number of people estimated to have a gambling disorder increasing to 255,000, or about 2.8% of Ohio’s adult population, according to Ohio For Responsible Gambling. More than 1.8 million adult Ohioans can be categorized as low-risk, moderate-risk or problem gamblers (19.8% of the general adult population). “One thing I would really point out is, we used to see callers report a problem after they’ve been gambling for two to four years, or even five to seven years,” Buzzelli said. “We’ve seen a dramatic increase in callers who have been gambling for less than a year, and that’s because of sports betting.” Sports gambling is to blame for the state’s dramatic increase in problem gambling, Buzzelli said, adding that his organization is also helping a more diverse group, from teenagers to minorities to older women. Teens are particularly high risk, which is why Schuler blasted Kentucky legislators last June when it became the fifth state to allow 18-year-olds to bet on sports. “One of the legislators in Kentucky who took exception to my comments said, ‘What, are they afraid they’re going to lose (tax) money when they come down to Kentucky to bet?’” Schuler said. “I think that is probably one of the most callous things I’ve heard a legislator say. What he should have been saying is, ‘We made a mistake by making it OK for 18-year-olds to gamble.’ Continued on next page

Sports bettors and fans flocked to the betJACK Sportsbook at the downtown JACK Casino for the Cleveland Browns game against the Houston Texans during the NFL Wild Card round. The downtown JACK sportsbook took in more than $27 million in bets in 2023. Overall last year, Ohio’s 16 in-person sportsbooks garnered about $221 million in gross receipts, while bettors wagered just $13.2 million on 850 lottery-style kiosks. | GUS CHAN

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SPORTS BETTING From previous page “Trust me, I’m in no way worried about money leaving the state of Ohio. That’s not our job. We’re not advocates for those we regulate. My concern is for the kids. And if Kentucky starts to open doors to create gambling problems for Ohio’s kids, we have the resources to help them.” Ohio devotes significant resources to problem gambling, with 2% of the tax revenue from sports betting going toward problem gambling programs. Those programs include Time Out Ohio, a voluntary exclusion program where Ohioans can ban themselves from casinos, racinos and sports gambling; Change The Game Ohio, which provides tools, education and resources about youth gaming; and Keep It Fun Ohio, which provides tips and best practices on gambling. “We’re not anti-gambling,” Buzzelli said. “We just want to keep it safe, fun and responsible.”

Protecting college students

Nearly 98% of Ohio’s sports wagers in January 2023 were online or mobile; that dropped only about 1% over the course of the year. FanDuel has 43% of Ohio’s market share and DraftKings has 30%. | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

According to Gambling.com, there are 16 states that either prohibit or restrict bets on college sports, but Ohio isn’t one of them — yet. Within weeks of legalizing sports gambling, Ohio had its first college-related problem, as University of Dayton men’s basketball coach Anthony Grant spoke out against gamblers attacking his players on social media. Ohio’s leadership is fighting back. In early February, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and NCAA president Charlie Baker pushed for the state to eliminate collegiate prop bets. The move would make it illegal for gamblers to bet on things like individual player achievements, in-game statistics and ingame achievements for collegiate sporting contests. “By amending rules to focus bets on the team and away from individual athletes, I believe we can improve the marketplace in Ohio and better protect student-athletes from unnecessary and potentially harmful threats,” DeWine said. The Ohio Casino Control Commission has also joined the fight, getting approval from the Ohio Controlling Board for a $150,000 contract with Kindbridge Research Institute to provide services for a sports wagering harassment protection program. “One of the things we’ve been interested in, even before sports gaming went live, was, ‘What are the impacts on college athletes themselves?’” said Jessica Franks, the

Ohio’s total gross receipts in the first year of sports gambling

Ohio sports gaming taxable revenue

Sports bettors and fans celebrate the Cleveland Browns’ first touchdown against the Houston Texans during the NFL Wild Card round at the betJACK Sportsbook at the downtown JACK Casino. | GUS CHAN

$1.2B

OCCC’s director of communications. “There hasn’t historically been a lot of research pertaining to problem gambling, not just in Ohio but nationwide. It’s one of those things we want to learn more about.”

Regulation sensation Schuler was involved in many of Ohio’s biggest gambling headlines in 2023, prompting one staffer at Legal Sports Reporter to call him “The Most Interesting Person in 2023 Sports Betting.” Schuler has also been called “The Sheriff” and the “Scolding Schoolmarm” because he repeatedly did something unexpected in sports betting: he took his job seriously. The OCCC’s actions included fining Penn Sports Interactive for promoting the Barstool Sports betting app during a college football show at the University of Toledo; banning Alabama’s baseball coach from Ohio’s sportsbooks after an inside information scheme involving a Crimson Tide baseball game; and fining BetMGM, Caesars and DraftKings for violating Ohio’s standards for advertising and promotions by touting “free” or “risk-free” bets. LSR’s Adam Candee believes Ohio single-handedly ended the term “free bets” in the United States, showing how influential state-level regulators can be “when they choose to take a stand.” “‘Public shaming’ sounds so Draconian, but I think it was necessary,” Schuler said of his approach. “I don’t know what’s gained from letting unacceptable behavior stay hidden behind the curtain. And any behaviors that were sanctionable have not been repeated.” Case in point: Schuler recently heard a DraftKings radio ad and came away impressed, believing the company actually went beyond Ohio’s recommendations. “They were trying to be very transparent and I really appreciated that,” he said.

Ohio changes its tune on taxes Ohio initially taxed sports gambling revenue at a business-friendly 10% of adjusted gross revenue, which was about half the national average and well below neighboring New York (which charges 51% on mobile betting revenue) and Pennsylvania (36%). The state doubled that rate in mid-summer, helping Ohio collect more than $130 million in sports gambling taxes in 2023. Schuler was officially agnostic about the change — “We don’t make policy and since the tax rate doesn’t change the integrity of

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Ohio increased the tax rate on sports gaming receipts from 10% to 20% effective July 1, 2023.

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There are a lot of signs that someone has a problem with sports gambling — like wagering on the color of Gatorade used at the Super Bowl, or betting that the Cleveland Browns will one day drink Gatorade at the Super Bowl — but the biggest one: “You got into sports betting because you like sports and you like watching the game, but is the game no longer fun?” asked Mike Buzzelli, the associate director of the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio. “Is it just stressful? Does it just make you anxious or mad? “If so, that’s a big sign to maybe take a step back.” Buzzelli’s organization promotes responsible gaming in Ohio with the help of four agencies: the Ohio Lottery Commission, the Ohio Casino Control Commission, the Ohio State Racing Commission and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS).

Common warning signs

Do you: ◗ Find yourself reliving past gambling experiences, planning the next venture, or thinking of ways to get money to gamble? ◗ Need to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to feel the excitement? ◗ Become restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop gambling? ◗ Gamble as a way of escaping from problems or relieving guilt, anxiety or depression? ◗ Often return another day in order to get even or chase your losses after gambling? ◗ Lie to family members, friends, therapists or others to conceal the extent of involvement with gambling? ◗ Participate in illegal activities (e.g. forgery, fraud or theft) in order to finance your gambling? ◗ Jeopardize or lose a significant relationship, job or educational or career opportunity because of gambling? ◗ Rely on others to provide money to relieve a desperate financial situation caused by gambling? ◗ Attempt to control, cut back or stop gambling but are unable to do so? If you answered yes to any of these, consider calling the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966.

How to be responsible

◗ Set limits on time and money spent. ◗ Gamble only with money set aside for entertainment. ◗ Bet only what you can afford to lose. ◗ Know when to quit and don’t chase your losses. ◗ Never borrow to play. ◗ Know the risks before you bet. ◗ Never gamble when stressed, depressed or in recovery. ◗ Realize that knowing more won’t guarantee a win. ◗ Don’t play to escape. ◗ Play for fun, not just for money. To learn more about responsible gambling resources, visit PauseBeforeYouPlay.org.

Ohio sports gaming market share by operator revenue

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The Guardians’ sportsbook opened on Aug. 18, 2023.

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SOURCE: OHIO CASINO CONTROL COMMISSION

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The downtown JACK casino also finished the year with an Ohio-best $268,152,560 in revenue in 2023, helping Ohio’s four casinos finish with a record $1.015 billion. The downtown JACK sportsbook took in more than $27 million in bets, ranking third statewide behind the Hollywood Casino in Columbus ($38 million) and the Hard Rock Casino in Cincinnati (also $27 million, edging out the JACK by about $20,000). Thistledown’s sportsbook took in another $17 million. “I think we initially thought the digital side would be a much larger percentage of our sports gambling business, but we invested a lot of money into our sportsbooks at Thistledown and downtown Cleveland and it was clear that customers enjoy going there,” Suliman said. “On Saturdays and Sundays when football is going on, our sportsbooks tell the story. They’re packed. People are enjoying themselves all day and that tells me we made a good decision with the capital we invested.” Cavaliers CEO Nic Barlage feels the same way. While the Guardians didn’t open their Fanatics sportsbook until August — and the Browns still haven’t opened theirs — the Cavs’ Caesars Sportsbook was open on Day 1, garnering nearly $9 million in gross receipts in 2023. “It’s been great for us,” Barlage said. “Our physical retail sportsbook is packed every single night there’s something going on in the arena.” The Cavs still don’t have a mobile partner — it was supposed to be Fubo, but the company shuttered its gaming business in October 2022 — but Barlage said the physical sportsbook has enhanced the overall fan experience at the arena, which was the biggest goal in year one. “For us, the experience was a no-brainer,” Barlage said. “People are 36% more likely to attend or watch a sporting event if they bet on it, so for us, it’s something important to have. Making money isn’t the focus as you build a business in Year 1. You don’t think about those kinds of things. It’s all about how you scale the operations and how you seamlessly integrate that with the fan experience. Then, when you get to Year 2 and 3, it becomes more about running things in a smart way moving forward.” Suliman agreed, saying that if you keep your customers entertained and engaged, the revenue will take care of itself. (Especially if customers keep betting 16-leg parlays.) “The punchline is, we had a lot of fun in 2023 and we expect 2024 to be even more fun,” Suliman said. “We’re really happy with the trajectory of our business.”

Total gross receipts for Northeast Ohio’s five retail sportsbooks

Cleveland-based BetJACK isn’t one of Ohio’s major players — it was one of 11 operators to gain less than 1% of Ohio’s sports gambling market share — but it still considers 2023 to be a success. BetJACK accepted nearly 1.5 million sports bets throughout that year, including 200,000 on Ohio’s professional and college teams. It was also ranked among the nation’s best sports betting brands, receiving the highest rank as a single-state operator in the United States from research firm Eilers and Krejcik.

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Ohio’s simultaneous launch was designed to give every operator — and every platform — a fair shake, but two realities quickly emerged: most of the betting was happening online, and most of those bets were going to the same six industry heavyweights. Nearly 98% of Ohio’s sports wagers in January 2023 were online or mobile, a figure that dropped only about 1% over the course of the year. Ohio has 20 online/mobile operators, but six of them — FanDuel (43%), DraftKings (30%), BetMGM (8%), Bet365 (7%), Barstool/ESPN Bet (4%) and Caesars (3%) — control 95% of the market share. “That’s the same as it is in every other state,” said Schuler, who believes the market will eventually contract through mergers and acquisitions. “We were the 30th state to get into this and I don’t know why some of these companies didn’t look at the other 29 before us and say, ‘Wow, it’s going to be a real challenge to be able to compete in this marketplace.’” Ohio’s 16 in-person sportsbooks garnered about $221 million in gross receipts, while bettors wagered just $13.2 million on 850 lottery-style kiosks.

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sports gaming, it’s not our concern,” he said — but he couldn’t help rolling his eyes when gambling executives complained about it. “They said it was going to make it harder for them to compete or stay in the market, which may be true,” he said. “But all I know is, the pie chart of (who dominates) the market was exactly the same from January through June as it was from June through December. If the tax did anything — and I’m not saying it did — it was to maybe hasten some decisions that should have been made long ago. And if an additional tax was enough to make or break a company, it probably wasn’t going to last very long in Ohio anyway.”

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SPORTS BETTING

Operators with less than 1% market share: Bally’s, BetJACK, Betfred Sports, Betr, Betway, MVGBet, Parx, PointsBet, Prime Sports, RSI Ohio, Superbook FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 11

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SPORTS BETTING | COMMENTARY

Responsibility to help the vulnerable grows as gambling surges

s Ohio moves beyond the first anniversary of legal sports betting, the dust settles on a whirlwind year. As someone who lived with a gambling problem for most of my life, here’s what I know as an absolute fact: Everyone must do more to protect vulnerable Ohioans from a potential nightmare.

Jess Stewart, Who are vulnerable Ohioans? vice president Children. I started gambling at the of the Problem racetrack with my dad when I was 6. It Gambling was fun and competitive. When my Network of mom passed away, I was 17. To combat Ohio Board of my unidentified depression, I started Directors, is in going to the racetrack. It went from recovery from a once a week to almost once a day. gambling Gambling expansion is likely in disorder. Ohio’s future. Make no mistake, the targeted audience is today’s youth, the next generation of gaming. Entire ad campaigns are being designed with children in mind. What we do today is critical to the outcomes of tomorrow. Ohio for Responsible Gambling has a resource called “Change The Game Ohio.” Anyone who works with or interacts with children should visit the site and learn how to have conversations with the children you know. There’s even a quiz that can gauge a potential problem a child might have. Who are other vulnerable Ohioans? Over 1.8 million adult residents in Ohio can be categorized as lowrisk, moderate-risk or problem gamblers. That’s almost one in five Ohio adults. The number of people estimated to have a gambling disorder increased to 2.8% — approximately 255,000 Ohioans. Calls to Ohio’s problem gambling helpline increased 55 percent in the first year of legalized sports betting. What are we overlooking? Too often we view gambling in stigmatizing and inaccurate terms. The factors are way beyond the money itself. Problem gamblers often have underlying and undiagnosed mental health disorders. In my case, gambling was a release from my bottled-up pain. The same way someone has a drink or does a drug, I would make a bet. The pain didn’t go away; so, instead of drinking, I developed a gambling disorder. After maxing out my credit cards to get that “fix,” I stole, ended up in prison, and gambled more on the inside than I did outside. My gambling problem got so bad I thought about ending it all. Take my story and add 255,000 people to the equation. This disease destroys relationships, ends marriages, and breaks apart families. It impacts neighbors, employers, communities and taxpayers. In the past five years, Ohio’s problem gambling rate tripled. That was before the first wager on legal sports betting in Ohio took place. Is there progress? Yes. Eight years ago, I fortunately enrolled in one of only five in-patient treatment facilities in the U.S. Now there are far more resources. Ohio is one of the only states with a “Warm Transfer” Line. The helpline connects people in crisis with immediate local resources. Helpline warm transfers increased by 67% from 2022 to 2023. When someone experiencing issues with problem gambling is at their worst moment, the Warm Transfer Line can create life-altering outcomes. Adults can use a tool like Pause Before You Play to build a structure for safer play. We know that when people set betting limits with their money and time, it helps people play responsibly. There’s also promising clinical research on early intervention and treatment occurring in Ohio and nationwide. Sports betting is here to stay. I have a moral obligation to do everything I can to help others know how insidious this disease is. It does not discriminate. Let’s work together and safeguard vulnerable Ohioans to change the game for good.

Rob Gronkowski attends the FanDuel Super Bowl party powered by Spotify on Feb. 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In recent years, there has been an influx of sponsorship deals from sportsbooks eager to align their brands with leagues, teams and athletes. | GETTY IMAGES

Sports betting needs to be closely monitored

n recent years, the landscape of professional sports has undergone a significant transformation with the growing acceptance, integration and legalization of sports gambling. While this new vertical has brought about numerous benefits, it also poses substantial risks that must be carefully monitored to safeguard the integrity of the games we love. Jim Kahler is Sports gambling has emerged from the a professor of shadows to become a mainstream activi- practice at ty embraced by fans and leagues alike. Cleveland State One of the most notable benefits is the University and influx of sponsorship deals from sports- the director of books eager to align their brands with sport and leagues, teams and athletes. These spon- entertainment sorship agreements inject incremental management. funds to meet increased salaries and expenses. The NFL is the best example as it has capitalized on sports gambling sponsorships worth over an estimated $1 billion from DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars Sportsbooks over a five-year period. DraftKings recently finalized an endorsement with LeBron James. James will participate in content creation and support “key football initiatives,” DraftKings said. He will also have weekly football picks during the NFL betting season. While he will not be allowed to do the same with the NBA, due to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, the NFL is fair game. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins had this to say about the new agreement: “Welcoming one of the most influential and greatest athletes of all time, LeBron James, to the DraftKings family is an absolute honor and privilege. We look forward to working with a passionate sports fan who shares the same competitive mindset that echoes throughout the walls at DraftKings while delivering exciting engagement opportunities to our customers and his loyal fan base for years to come.” However, alongside these ever-growing investments, there lurks a darker side: the potential for corruption and match-fixing. As the stakes rise and the financial incentives become more substantial, the temptation for players, coaches and officials to engage in illicit activities grows exponentially. To mitigate these risks, it’s imperative that sports gam-

bling be closely monitored and regulated by sports’ governing bodies. I believe an even greater regulatory framework needs to be put in place to ensure transparency, accountability and fairness in the betting industry. A recent infraction within college athletics resulted in the firing of Brad Bohannon, head baseball coach at the University of Alabama. “Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne announced his termination for, among other things, violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of University employees,” the university said in a statement last fall. Ohio gambling regulators were the first to halt betting on college baseball games involving Alabama after suspicious wagering activity was detected on the Crimson Tide’s game against top-ranked LSU. So, how did that suspicious activity appear on the regulators’ radar? It was flagged by U.S. Integrity, a company specializing in sports gambling monitoring, contracts with sportsbooks, sports leagues and state regulators to track gaming transactions. They identify suspicious behavior by analyzing changes in betting data against a benchmark of normal activity. U.S. Integrity also monitors the data to see if discrepancies coincide with notable player or coaching events, reveal officiating abnormalities or are indicative of the misuse of insider information. U.S. Integrity president Matt Holt declined to reveal the amount of the bets placed in conjunction with Alabama baseball, but he explained that his company monitors several factors that could generate a red flag. This includes an unusually large bet on a sport that doesn’t tend to draw wagers of that level and whether a bettor just opened or reactivated an account. If a bet triggers a red flag in U.S. Integrity’s computer system, it investigates and may issue an anonymized warning to state control boards and sportsbooks. To mitigate these risks, it is imperative that sports gambling be closely monitored and regulated by all parties involved. Robust regulatory frameworks must be put in place to ensure transparency, accountability and fairness if this vertical is going to produce new revenue streams for professional sports and, eventually, college athletics. Furthermore, education and awareness campaigns need to be amplified to inform athletes, student-athletes, coaches and officials about the dangers of providing inside information and the severe consequences of involvement in such activities. By promoting a culture of integrity and sportsmanship, leagues can foster an environment where fair competition thrives, and the integrity of the game is preserved.

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A lesson in evolution for sports For Cleveland’s big-league teams, figuring out what works on social media can be tricky—and fun

On Jan. 9, the Cleveland Cavaliers posted a short Instagram video of the team wearing custom leather jackets in front of the Eiffel Tower. Production-wise, it was something your great aunt could have taken, just someone waving an iPhone back and forth as Isaac Okoro looks into the camera and says, “You got ice in the Eiffel Tower” and Jarrett Allen jokes, “Here at the Key Tower, man.” But the video struck a chord, getting nearly 250,000 likes from the Cavaliers’ 16 million Instagram followers. “It blurred the line between pop culture and basketball and that’s what folks are interested in and excited about,” said Chris Kaiser, the Cavaliers’ chief marketing officer. The fact that video was short and raw was a positive since those qualities appeal to young audiences scrolling through Instagram and TikTok. Case in point: The Cavs posted a slightly longer, better-produced video of the same scene earlier in the day, featuring a lo-fi soundtrack, snippets of dialogue, quick cuts, slow motion and cool camera zooms. It got 18,000 likes. “With that 18-to-34 age range, it doesn’t need to be (professional),” Kaiser said. “It can be raw phone video, something that feels more authentic. We’ve tried to change it up and get more of that on social media because it does really well.” Of course, well-produced videos can work well, too. So can still photos and action shots and highlight packages and polls and jokes and stats and memes. Some work better on Twitter/X. Some on Facebook. Some on YouTube. For Cleveland’s three major league professional sports teams, figuring out which is which can be tricky — but it can also be fun, as long as you don’t mind a moving target. “I think it’s just about reaching people where they are, instead of forcing people to go where we want them to go,” said Andrew Gribble, the Browns’ director of digital and social media. “We want to go where the fans are.” So, where are fans engaging with teams on social media — and has it changed in recent years? To answer that, I recently spoke with Kaiser, Gribble and Austin Controulis, the Guardians’ assistant director of communications. Here are four takeaways: Instagram and TikTok are growing Thanks to the NBA’s international profile — and the fact that they employed LeBron James for 11 seasons — the Cavaliers’ social media following dwarfs that of the other two pro teams in town, particularly on Instagram. The Cavs rank in the top five in the NBA with 16.6 million Instagram followers, far more than the Browns

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

By Joe Scalzo

(1.4 million) and Guardians (673,000). The Cavs added 2 million Instagram followers during the run-up to last year’s playoffs and that momentum has continued this year, thanks to a mix of short-form videos (either behind the scenes or highlights), photos and quick-hitting stats. “Instagram is the big channel that continues to grow at a fast rate for us,” Kaiser said. The same is true of the Browns, whose Instagram engagement was up 103% this year between the regular season and the playoffs, and the Guardians, who had just 400,000 followers on Instagram two years ago.

sure that when we started on the platform, we did it well and had the resources for it. It’s going to be good to see what it does for us and the demographic we can hit there.” Twitter offers the most distinctive “voice” On Jan. 19, the Guardians posted a picture on X of snow-covered Progressive Field with the line, “Today’s game has been canceled and will not be rescheduled.” It was a good example of why the Guardians do so well on the platform, balancing their trademark playful-but-not-mean posts with highlights, birthday wishes, transactions, features and videos. “It’s always been our strongest platform, the one where we’ve developed our voice the best overall,” Countroulis said. “Our sweet spot as a fan base as far as social media following is young adults, and that’s where they still live. That’s where we’ve shown the most personality and the biggest voice.” The same goes for the Browns, whose fans are heavily engaged on X during games, allowing the Browns to reach followers in real time with instant highlights, score updates and quick postgame videos of, say, tight end David Njoku yelling into a smartphone “We going to the playoffs, baby! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” as he ran off the field after December’s playoff-clinching win over the Jets. That immediacy is key. When the Browns played the San Francisco 49ers in mid-October, the team’s five most popular tweets of the week (Wednesday through Tuesday) came within 15 minutes of 49ers kicker Jake Moody missing a last-second kick. Those moments

“I think it’s just about reaching people where they are, instead of forcing people to go where we want them to go.” — Andrew Gribble, Cleveland Browns’ director of digital and social media As for TikTok, the Browns have the city’s largest following with 1.1 million, and Gribble said it’s the team’s fastest-growing social media account. “We’re continuing to build resources around it because it’s a very unique platform,” he said. “It’s different than everything else you do. You can pretty much post the same thing on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, but on TikTok, if you don’t cater to the platform, you’re not going to do well.” The Guardians aren’t on TikTok yet, but they plan to launch an account before the season starts. “I think we’re going to be the last team,” Countroulis said, laughing. “We wanted to make

help the Browns overperform on X compared to NFL teams with similar social media followings. “Browns Twitter, that’s where the fans have created their biggest identity and it’s where fans still want to go when things are happening right away,” Gribble said. “We continue to prioritize it because we’ve carved out our most identifiable voice of any social media platform.” While X’s market value has plummeted since Elon Musk bought it for $44 million in October of 2022 — Fidelity estimates it’s now worth about $12.5 billion — the Browns’ social media managers said Musk’s team has done a good job ridding the platform of dormant accounts and bots (even if his tenure has also brought more ads and less overall engagement). “We’re still seeing growth; it’s just not as fast,” Gribble said of X. “And if you want to soak up a moment in real time, that’s still where you go.” Facebook skews older but still has value “Boomerbook” gets razzed for being about as cool as a pair of Teva sandals, but even if Cleveland’s pro teams aren’t seeing growth on Facebook, they are still seeing engagement. Kaiser said it does particularly from a “paid social” standpoint, which is where teams use sponsored ad content to target specific customers. “Facebook, we’re seeing the engagement is going down over time and it’s definitely skewing older,” he said. “But it’s a different group that we still need to communicate with. There’s still a lot of value in that platform.” Facebook is an especially good place to post content with a longer shelf life, linking back to, say, a blog on the team’s web page.

Plus, there are still a LOT of people on Facebook. The Cavaliers alone have 7.7 million Facebook followers — about double their following on X — and Facebook is still the Guardians’ biggest social media audience (1.2 million). “It still hits such a key demographic when it comes to baseball,” Countroulis said. “We’ve stayed pretty steady when it comes to our number of followers and our engagement.” It’s always changing While Facebook and Twitter/X have given way to TikTok and Instagram in recent years, it’s a safe bet that something else will come along to challenge them. “This is probably the most ever-changing area of our business,” Kaiser said. YouTube, for instance, has become an important social media site for teams and not just a dumping ground for videos. Threads and Bluesky have emerged as possible Twitter/X alternatives — particularly from the anti-Musk crowd — even as the rumors of X’s demise continue to be exaggerated. “I’ve thought deeply about what we’d do if one day X disappeared or went belly up,” Countroulis said. “But until the numbers start dropping, we’re going to keep rolling. It’s still probably our best platform.” That success isn’t a one-man effort. All three social media managers credited their staffs for their multi-platform success. “I want to stress that this is a full team effort,” Gribble said. “We don’t turn down ideas from anyone. Everyone in our building contributes in some way to social media. We have a full group devoted to making these numbers, and this content, as good as it can be.”

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Ohio awards over $44M in TV, movie tax credits

Feature films ◗ “Genesis,” Cleveland/Cincinnati;

$11,091,686.70

◗ “Epiphany,” Cincinnati;

$6,052,988.40

◗ “Alarum,” Cincinnati;

$5,863,392.30

◗ “Superthief,” Northeast Ohio;

$5,296,260.30

◗ “Stained Glass,” Southwest Ohio;

$3,026,255

By Scott Suttell

◗ “The Marshal,” Southwest Ohio;

The state of Ohio has awarded about $44 million in tax credits for the production of nearly two dozen television series and feature films, several of which will take place in the Cleveland area. The awards were made through the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit program, which provides a refundable tax credit of 30% on production cast and crew wages and other in-state spending. The program, created in 2009, now provides $50 million in tax credits annually. In total, 23 projects — six television series and 17 feature films — were awarded just more than $44 million in tax credits. The state said the awarded projects “total nearly $503 million in production expenses, $146.7 million in total eligible production expenses, and are expected to create 530 full-time jobs.” This was the final grant round for fiscal year 2024. The July (fiscal year 2025) application round

◗ “Nutcracker’s Mustache,”

$2,380,988.40

Dayton/Cincinnati; $2,008,106.70

UNSPLASH

◗ “Never Quit, The Todd Crandell

of the program will open April 15. Here’s a list of the projects that won tax credits, along with their production locations and the value of the credit:

TV series ◗ “WWE 2024,” statewide;

$1,675,986

◗ “An Interesting Life” (Season 2),

Southwest Ohio; $432,300

◗ “Nightmare Transmission”

(season 2), Ashland/Columbus; $265,247.40 ◗ “Christmas on Main,” Ashland; $148,842 ◗ “Heartland Horror Chronicles” (Season 1), Crestline; $129,444 ◗ “Kings of Vegas,” Cleveland; $105,878.25

Story,” Toledo; $1,256,153.40

◗ “Harbor Master,” Northeast

Ohio; $1,113,364.80

◗ “The Last of the Big-time

Promoters,” Southwest Ohio; $985,500 ◗ “Oscar’s Options,” Cincinnati; $823,269.60 ◗ “Slay,” Columbus; $519,603.60 ◗ “Down to the Felt,” Columbus; $385,853.70 ◗ “Cannonballer,” Summit County; $148,371 ◗ “The Forgotten Chord,” Columbus; $115,651.50 ◗ “Heavenly Wickedness,” Ashtabula; $110,625 ◗ “Aimless,” Columbus, $93,313.50 Of the full, $50 million tax credit amount, $5 million is withheld annually specifically for Broadway and theatrical productions. A state spokesman didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about when those credits will be announced.

Joann Inc. seeks capital as liquidity wears thin By Reshmi Basu, Eliza Ronalds-Hannon and Erin Hudson, Bloomberg

Joann Inc. of Hudson is having confidential discussions with its lenders as it seeks fresh capital to bolster its cash reserves, according to people familiar with the matter. A cash infusion could help the fabric and crafts retailer circumvent a potential Chapter 11 filing, said some of the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. Negotiations are ongoing and terms of a deal have not been finalized, they said. A representative for Joann didn’t respond to requests for comment. The company has been trying to stay liquid and manage inventory levels amid a challenging environment for retailers. It disclosed a sale and leaseback transaction for its Hudson facility for $34.5 million in December. Joann had $28.3 million of cash and $72.1 million of availability on its asset-based facility after netting out $406.5 million in borrowings and $21.4 million in letters of credit for the third-quarter that ended Oct. 28, according to regulatory filings. It listed around $1.148 billion of long-term debt.

Joann has been working with Houlihan Lokey for advice, while a group of lenders retained Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Lenders have also hired Lazard Inc., according to other people familiar with the matter. A representative for Houlihan Lokey declined to comment. Representatives for Gibson and Lazard didn’t respond to requests for comment. Some brokers are quoting its term loan due 2028 in the midsingle digits, said other people familiar with the matter. The loan traded at about 47.50 cents on the dollar in late August, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Joann is among a slew of retailers in recent months to seek assistance to shore up its finances. Apparel retailer The Children’s Place Inc. hired Centerview Partners to explore ways to strengthen its balance sheet. Express Inc. has been meeting regularly with lenders to discuss restructuring options. Offprice home retailer Big Lots Inc. is evaluating potential liquidity options. Department-store chain Belk Inc., meanwhile, reached out to potential lenders in a bid to refinance pricey debt.

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CLIFFS

that 25% goal. Cliffs has gone from a mining giant to a mining and steelmaking behemoth under Goncalves, who has increased annual revenues at the company from around $2 billion in 2020 to more than $22 billion today, in part through the acquisition of steel companies like AK and ArcelorMittal. It has used its new vertical integration as a way to get some of those emissions reductions, by

replacing iron ore pellets with Hot Briquetted Iron that produces fewer emissions, for example. But Goncalves wants to do more and sees hydrogen as the fuel that will enable him to succeed. Natural gas is a better alternative to coke as well, Goncalves told members of the United Steelworkers when he met with them in Cleveland last November. Goncalves also hopes to convert his company’s mill near downtown

Cleveland to use hydrogen, he has said. Natural gas is also a better fuel than coke as it produces less carbon when it’s burnt — but it still produces some carbon. Cliffs uses it, but Goncalves would like to adopt even cleaner hydrogen. “Even though we have plenty of natural gas and we believe we can run on natural gas forever, we really believe that hydrogen is the future,” Goncalves told union mem-

bers, who strongly support him as a CEO and went so far as to ask that U.S. Steel sell to Cliffs. (That effort was ultimately unsuccessful with Japan’s Nippon Steel being the successful bidder for the iconic steelmaker based in Pittsburgh.) Now, Goncalves says Cliffs is ready to take and use hydrogen from the hub currently being developed around its works in Indiana. “It cost me a fortune, but I’ve proved my point,” Goncalves said of his company’s trials of hydrogen at mills in Indiana, and its Middletown Works in Ohio. “And if I can commit to an offtake (of produced hydrogen), I break the paradigm of the chicken and egg,” he said. “Nobody uses hydrogen because there’s no hydrogen, and there’s no hydrogen because nobody uses it.” Goncalves also has said his company will do its part to make the system work by guaranteeing a market for hydrogen exists and by investing tens of millions of dollars to build the pipeline it will need to deliver hydrogen to its plant. Now, as he told the Steelworkers’ union last fall, the ball is in the government’s court, and he’s confident it will deliver. “We can reduce iron using hydrogen. Now it’s up to the government to help us get hydrogen cheap and get hydrogen competitively,” Goncalves said. “And they are doing their part, too.”

closed amount of money every year to keep it operational, GLBC has also paid at least $15,800 in From Page 1 Occupational Safety and Health “We are going to make the best Administration fines (the initial decision we can for the longevity fines totaled twice that amount) of this company and the 200-plus related to citations at that facility families that rely on it,” said GLBC since 2021. Those citations centered on issues with noise exposure, CEO Mark King. confined spaces and grain handling procedures, according to OSHA Battling inefficiencies records. Meanwhile, the ceiling on that Ranked America’s 18th-largest craft brewer by volume in 2023, building—which holds its bottling GLBC reached production capaci- line—is so low that GLBC is required ty with its aging infrastructure to ship in half-sized pallets of glass bottles instead of full ones. This long ago. The brewery produced about means the company effectively pays 134,000 barrels of beer in 2023 but twice as much in logistical costs for has peaked in annual production bottles than it otherwise would. GLBC has been dealing with chalat more than 150,000 barrels in lenges like these for many years. years past. But because its facilities are in a GLBC’s campus in Ohio City’s Market District spans a smattering historic structure, big changes to the of historic buildings that house its building are exceedingly complicatflagship brewpub/restaurant, cor- ed. Furthermore, space to expand porate offices and brewing opera- anything in the brewery’s corner of Ohio City is limited. tions. With planning for a new production brewery complicated, expensive and timeconsuming, GLBC made a move in 2020 to take up space in — Mark King, CEO of Great Lakes Brewing Co. a Strongsville wareIts current 40,000-square-foot house that it leases for storage manufacturing facility and pro- and canning operations. With demand surging for packduction brewery, at 1947 W. 28th St., once was home to horse sta- aged beer amid the height of the bles and grain storage for Leonard COVID-19 pandemic, this felt necSchlather Brewing Co., a business essary. But it has made for an operation operated by its namesake founder that’s inefficient and unsustainable. between 1857 and 1902. This dynamic means GLBC must While GLBC embraces this history, that building is simply constantly ship tankers of beer from cramped, inefficient and in disre- Ohio City to Strongsville where liquid is pumped into brite tanks and pair. Besides spending an undis- then moved into cans. Each time,

those tanks must be meticulously cleaned before the process begins again in order to prevent contaminations that could botch a batch. All this extra shipping and cleaning is not ideal from efficiency and expense perspectives. King said the Strongsville warehouse was expected to be a temporary solution to help GLBC increase volume and bolster offpremise sales. But that was nearly four years ago. Issues like these are what King wants to correct by bringing core brewery functions under one roof. A larger, consolidated manufacturing facility is the key to making operations safer, more efficient and more cost-effective at a point when revenue growth is hard to come by. “We are in a bad situation given our current capabilities as a company, and we have to fix it,” King said. “We have to remain competitive in an industry that has gone from growth to flat,” he added. “And we have to become more efficient in order to compete.”

projects like this is why Mayor Justin Bibb has pushed for the launch of Cleveland’s Site Readiness Fund—which has been initially funded with $50 million in ARPA money—to help prepare vacant sites for companies. Nonetheless, McNair said that he’s bullish on GLBC building something on the Scranton Peninsula. where it already has secured property. “We think they have a unique opportunity to create what could really be one of the most amazing facilities anywhere in the world when you look at it in terms of experiential components and what that could mean for the Great Lakes,” he said. But Scranton may not be the ideal option for GLBC as it takes this next big step. Besides any costs or general construction challenges, King goes back and forth on whether a large brewery feels like a great fit with the luxury apartments now under development there. There are also space concerns on Scranton. A 200,000-squarefoot structure could occupy nearly five of the eight acres GLBC owns there, which doesn’t leave that much room for parking. A lack of on-site parking in Ohio City has long been a gripe for GLBC customers, and it’s something King is dying to address for any other customer-facing property. The dearth of site options in Cleveland and the imperfections in Scranton are some of the key motivations behind GLBC exploring a project in Avon. King has confirmed recent reporting about the company soliciting proposals from developers

for constructing its preferred facility on a 17.5-acre parcel in that city near I-90. He declined to say what the project could cost or comment on a timeline for officially picking a location. But he notes that both Scranton and Avon remain potential options, adding that there’s always the chance that “something else could come up” in Greater Cleveland. “Avon would probably be the easier build out and more spacious. Operationally, it could be terrific,” King said. “But there are also benefits to being downtown, and on the river, which would be terrific. They are both great options that have their pros and cons. If we can make Scranton work, I’ll be thrilled. If we can make Avon work, I’ll be thrilled.” Naturally, a decision could be shaped by several factors, including any financial incentives Cleveland, Avon or any other city might offer the business. “There is no conclusion at this time,” King emphasized. “We are going to continue to look at everything with a fine-tooth comb.” Whatever happens next, there are zero plans for the Ohio City brewpub to go away. The company publicly reinforced its commitment to that neighborhood this winter. But for GLBC to continue to retain its place in a crowded craft beer market for decades more to come, this new facility seemingly can’t be put off that much longer. “This is a big deal in terms of making sure our company is healthy and can compete for the future,” King said. “As soon as we can get everything under one roof, we are a much better company.”

From Page 1

The Midwest hub, one of seven the government is pushing to advance, is largely aimed at the steel industry, a major player in the three states. Cliffs’ CEO Lourenco Goncalves has said that the Midwest hub and its adoption by his company — and, presumably, others — marks a “new era” in the history of steelmaking. Cliffs is using hydrogen in the steelmaking process as a replacement for coke, which is a fossil fuel that is mostly carbon and produces carbon dioxide as it’s used to turn iron ore pellets into steel. Hydrogen can be used instead, though, and when it replaces coke in the process, it also replaces the carbon dioxide the process produces. “With H20 — plain water,” Goncalves says, to just about anyone who will listen. A chemist at heart and by training, Goncalves has focused on cleaning up his company’s steelmaking processes. He already has made great steps in that direction and Cliffs reported last year that it has reduced its emissions dramatically. The company previously said it hoped to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25%, from a 2017 benchmark, by 2030. Last fall, it announced it already had exceeded

CEO Lourenco Goncalves said he hopes to convert the Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Cleveland Works steel mill to use hydrogen. | BLOOMBERG

BEER

“We have to remain competitive in an industry that has gone from growth to flat.”

Becoming a ‘much better company’ Where to put this facility, which King envisions being a roughly 200,000-square-foot combined production facility and brewpub, is the million-dollar question. Tom McNair, a longtime executive director with Ohio City Inc. who last year transitioned to Cleveland’s director of economic development, acknowledges that there are not many readily available locations for a GLBC factory. He’s had discussions about this with GLBC executives and the Conway family for many years. The lack of available space for

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Court rules against COVID municipal income tax refunds

BLOOMBERG

By Kim Palmer

Frontier rolls out new direct routes and increased service at Cleveland Hopkins By Kim Palmer

Frontier Airlines will begin nonstop service out of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to 10 additional destinations beginning in May. The announcement of the new routes comes as Frontier also increased the frequency of service to its existing Hopkins service. Flights to Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) will increase to four times a week in mid-May, and there will be a daily flight to New York LaGuardia (LGA) starting in early April. Frontier announced the additional service at a news conference at Hopkins on Wednesday, Feb. 14. “Today’s announcement brings Frontier to 30 nonstop destinations, more than any other airline at Cleveland Hopkins, and includes new service to several of our top unserved markets,” said Bryant Francis, the city’s port and airport director, in a statement.

IMPACT From Page 6

Accelerate initiatives eliminate barriers, promote health and wellness, encourage civic engagement, increase equity, access, and opportunity, introduce new technologies, advance education and reinvigorate our schools and neighborhoods.

“This expansion further solidifies Frontier’s commitment to Cleveland and Northeast Ohio and we look forward to welcoming the additional service and the new opportunities it will create for travelers.” With the announcement, the low-fare carrier is increasing traffic at Hopkins by 38% on average for the summer daily departures compared with a year ago, according to airport officials. Frontier’s 10 route additions bring the airline’s total to 30 destinations at Hopkins. Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said the airline’s new Hopkinslocated crew base, scheduled to open in March, will help support the rapidly growing operations here. The crew base, which was announced late last year, is expected to bring more than 400 airport-related jobs and increased service to the city. “This expansion further solidifies Frontier’s commitment to

Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, and we look forward to welcoming the additional service and the new opportunities it will create for travelers,” Biffle said in a statement. Frontier service is up 50% from 2022, according to airport data. Before this announcement, the airline accounted for 12% of all Hopkins passengers. The new service from Hopkins beginning in mid-May is as follows: ◗ May 16 service starts and runs three times a week to Baltimore (BWI), Salt Lake City (SLC), Savannah (SAV) and Austin (AUS). ◗ May 17 service starts and runs four times a week to Houston Bush (IAH) and Charleston (CHS) ◗ May 21 service starts and runs three times a week to: Myrtle Beach (MYR) and Pensacola (PNS) ◗ May 22 service starts and runs four times a week to Jacksonville (JAX) and New Orleans

feedback, and help participants navigate challenges, build confidence and improve their skills. Without question, Accelerate not only helps accelerate the ideas presented into reality but invests in the development of the participants as Cleveland’s future leaders. Through this dynamic program, participants are exposed to a network of community-minded individuals and organizations, trailblazers who recognize talent, foster entrepreneurship, and make meaningful connections. Accelerate is much more than an event. It is a testament to the enduring spirit of collaboration, innovation, and advocacy that defines the Cleveland Leadership Center and propels our city’s journey toward a brighter tomorrow.

By joining forces with Accelerate — by attending the event, becoming a sponsor, volunteering as a mentor who shares experiences and life lessons with the next generation of entrepreneurs — business leaders from across our region can ensure they are reflecting the grassroots enthusiasm for our city that is proudly on display when each year’s class takes the stage.

CLASSIFIED SERVICES Through this dynamic program, participants are exposed to a CLASSIFIED network of community-minded individualsSERVICES and organizations. Accelerates’ engagement with the winners goes far beyond one day. Throughout the year, business and civic leaders review presentations, provide advice and

Jim Malz is president of Citizens, Ohio, and co-chair of Accelerate: Citizens Make Change. Marianne Crosley is president and CEO of the Cleveland Leadership Center. For information about Accelerate and to purchase tickets, visit www.cleveleads.org/accelerate. Accelerate is presented by the Cleveland Leadership Center in partnership with Citizens and more than 100 other corporate, foundation, and individual sponsors.

Work-from-home employees are not eligible for refunds from cities that collected income tax during COVID shutdowns, according to an Ohio Supreme Court ruling. The court’s justices on Wednesday, Feb. 14, ruled 5-2 that a state law allowing cities to temporarily collect taxes from remote employees who lived outside the municipal limits during the pandemic is constitutional. The majority opinion found for the enacting of a temporary law to ensure municipal tax revenues remained stable “amidst the rapid switch to remote work that occurred during the pandemic,” according to court documents.

directed people to stay home due to the COVID pandemic. That prompted the Ohio legislature to enact House Bill 197, stating that during the stay-athome order, plus 30 days after, employees working from home or remotely, “shall be deemed to be a day performing personal services at the employee’s principal place of work,” for taxing purposes. Attorneys from the Buckeye Institute, who represented defendant Josh Schaad, disagreed with the decision, arguing the state’s authority over tax policy is broad, but it is not unlimited. “The court’s ruling is disappointing. Local taxing authorities should be able to tax only within their own jurisdictions—where people live and actually perform the work,” Robert Alt, president

“The court’s ruling is disappointing. Local taxing authorities should be able to tax only within their own jurisdictions—where people live and actually perform the work.” — Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute The ruling rejects the claim by a Blue Ash, Ohio, resident that the city of Cincinnati violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause that governs “interstate” taxation, stating that the U.S. government has the authority to limit a state municipality’s ability to tax a nonresident. The five justices also ruled that the state law did not violate the “Home Rule” provision of the Ohio Constitution, arguing the clause permits lawmakers to limit the taxation powers of a municipality. Gov. Mike DeWine in 2020 declared a state of emergency and

and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute. The trial court dismissed this case which was then appealed to the First District Court of Appeals. That court affirmed the dismissal and Schaad appealed again, this time to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case in March 2023. Justices Michael Donnelly, Melody Stewart, Jennifer Brunner, and Joseph Deters joined Justice Patrick DeWine’s opinion. Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy dissented and Justice Patrick Fischer wrote a separate dissenting opinion.

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Cliffs to idle West Virginia plant following tariffs ruling By Scott Suttell

An unfavorable ruling on tariffs from the U.S. International Trade Commission has led Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) to announce it will idle a tinplate production plant in Weirton, West Virginia. The move affects 900 employees. Cliffs said in a news release on Thursday, Feb. 15, that the plant will be shut in April. Employees “will be provided relocation oppor-

tunities to work at other Cliffs facilities and/or severance packages,” the company said. The need to idle the Weirton plant “is a direct result of the unanimous decision issued by all four members of the International Trade Commission (ITC) negating the implementation of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on tin mill products calculated by the Department of Commerce,” Cliffs said. The ITC ruling on Feb. 6 was a de-

feat for Cliffs and the United Steelworkers union. Cliffs and the USW in January 2023 filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions related to what they contended were unfairly traded tin and chromium coated sheet steel products. The U.S. Department of Commerce agreed, and in January of this year it announced duties on tin mill steel. However, the ITC has final say on these matters, and it ruled that tin mill products from Canada, China

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Corrigan Krause

ExpressLink General Agency

Corrigan Krause is pleased to announce the well-earned promotion of Tommy Sustar, CPA, MAcc, to Equity Director. Tommy leads our Assurance Services department where he focuses on audits, review and compilation engagements and more. Everyone at Corrigan Krause is proud to have Tommy as part of our firm and we look forward to building a bright future with him.

ExpressLink General Agency is pleased to announce Matthew Byrne as Managing Director. Matt has over two decades of experience in the industry as a consultant, general agent, and operational leader, making a career in helping people find affordable health insurance. Matt will be responsible for expanding the company’s capabilities, evaluating services, and developing strategies that empower ExpressLink broker partners in their growth objectives and supporting their clients’ success.

Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ Reverend George R. Graham, joins Pilgrim Congregational UCC as Pastor, bringing his passion for those marginalized by race, gender, class, sexual orientation, or life experience. With extensive experience in religious publishing, and non-profit financial development and executive leadership, Reverend Graham is well poised to guide the Pilgrim congregation into new community partnerships with Cleveland area businesses, nonprofits and religious groups.

HEALTH CARE NONPROFITS

The MetroHealth System Romona Brazile was promoted to Executive Director, Community Health Engagement & Impact at MetroHealth. In this role, she Brazile oversees efforts to build community-level partnerships that will address root causes of health inequities. Prior to joining MetroHealth in 2022, Brazile was Co-Director of Prevention & Wellness Services at Cuyahoga County Board of Health. Jones Dr. Wendy Ellis Jones joined MetroHealth as Executive Director, Health Equity Sponsorship, Engagement & Partnership, overseeing events and collaborations that create opportunities in support of MetroHealth. Previous positions include Director of Athletic Development at University of Arkansas-Little Rock and Executive Vice President at Honey Shine | Alonzo Mourning Foundation.

Cleveland Water Alliance Cleveland Water Alliance is proud to welcome Abhishek Sharda and Maria Bocanegra to its board of directors. Sharda Sharda is Director of Industrial Automation at Brown and Caldwell. Sharda heads the National automation group for Brown & Caldwell and serves as a consulting engineer to federal and state agencies for their water and wastewater systems. Bocanegra Bocanegra serves as Chief Legal Officer for the Port of Cleveland, overseeing legal matters both internally and externally for the Port. She also serves as corporate secretary, ethics officer and provides strategic support for its external affairs on legislative & regulatory matters. They will inform and support CWA’s efforts to establishing Cleveland as the freshwater capital of the world and address global water issues.

REAL ESTATE

Lee & Associates Lee & Associates named Abram Schwarz a partner in the company’s Cleveland office. Schwarz joins Joseph Greenberg, Bradley Coven and Jeremy Steiger as partners in the office. Schwarz, having served as senior vice president with the Cleveland office for the past eight years, brings a wealth of experience and industry insight to his new role. During his tenure as senior vice president, Schwarz distinguished himself with his keen market insight, strategic thinking, and dynamic business acumen in a competitive market. Additionally, he has become a member of SIOR, the leading commercial real estate association, representing the world’s top-performing brokers.

and Germany used to make food cans do not harm the domestic steel industry. It also found that imports of such products from South Korea that the U.S. Department of Commerce previously determined are sold in the U.S. at less than fair value are “negligible,” and it voted to terminate an antidumping duty investigation concerning that country. Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in the Feb. 15 news release, “We worked very closely with our partners at the USW on this solution to save Weirton, and together fought tirelessly for its survival. In what was our final effort to maintain tinplate production here in America, we proved that we are forced to operate on an uneven playing field, and that the deck was stacked in favor of the importers. “Despite the Department of Commerce finding evidence of dumping and subsidization from respondent countries, the ITC shockingly ruled against imposition of tariffs, keeping the uneven playing field in place and making it impossible for us to viably produce tinplate,” Goncalves said. “We have been upfront and open with union leadership throughout this process and our partnership with the USW remains unbreakable.” He said tin can makers and consumer groups that “irrationally fought against American jobs and a domestic-based food supply chain” in opposing the duties are responsible for the Weirton plant closing “due to (their) own greed.” Goncalves said the ITC’s decision “is a travesty for America, middle-class jobs, and our critical food supply chains. This bad outcome requires better and stronger trade laws. We will continue to work tirelessly with our Congressional champions who fought with us in this case to improve the trade laws so that the American industry and our workers are not left behind.” Two powerful figures in Washington, D.C., are on Cliffs’ side in this matter: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, and Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia. Brown said after the Feb. 6 ruling

that the ITC “got this wrong,” and Manchin said he was “extremely disappointed” by the decision. On Feb. 15, Manchin issued a statement indicating he views the Weirton plant closure as “a consequence of the International Trade Commission’s decision to turn a blind eye to nearly 1,000 hard-working employees right here in West Virginia in favor of illegally dumped and subsidized imports. Cleveland-Cliffs’ closure is an absolute injustice not only to American workers, but to the very principle of fair competition, and it will undoubtedly weaken our economic and national security.” Brown in a Feb. 15 statement said, “When China cheats our trade laws and our trade enforcement isn’t strong enough to keep up, Ohio workers pay the price. It happens over and over, and today once again, Ohio steelworkers are facing the worst news any worker can get on the job. I’ve been to their plant and I’ve seen how talented and dedicated these workers are — they could compete with anyone if given a fair shot. I will never stop fighting for them and for this community, and to level the playing field for Ohio workers.” (Weirton is just over the Ohio border.) Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican, called the closure “entirely avoidable.” He added, “Our trade laws exist to ensure a level playing field for our industries and to protect our workers from unfair competition. The ITC’s ruling (Feb. 6) undermined those ends, and now Ohioans are suffering the consequences. I was raised by a union steelworker — it pains me to think of the families who may lose their livelihoods because our government refuses to act. This fight is not over. I will continue to scrutinize the ITC’s decision and never stop fighting for Ohio’s steelworkers and our nation’s steel industry.” Despite the idling of the Weirton plant, Cliffs said in its release that it’s maintaining 2024 sales volume guidance of 16.5 million tons of overall steel products. Cliffs is the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America. It employs about 28,000 people across its operations in the United States and Canada.

Cleveland-Cliffs’ tinplate plant in Weirton, West Virginia | SEN. JOE MANCHIN’S OFFICE

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