Greater Cleveland Partnership responds to Dec. 8 Plain Dealer editorial

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

A message from President and CEO Joe Roman

Cleveland, Ohio—The editorial in today’s Plain Dealer, “No backroom casino deals,” misconstrues the meetings held at our offices on Nov. 12 and 16 regarding Rock Ventures’ request to alter the Cuyahoga River to increase parking for the new Cleveland casino. It paints a picture of discussions shrouded in secrecy and deals being cut by a select few.

The Greater Cleveland Partnership was asked to, and followed through on, convening interested parties for initial, wide-ranging discussions about how the requested change would impact shipping and recreational use of the river. We invited GCP members to be part of the dialogue to ensure that our members’ views were heard and would continue to be considered as the discussion progresses and when decisions are made.

Other attendees included business owners, representatives from Rock Ventures, elected officials and maritime interests. The general public was represented by recreational boaters.

In contrast to the tone of the editorial, there were no “backroom deals.” As stated in the editorial through a quote from a partner in the casino project, no decisions were made at the meetings. And none have been made to date.

There is no clear mandate as to who should convene discussions about a private development that impacts public land, where the discussions should be held, or who should be invited. This is a new and ongoing process.

Although the media wasn’t invited to the meetings, there have been opportunities to conduct interviews. I spoke with a Fox 8 reporter, here at the GCP, at the conclusion of the Nov. 12 meeting. We encourage reporters to continue asking tough questions about critical decisions that will need to be made about this important project.

It is hoped that the casino project will move forward on a timely basis. But we also want be sure that we get it right, so that the city, county and citizens will benefit long-term from this new source of revenue.

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As an association of business members, the Greater Cleveland Partnership mobilizes private-sector leadership, expertise and resources to create jobs and leverage investment to improve the economic vitality of the region.

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