From the outside, the 1970s windowless bunker Woodling Gym is unidentifiable. It’s doubtful that anyone who hasn’t attended or competed against Cleveland State University would know where it is. But this view of Woodling, from between Chester and Euclid Avenues looking west towards the 1970s iconic Rhodes Tower, provides some orientation (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Renovations to allow Wolstein arena’s demo
A request from Cleveland State University (CSU) has gone out in search of qualified design teams to transform the 53-year-old Woodling Gymnasium, 2420 Chester Ave., into a modern, competitive facility. The request notes that the project budget for Woodling’s transformation could range from $30 million to $60 million.
The proposed fees for designing the facility’s transformation are based on that projected cost, at 5-6 percent of the final construction price tag. Design work is desired to start in October so that construction work could begin by March 2028 and be substantially completed by October 2029.
That would allow the redesigned Woodling Gym to be open in time for that year’s start of the men’s basketball season. The CSU Vikings are in the Horizon League and its men’s basketball season typically begins competition in early December although practices start earlier.
The goal is to offer a facility that will allow CSU to replace and demolish the 35-year-old Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Center arena, 2000 Prospect Ave. Ironically, Wolstein was built 35 years ago for $55 million to replace the 3,000-seat Woodling. CSU officials said Wolstein has operating deficits of $1 million per year.
Woodling’s transformation will be at a far different scale than a lesser renovation in 2023. Then, the university spent $1.5 million for mostly cosmetic updates to the facility, in its 50th anniversary year.
CSU’s Woodling Gym hosts NCAA Division I women’s volleyball, select basketball matchups, and community events like the Special Olympics Ohio basketball clinic. The 3,000-seat facility is part of the Physical Education Center and hosts university, high school and summer camps (CSU).
“The 2023 Woodling Gymnasium Enhancement Project and the proposed new Athletics Complex are two entirely separate projects,” said Kristin Broka, CSU’s associate vice president for marketing and communications, in an e-mail to NEOtrans.
CSU raised funds in 2023 for Woodling Gym renovations which primarily funded the refurbishment of athletic areas in the Physical Education building, namely team locker rooms plus third-floor academic spaces and administrative offices. She said that work, since completed, will not be erased by the coming transformation.
“The areas that were upgraded, as well as the critical academic space in Woodling supports the education of our students in Health Sciences and Human Performance, will remain viable in any work that may be done in the proposed Athletics Complex,” Broka added.
Furthermore, the design work for Woodling’s transformation will help CSU nail down the actual construction estimate, as well as help in raising funds for the actual construction work. In that context, she said it’s too early to discuss funding sources.
“Cost estimations for the possible new Athletics Complex will be determined through the requested feasibility study, which will then lead to further discussion on funding in the next phase,” Broka said.
The lobby between the Woodling Gym to the right and the Robert F. Busbey Natatorium on the left (CSU).
The request for qualified designers described the purpose of the proposed Woodling transformation. The goals is so that it could serve as “the main competition venue for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball,” according o the request for qualifications.
A new addition will also be built adjacent to Woodling Gym and/or the Physical Education Building to house dedicated practice facilities for men’s and women’s basketball. In addition, a volleyball practice facility will need to be identified.
“CSU is eager to explore possibilities to best serve students and the community through a new vision for Cleveland State athletics, building on the longstanding legacy established in the historic Woodling Gymnasium,” Broka explained.
The proposed Athletics Complex project will include a new, approximately 16,000-square-foot addition along with renovated and/or reconfigured space in the Physical Education building, according to the project’s description.
This renovation may be phased and will likely require the existing gymnasium floor to be lowered into the sub-basement and/or raise the existing roof to increase ceiling height to accommodate expanded spectator seating and mezzanine space.
The Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Center arena is at the east end of Downtown Cleveland and the south side of Cleveland State University’s main campus. It is likely to be demolished, possibly at the same time as the Cleveland Browns’ home stadium Huntington Bank Field (CSU).
Additional structural modifications may include removing select walls between Woodling Gym and the Recreation Center and extending the East wall outward into the roadway separating it from the East Parking Garage and the historic Mather Mansion.
The project description continues, noting that the goal of these modifications is to modernize and increase seating capacity above 4,000 seats, create enhanced premium seating zones, and enhance event hosting capabilities.
Reallocated space from the Physical Education renovations will support modern locker rooms, sports medicine and rehabilitation areas, plus strength and conditioning facilities. The addition to the Physical Education Building will provide dedicated practice facilities for the men’s and women’s basketball programs.
This addition will also include offices and administrative and student support spaces for athletics staff and program operations. These improvements will aim to support student athletes while also increasing opportunities for academic programming and community engagement.
An end result of this is the demolition of the Wolstein Center and a redevelopment of its 10-acre site. NEOtrans broke the story in March that CSU was no longer considering redeveloping the Wolstein site with a soccer stadium and supportive development.
One block north of the Woodling Gym, Cleveland State University planned to build a brand-new arena that would have half as many seats as the Wolstein Center. But the projected cost of $60 million to $100 million proved to be prohibitive (CSU-Sasaki).
Instead, the future use of that and all other CSU properties on its 85-acre downtown campus will be analyzed by a long-term plan. In November 2025, CSU issued a request for qualifications from prospective real estate development consultants to take an updated look its campus.
As a result of its last campus masterplan, a completely new arena was proposed on the other side of Chester, fronting Payne Avenue, in 2022-23 as part of a $650 million campus revamp. But its potential $60 million to $100 million price tag, based on comparable arenas elsewhere, was deemed too costly for the university to fund and sustain.
The Wolstein Center was built in 1991, shortly after the CSU men’s basketball team reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament in 1986 amid four 20-win seasons in a row. The 13,600-seat arena was seen as needed for the university’s growing basketball program and other athletics.
CSU also had grown from a commuter-only school in its first year in 1965 with 6,026 students to more than 19,000 students in 1980-81. It was thought that having a big-time college basketball team would help raise CSU’s profile and attract even more students. But enrollment leveled off since to between 15,000 and 19,000 students.
And, it would take another 20 years before the men’s basketball team would accumulate another four 20-win seasons. Despite the men’s team enjoying a strong run in the 2020s with a 115-57 win-loss record, attendance has averaged less than 1,800 people per home game.
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