Cleveland Vintage Blog
Essential Stats and Facts About Lake Erie
Lake Erie and Cleveland go together like peanut butter and jelly. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a "hidden" gem about Northeast Ohio, but a lot of people outside the region and state just don't understand how incredible a body of water it is, and how accessible and wonderful Lake Erie is for residents throughout the year. So to help spread the word, here are some essential statistics and tidbits about everyone's favorite Great Lake: Key Stats and Facts About Lake Erie Physical Characteristics Lake Erie is the fourth-largest Great Lake, and the eleventh-largest lake in the world. That being said,...
Pinball Planet Is Cleveland's Newest Gem
One of the things we like best about the Greater Cleveland area is that no matter what direction you head, you will always come across something interesting, and Pinball Planet in Parma Heights is certainly an example of that. Owners Chris and Brianna Weber opened the Parma Heights location (6277 Pearl Rd.), in August 2024 after starting the dream in the event room of the old Southland Lanes in Middleburg Heights with Chris’s first machine purchase, Pin*Bot, in 2015. Chris’s collection grew to fifteen games, which allowed him to slowly develop his dream while also hosting pinball events in the...
History of the Richfield Coliseum, an Arena Ahead of Its Time
Nick Mileti’s vision for building "The Palace on the Prairie" - The Richfield Coliseum - was two-fold. He aimed to build one of the largest indoor seating capacity facilities in the country - 20,273 for basketball and 18,544 for hockey - while at the same time increasing the fan base potential for both his Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Crusaders, strategically placing his arena between Cleveland and Akron at the Route 303 exit off Interstate 271. Initially, the vision worked beautifully. From the very first event, a concert by none other than Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, on October 26th,...
Nick Mileti, the Man Who Saved the Cleveland Sports Scene
Our headline may suggest a little bias on our part as to the direction of the piece, but we truly feel that Nick Mileti single-handedly revived interest in the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians), secured an NBA franchise for the city, and even kept hockey afloat with his acquisition of the AHL Cleveland Barons as well as establishing one of the original WHA franchises in the Cleveland Crusaders. And that's not all. Mileti was also such an innovator that he envisioned out in the middle of nowhere, at the exit of Route 303 off Interstate 271, what would become the Richfield...
The Cleveland Crusaders and the City's Time in the World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association came into being in September of 1971, beginning play with 12 original teams. Thanks to Nick Mileti, Cleveland was one of the fortunate 12 teams for that inaugural 1972-73 season, as the Cleveland Crusaders took to the ice at the old Cleveland Arena for the first time. The goal of the World Hockey Association was the same as any upstart league: to become a viable rival to the already well-established league of their sport, the National Hockey League. One of the primary objectives was to establish immediate credibility as a viable alternative and gain fan support...