Cleveland's biggest gaming weekend is trading airport-expo sprawl for a downtown stage, bringing Pokémon voices, retro cabinets and cosplay contests to the Huntington Convention Center this September. The Cleveland Gaming Classic returns Sept. 11-13 with a guest lineup built for fans who can debate cartridge-era classics and anime voice credits with equal intensity.
The three-day convention will take over the downtown venue from Friday, Sept. 11, through Sunday, Sept. 13, according to the Cleveland Gaming Classic. Organizers describe it as Ohio's largest gaming convention, with free-play games, collectors' booths, tabletop activities, family programming and cosplay all packed into the weekend.
The celebrity draw includes Eric Stuart, known for voicing Brock and James in Pokémon and Seto Kaiba in Yu-Gi-Oh!; Rodger Parsons, the longtime narrator of the Pokémon anime; Grey DeLisle, the voice of Daphne Blake in Scooby-Doo; and Michaela Jill Murphy, best known as Toph Beifong in Avatar: The Last Airbender, as reported by Cleveland.com. The lineup is expected to include additional gaming creators, performers and pop-culture guests as the convention approaches.
Downtown Move Follows I-X Center Closure
The new location arrives after the I-X Center hosted its final consumer show in March, ending the longtime exhibition venue's run as Cleveland's giant event warehouse, according to Cleveland 19. The Huntington Convention Center offers a more central setting, with more than 520,000 square feet of total event space, a 225,000-square-foot exhibit hall and direct connections to downtown hotels and attractions, according to the venue.
That shift also puts the convention closer to restaurants, sports venues, theaters and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, making it easier for visitors to turn a game-filled weekend into a full downtown itinerary. It is a different kind of footprint from the old airport-adjacent venue, but one that may be friendlier to attendees who would rather walk to dinner than hunt for the exit.
Retro Games, BattleTech Pods And Cosplay
The show floor will feature original Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Mortal Kombat arcade cabinets, old-school Atari, ColecoVision, Nintendo, Sega, Xbox and PlayStation titles, plus pinball and a free-play tabletop gaming area. The official event site also lists BattleTech simulator pods, role-playing games, trading-card events, artist alley, vendors selling comics and collectibles, and competitions including one of the country's largest Tecmo Super Bowl tournaments.
Tickets Start Below $25 For Daily Admission
Daily admission ranges from $24.75 to $38.75, while three-day and VIP passes start at $67.75, according to Cleveland.com. Children ages 10 and younger attend free with a ticketed adult, and ticket information is available through the convention's website.
