Tickets went on sale Monday morning for Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne's 2026 State of the County address, a civic tradition that this year trades its usual downtown convention hall for one of Cleveland's most storied stages. The event is set for Thursday, September 10, running from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Mimi Ohio Theatre at Playhouse Square, with doors opening at 3 p.m.
The venue shift marks a notable change from the previous two years, when the address was held in the Huntington Convention Center's Atrium Ballroom, according to Cuyahoga County. Hoodline previously reported that Ronayne delivered his 2024 address at the newly renovated Atrium Ballroom, and the 2025 speech was held there as well, per the City Club of Cleveland. Moving to Playhouse Square, the largest performing arts center in the country outside New York City, gives this year's address a higher-profile civic backdrop as Ronayne approaches the end of his first term.
Tickets are available now at cityclub.org/county26, where additional details, FAQs and sponsor information are also posted, according to the county's announcement. KeyBank is the presenting sponsor of this year's forum. The program will again be co-hosted by the City Club of Cleveland, and this year's format includes a sit-down conversation between Ronayne and Randell McShephard, Vice President of Public Affairs and Chief Talent Officer at RPM, following the executive's prepared remarks.
Free Livestream and Post-Event Gathering Planned
Those who can't attend in person will have a no-cost option: a free virtual livestream begins at 4 p.m. at cityclub.org, with no registration required, produced in partnership with Ideastream Public Media and supported by PNC and the United Black Fund. Afterward, the county says the evening continues with refreshments, music and a cash bar at Playhouse Square Plaza, featuring Something Good Social Kitchen.
Ronayne, who took office in 2023 as Cuyahoga County's third County Executive after winning the 2022 general election with nearly 64 percent of the vote, spent 16 years as president of University Circle Inc. and previously served as chief of staff for the City of Cleveland, according to Wikipedia. His fourth State of the County address arrives as he nears the close of his initial four-year term, giving this year's speech added weight as a checkpoint on his administration's record.
Benchmarks From Last Year's Address Still Loom
During his October 2025 State of the County speech, Ronayne highlighted the creation of 445 federal HOME-funded affordable housing units and progress toward raising the county employee minimum wage to $20 an hour by 2026, according to a Cuyahoga County Government account of the address. Those benchmarks are likely to serve as a point of comparison when Ronayne returns to the podium in September to report on progress made over the past year.
Fiscal questions have also shadowed the administration in the months since. In March, county council considered proposals from Ronayne's office to loosen restrictions on quarter-percent sales tax revenues in order to support public safety and jail operating expenses, following hiring freezes the county instituted in 2025 to manage operational shortfalls, per the same Facebook account. More recently, in July, Cuyahoga County joined the City of Cleveland in committing $40 million to cover facility repairs at Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, after Gateway Economic Development Corp. exhausted most of its sin tax funds, as reported by Signal Cleveland.
Regional Tensions Over Stadiums and Airport Plans
Ronayne has also been navigating friction with City of Cleveland leadership over major regional projects. Following the October 2025 settlement between Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and the Browns allowing the team's move to Brook Park by 2029, Ronayne urged city and county officials to, in his words, get back on the same page on major projects like Burke Lakefront Airport, according to WKYC. Ronayne had previously been among the most vocal local opponents of moving the Browns out of downtown Cleveland, a stance Hoodline detailed when county leaders rejected the Brook Park stadium plan in 2024.
On the environmental front, Ronayne's regional profile has grown as well. In August 2025, National Association of Counties President J.D. Clark named him the inaugural Chair of the Great Lakes Regional Forum, a role coordinating intergovernmental initiatives on freshwater protection and infrastructure, a milestone Hoodline covered when Ronayne was named to lead the multi-county effort. That appointment built on Ronayne's earlier work founding Cuyahoga County's Fresh Water Institute in 2024.
With tickets now available and the venue set, the September 10 address gives Ronayne a formal stage to address these overlapping fiscal, regional and environmental storylines heading into the final stretch of his term. Further details, FAQs and sponsor listings for the event remain posted at cityclub.org/county26.
