How to get here, where to stay, what to do while coming to the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament at Case Western Reserve University
NOTE: Eyeoncleveland.com founder John Kerezy has lived in Cleveland for most of his life. He put this together to assist fans heading to Cleveland for the Div. III tournament games
CLEVELAND – If you are a student, alumni, or fan of Arcadia University, Wabash College, or the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, you might well be scrambling to make travel arrangements and lodging in Cleveland for the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament March 3-4.
Here is some help.
DRIVING OR FLYING?
It’s a little more than 450 miles driving distance from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to Case Western Reserve University’s Horsburgh Gymnasium, site of the games. It’s between 365 and 445 miles for fans of Arcadia University and Wabash College to get to Cleveland. Those driving from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania will also be using tolls roads (Pennsylvania Turnpike, Indiana Toll Road, Illinois Tollway) as well.
If you’d prefer to fly, CLE – the airline abbreviation for Cleveland’s Hopkins International Airport — is only 20 minutes from Case. You don’t need to rent a car either, as Greater Cleveland RTA’s Red Line Rapid Transit picks up passengers from Hopkins Airport. You can take the Rapid Transit to the Cedar University Station, just 0.1 miles from the gym, for a quick walk or an ever quicker Uber ride. Here’s a link to details: https://www.riderta.com/routes/redline
Don’t like bigger airports? Canton Akron Airport, CAK, is about a 55-minute drive to Case. Some airlines (such as United) are flying non-stop from Chicago to CAK. So if you want to rent a car, traveling through CAK can be a viable option.
If you drive or rent a car, parking in/around Case Western Reserve University can be a challenge. Case is in the University Circle area, home to the Cleveland Museum of Art, University Hospitals of Cleveland, the Cleveland Orchestra, and a dozen other museums and cultural centers. Below are links to information which Case has posted on a website about parking. Note: There are no free parking areas anywhere on campus.
There are about 13,000 paid parking spaces within a half-mile or so of Hosburgh Gym. Click on the map below for a view of those. Some use the Park Mobile App, so you might want to pre-load that app on your cell phone before arriving in Cleveland. Click on the “P” for details.
https://case.edu/parking/garages-lots
If you’re using some map app, you’ll want to plug in this address: 2138 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106. Horsburgh Gymnasium is part of the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center at Case. Below is a downloadable map of the area, courtesy of Google (smile):
Here are some “turn by turn” driving directions:
From the east, via I-80 (Ohio Turnpike – From Eastern Ohio and Pennsylvania)
Take exit 187 and proceed north on Interstate 480, which merges with Interstate 271. Exit I-271 at Cedar Road and follow it westbound toward Cleveland. Where Cedar Road starts down a steep hill and lane-switching lights hang overhead, look for a sign identifying Case Western Reserve University at the corner of Murray Hill Road (the first light near the bottom of the hill). Turn right onto Murray Hill, then bear left at the traffic light and turn left onto Adelbert Road at the three-way stop on the other side of the bridge. Turn right onto Euclid Avenue
From the east or west, via I-90
Exit at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Proceed south for about a mile to the East 105th traffic light; cross East 105th and turn left onto East Boulevard. Take a slight left onto Ford Drive and then left onto Bellflower Road.
From Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the south via Interstate 71 or Interstate 77
Proceed north until I-71 (or I-77) merges with Interstate 90. Take I-90 east, then exit at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Proceed south for about a mile to the East 105th Street traffic light; cross East 105th and turn left onto East Boulevard. Take a slight left onto Ford Drive and then turn left onto Bellflower Road.
All of these directions come from Case Western Reserve’s “Directions/Admissions” website, linked here: https://case.edu/admission/visits-events/directions-parking
WHERE TO STAY
There are several hundred hotels, B&Bs, and rentals available for your stay in Cleveland. One popular choice is downtown Cleveland. Most hotels there offer valet parking, and it is just four miles from downtown to Case.
https://www.hotelplanner.com/Hotels/2686-NEAR-Downtown-Cleveland#dir-bar
If you didn’t drive, or don’t want to park near Case, no worries. You can take the Greater Cleveland RTA’s Health Line, and a stop there is close to Horsburgh Gym. Here is the link:
https://www.riderta.com/routes/healthline
Another great option is to stay as near as possible to Case. There are dozens of good accommodations in and around the University Circle area. The world-renowned Cleveland Clinic also has excellent hotels near its arounds, many of them a mile or less from Case. Here is a link:
https://www.expedia.com/University-Circle-Cleveland-Hotels.0-n6341957-0.Travel-Guide-Filter-Hotels
If you’re driving and plan on using your car for transit to/from the tournament games, the I-480/I-77 Rockside Road area is a good choice for lodging. Hotels there are 15-to-20 minute drive to Case. Be sure to drive the Opportunity Corridor (Ohio Route 10), a newer route to get to Case and the University Circle area, if you’re coming from this direction. Here’s a link to hotels in this area:
https://www.hotelplanner.com/Hotels/3504-in-Independence-OH.html#dir-bar (NOTE: Not every hotel listed here is close to Case. Be sure to verify location before booking.)
WHAT ELSE TO DO
Have some time between games? Geographically close to Case is the Cleveland Museum of Art, which is hosting the exhibit “The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance Cleveland.” Here’s a link: https://www.clevelandart.org/
Many first-time visitors to Cleveland make the West Side Market a “must stop” place to see, try and buy. With more than 100 vendors selling all types of food and beverages, its origins date back to 1840 and it’s Cleveland’s oldest publicly owned market. The centerpiece of the market is a yellow brick markethouse with nterior concourses. The markethouse was dedicated and opened to the public in 1912. Hours are 8 am to 5 pm Friday, 7 am to 5 pm Saturday, and 10 am to 4 pm Sunday. Here’s the link (website includes directions): https://westsidemarket.org/
Of course Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located in downtown Cleveland. Its newest exhibit is “The Beatles: Get Back to Let it Be.” The Rock Hall also offers “Combo Packages” or discounts on hotels when you purchase tickets. Details are on the link below.
https://www.rockhall.com/visit
Not a rocker or food buyer or an art connoisseur? Well, there are 22 pages of events happening in Cleveland at the same time as the NCAA Division III first and second round playoff games at Case.
Here is the list: https://www.thisiscleveland.com/events/event-calendar
(NOTE – When ticket information becomes available, details and a link to tickets will be added to this part on the story. The cover photos and some information provided here is from the organization Destination Cleveland, linked here: https://www.thisiscleveland.com/#thingstodo )
BUYING TICKETS FOR THE FRIDAY NIGHT GAMES
Here’s where you can purchase tickets: https://community.case.edu/Athletics/rsvp_boot?id=2060468
eyeoncleveland 
