CLEVELAND — The city of Cleveland has been selected to host the 2025 National Urban League Conference.
According to a joint release from the Urban League of Greater Cleveland and Destination Cleveland, the four-day conference will be held July 16-19, 2025, at the Huntington Convention Center. The conference will bring "thousands of the nation's most dynamic and progressive community and business leaders" to Cleveland and is expected to include "world-renowned speakers, enlightening workshops, networking events, and entertainment."
"I am thrilled that the National Urban League chose Cleveland as the location for the 2025 annual event," said Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb in a statement. "Brining a national conference of this magnitude to Cleveland not only highlights the great assets of our city but also provides a platform for experts, practitioners, and policymakers from across the country to convene and deliberate on crucial matters, exchange ideas, and discover novel solutions. This is huge for Cleveland and we look forward to hosting this amazing event!"
The National Urban League Conference is estimated to have a $4.7 million economic impact for the city.
"Cleveland wins when we collaborate to bring events, meetings, and conventions to our city," said Destination Cleveland President and CEO David Gilbert. "The National Urban League's selection of Cleveland reflects the commitment of many organizations and individuals to advancing our city's reputation as both an event host as well as an overall destination city."
Gilbert told 3News the National Urban League Conference is one of many major events coming to Cleveland over the next two years.
We can expect the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four, Pan-American Masters Games, and the
American Society of Association Executives Annual Meeting in 2024.
“What's critical about that, it's the largest gathering of meeting planning decision makers in the country," Gilbert said of the ASAE meeting. "We should expect after hosting that next year, somewhere between $200 to $500 million in new future meeting convention business to choose Cleveland as a result of those people being here and seeing Cleveland firsthand."
And then in 2025 along with the National Urban League Conference will be the first and second rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and the National Association of Black Journalists Conference.
Gilbert added that other big events are in the works for '25, as well as some planned out as far out as 2028.
“These are a huge tool for us to grow the population of Cleveland, to have more talent here, and to continue to grow the perception of Cleveland around the country and quite frankly around the world as a tremendous city," he said.
Wednesday's announcement is also part of a triumphant comeback made by the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, whose future was once in doubt back in 2009.
"One of the highest honors bestowed on affiliates is to host a National Urban League conference," said Urban League of Greater Cleveland President and CEO Marsha A. Mockabee. "Today's announcement by National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial to host the 2025 National Urban League Conference in Cleveland is monumental and shows jusst how far we've come to receive such an incredible opportunity to put our city on a national stage.