by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 2:30 PM ET, Mon January 5, 2026
After years of discussion, Cleveland has decided to keep its cruise dock downtown, rather than move it to a new location. Community leaders will instead make improvements to the existing port.
The Port of Cleveland is located west of Huntington Bank Field, the long-time home of the Cleveland Browns.
However, the NFL team is building a new domed stadium in a Cleveland suburb, so it now “makes more sense to keep things the way they are, and improve that space,” David Gutheil, chief operating officer for the Port of Cleveland, told the Plain Dealer.
Community leaders had previously discussed moving the port east to a new location, toward the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame or the East 9th Street Pier. Instead, they’ll invest in making the industrial Dock 28 feel more welcoming to cruise passengers on the Great Lakes. In 2025, the port welcomed 53 ships and 8,700 passengers.
For now, there’s no timeline or specific plan in place for the improvements.
“Now that everybody knows the Browns are moving, that creates another opportunity to reimagine what the lakefront is going to look like and how we can make the experience better for passengers,” Gutheil told the publication. “If you reimagine that space, how do we make it more appealing to cruise lines and passengers?”
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