CLEVELAND — Even though it’s still two years away, planning has already begun for the 2024 Pan-American Masters Games (PAMG) in Cleveland.
The Pan-American Masters Games are a flagship event of the International Masters Games Association.
They’re set to be held on July 12-21 2024 in northeast Ohio.
This will be the first time the games are held in Cleveland, let alone the United States.
According to the International Masters Games Association, the event is expected to bring together more than 7,500 athletes and thousands more spectators from around the world.
“I want to say we submitted our first bid back in 2017,” said Rachael Stentz-Baugher with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, who will also serve as executive director of the event.
The multi-sport event is expected to be the largest international gathering in the city’s history.
“I think we’re looking at anywhere from 20,000-40,000 people, potentially,” said Stentz-Baugher.
It is estimated to bring in nearly $18 million in direct spending into Cleveland’s economy.
PAMG, similar to the Olympics, is held every four years and features athletes from more than 50 countries in the Americas who compete in up to 30 medal-contending sports including track and field, tennis, basketball, pickle ball and cycling.
The event is called the Masters games because all the athletes competing are 30 years or older, with some competitors more than 100 years of age.
Stentz-Baugher said the complete list of sports to take place at the 2024 Pan-American Masters Games isn’t finalized, but many are expected to take place out on Lake Erie.
“We have decided to add as much as we can on the lake because we definitely want to show off our lakefront,” she told Spectrum News.
Stentz-Baugher said the primary hub for the games is going to be in Downtown Cleveland.
“We’re definitely planning on utilizing the Huntington Convention Center and Public Auditorium,” she said, besides using area schools like Cleveland State University and potentially Baldwin Wallace University.
This major sporting event is one of many to be held in Cleveland. In the past few years, the city has also served as host for the NFL Draft and the NBA All-Star Game.
Stentz-Baugher said she hopes the PAMG is the first of many more international sporting events to make its way to northeast Ohio.
