FAQs

The City Club has always been the place in Cleveland that welcomes leaders from all sides so that community members can make up their own minds. We do that in local races and issues, in statewide races and issues, and with national and international matters, too! So we welcome to our stage leaders on the political right for the same reason we welcome their counterparts on the left: Democracy works better when communities have access to the leaders who are shaping our shared future.

We’d love for you to buy a ticket and ask a challenging question of the speaker. The other thing you can do is to suggest an alternative speaker who can present another perspective. We tend to lean on Justice Louis Brandeis’s advice that the “remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.” (Whitney v. California) He had a lot more to say about liberty and freedom of speech, but that gets to the practical heart of the matter. Let’s have the debate. We’re not here to silence one side or the other. We’re here to learn.

Of course we are! In every generation, there are moments where it feels as if we might lose democracy. The founders of our nation saw the whole thing as an experiment unlikely to succeed. And through wars, social upheavals, political reforms, single party rule, the republic has persisted because individual people have worked very hard to keep communities informed, institutions strong, and the rule of law intact and respected. Our commitment to keeping democracy strong is exactly why we do the work we do. That’s why we were founded in 1912, and it’s why through two world wars, a depression, the McCarthy era, the upheaval of the 1960s, the Civil Rights era, the Vietnam War, and every economic calamity of the last 112 years, we’ve continued to do this work or welcoming voices and perspectives from all sides.

The City Club is an independent institution, so we’re not bound by the First Amendment the way the Federal Government and other public entities are. Nevertheless, we believe freedom of speech is something we should celebrate and demonstrate a commitment to. Freedom of speech means neither side gets to determine what anyone is allowed to say (as long as there isn’t any kind of incitement to violence). And a commitment to freedom of speech—and freedom of expression, freedom of inquiry, academic freedom—looks like providing a platform to people with diverse points of view on thorny topics. The Creed of the City Club speaks to this. Ralph Hayes wrote it in 1916, and it’s still very resonant: I welcome to my platform the discussion of any theory or dogma of reform; but I bind my household to the espousal of none of them, for I cherish the freedom of every person’s conviction and each of my kin retains [their] own responsibility.

What people say when they speak is their responsibility. We don’t often fact check them, not in real time. Occasionally a moderator will provide a fact check, but most often that duty falls to the audience and they get to exercise that duty during the Q & A.

Heck no. That’s one of the ways we think of free speech differently than the government. The creed actually speaks to this a little, too: “Freedom of Speech” is graven above my rostrum; and beside it, “Fairness of Speech.” Bigotry and conspiracy theories are not welcome. Have bigoted people spoken from our stage? Probably. But we’re not providing a venue for anyone who would advance a policy of bigotry or supremacy. We are driving towards a stronger, more inclusive democracy, a more perfect union.

No—we’ve always been non-partisan. We think that question comes up either because our members are from this community, which leans left demographically (similar to most metropolitan communities in the US), or when we provide a platform to corporate leaders and conservative political officials. But honestly, you’re likely to encounter a lot of independent voters in our audience and among our members, as well as people who are passionate about the causes, candidates, and parties they support.

Reservations can be made online, over the phone by calling 216.621.0082 option 1, or in person. Refunds will be issued for cancellations made 48 hours in advance of the forum.

Our new address is 1317 Euclid Ave., Suite 100. We are located on the north side of Euclid Ave., between E 13th and E 14th Streets, there is a GCRTA Healthline stop in front of our building.

If you are driving, park in the Playhouse Square Parking Garage, located at 1450 Chester Ave. You can view a map of the garage here. If you are at the City Club between 10:30 am and 3 pm, bring your ticket with you into the City Club and we will provide validation to reduce your cost to $5.00. To get this discounted rate, you must pay at the gate when you drive out, not at the kiosk on the 2nd floor. Special rates do apply outside those hours.

After parking in the garage, you can walk to the City Club's entrance on Euclid Ave. via the covered walkway. The walkway is accessible from the 2nd floor of the garage - keep walking through it until you reach Euclid Avenue, then turn right and our entrance is located just beneath the blue and white gong logo sign!

Valet parking is available at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, located at 1260 Euclid Ave. Mention the City Club when you pull up to valet, and your rate will be reduced to $20.

Additional, non-discounted downtown parking can be found at the Lumen Garage (1600 Euclid Ave., enter E. 17th St.), Hanna Garage (1509 Prospect Ave.), or U.S. Bank Garage (2060 E 14th St.). More Playhouse Square District parking information can also be found here.

We provide accessible restrooms and seating, hearing assisted services, and wheelchair assistance. Service animals are welcome. We are located at street level, and our space does not require stairs or elevators to enter the forum.

To make a request: When purchasing your forum ticket or table, upon check out on the billing page, please enter any comments and requests including accessibility and accommodations you might require, and we will follow up to confirm.

The City Club of Cleveland is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible space. If you need other reasonable accommodations or have questions about accommodations, please contact us at 216.621.0082, option 1 or info@cityclub.org before your visit and let us know how we can assist.

For forums held at the City Club, ticket pricing is as follows:

City Club Members $30
Nonmembers $45 | Contact awalker@cityclub.org to become a member and save on ticket prices!
High school students are always free! College students also get special discounted pricing | Contact arianasmith@cityclub.org to register!
Nonprofit Table of Ten $450
Corporate Table of Ten $600
If your organization is a corporate or nonprofit member, you receive 20% off nonmember pricing.

Nope! City Club forums are open to everybody. However, membership will get you a discount on admission and priority registration for high interest forums.

Beyond a discount on tickets, members receive pre-sale ticket access to forums and invitations to special events, as well as opportunities to volunteer at forums and participate in member-led programming committees. Also, members all share a sense of pride in being part of something that helps to make the community and democracy a little bit stronger. You can view all the membership levels and benefits here, or call us at 216.621.0082 option 2 and we'll talk to you about it!

Reservations typically close 48 hours before the event begins. If you miss the deadline, call us at 216.621.0082 option 1 and ask about the wait list. We do our best to let everyone in, but we can't make any guarantees. It’s best to plan ahead and make your reservation at least 48 hours in advance.

Almost all of our forums begin at 12:00 p.m. We list our forum start time as 11:30 a.m. so you have time to get here, grab a seat, and share a meal with fellow attendees. For the sake of the broadcast, lunch service stops at 12: 00 p.m.(With some grace till 12:15). Start times for offsite forums can vary, so be sure to check our website for updates.

We livestream nearly all of our forums on our website--you'll see a red "LIVE" button on our homepage at the forum's start time. You can also listen to a live broadcast of our Friday forums at 12:00 p.m. on 89.7 WKSU.

Each week (excluding holiday weeks), the Friday forum reairs the following Sunday at 10 a.m. on WVIZ/PBS, and at 10 p.m. on 90.3 WCLV. Forums also reair on The Ohio Channel on Mondays at 4 p.m. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn for updates on special and holiday week airings.

If you’re interested in accessing a past forum, check out our archives, the Cleveland Memory Project City Club Forums Collection, the PBS App, or search "The City Club of Cleveland Podcast" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music.

No, and that's part of what makes us unique. All speakers must answer unfiltered, unrehearsed questions directly from the audience. We firmly believe in the free expression of all ideas and the benefits of an open exchange. Debates, however, are a little different. Since 2016, all questions asked during a debate are reviewed and selected by a members of our debate committee, a bipartisan group of City Club members. Questions are evaluated for quality and fairness, as well as diversity in topic, in order to ensure that the debates thoroughly cover as many different areas of interest as possible.

No, the City Club does not have a dress code, and we never have. Business casual is suggested because you might feel awkward in a concert shirt. But if that's what you have on, we hope you’ll still attend!

It depends. We're glad our content is relevant to you and that you'd like to include it in something you're working on. Whatever you want to do, let us know first. Shoot us an email (info@cityclub.org) and tell us what you want to use and how you want to use it. We'll get back to you as quickly as we can. If it's a non-commercial use (as in you're not making money) and you're not using it to disparage someone (as in a negative political ad), chances are we'll say yes. And with anything else, like we said, it depends. Lastly, for the sake of clarity, our content is copyrighted, and we take that seriously. So please, work with us on this.

You can submit a speaker suggestion through this form.