It was to be expected that Cleveland would turn up for the Cavaliers’ parade, but the reality exceeds what anyone thought. The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission is saying that 1.3 million people are cramming into the downtown area to cheer on the Cavaliers. It’s simply amazing to see millions of people united in one awesome moment -- but there are ... problems.
1.3 million people are in Cleveland for the Cavs parade, and the city can’t handle it
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The poor local transportation authority is decidedly less happy than fans on the street.
We continue to work to get all of you down to this momentous & historic occasion, but we cannot support this many riders at once.
— Greater Cleve RTA (@GCRTA) June 22, 2016
Fans can’t fit in the streets so they’re lining up along rooftops to see what happens. Almost everywhere you look there are more people losing it cheering on their heroes. Blazing temperatures have turned firetrucks into makeshift sprinklers to keep fans cool.
The city didn't put any barriers up. People are actively being moved back as it moves along. A LOT of people pic.twitter.com/1avAWqW2PZ
— FearTheSword (@FearTheSword) June 22, 2016
WELP! Not great planning there, but it’s totally understandable.
It’s not like the city is designed to hold this amount of people in a single centralized area. Wikipedia notes that the ENTIRE Cleveland metro area is 2.1 million people. It’s difficult for any city to hold that large a percentage of your population in one area. Heck, New Year’s Eve in Times Square had 1 million attendees this year.
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