CLEVELAND, Ohio — Optimistic Clevelanders envision a new kind of casino, one that entices families with video games, ushers gamblers onto rooftop patios and offers a shuttle for free tours of downtown.

The suggestions, compiled by the nonprofit Cleveland Coalition and released Thursday, come from 200 experts and concerned citizens who met last year to brainstorm designs for the downtown project.

“We could be a national model if the organizers are willing to look at a new approach,” said coalition member Jason Bristol. “We’d really like to see the casino give back to its host city.”

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Cavs owner and casino developer Dan Gilbert hasn’t yet announced the specific site or the design architect for the casino he’d like to build in downtown Cleveland.

But that isn’t stopping the Cleveland Coalition, a group of young professionals with an intense interest in the city’s future, from offering Gilbert some very specific free advice.

On Friday, the coalition will sponsor “Crooked River Gaming/2,” a public brainstorming session at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, 1717 Euclid Ave. The “charrette,” as such meetings are called in architectural circles…

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Cleveland’s casino will be a $600 million investment.

That’s what casino developer Dan Gilbert’s representative told the crowd of more than 100 at a public dialogue on casino design, held at Cleveland’s City Club Friday evening.

Len Komoroski, representing Gilbert’s Rock Ventures LLC, said that Gilbert and his partners want to make sure “this is a first class destination and entity. We are committed to investing more than $600 million here in the Cleveland casino project.”

Komoroski was one of four panelists at the discussion organized by a group of young professionals calling itself the Cleveland Coalition…

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The Cleveland City Club hosted The Cleveland Coalition’s Crooked River Gaming: Event: Weaving the New Casino into Cleveland’s Existing Urban Fabric on Friday March 5th at The City Club.

There is an overwhelming interest in the Casino issue for it was standing room only.

The panel was diverse in the areas covering economic projections, architectural possibilities, details of the planned sites and the integration of measurable successes in the downtown Cleveland business community.

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The Cleveland Coalition held its debut event Friday evening at the City Club of Club. A packed house of people of all ages showed up to hear four panelists talk about the potential impact of the new casino on Cleveland, and how to make that impact positive rather than negative. Panelists included architect Christopher Diehl, an associate professor at Kent State University; Len Komoroski, president of the Cavaliers (representing Cavs/casino owner Dan Gilbert); architect David Schwartz; and Hiram College president Thomas Chema.

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