Sports

Cleveland Police Prepare For the NBA Finals -- Even When the Action's on the West Coast

Ideastream Public Media | By Kabir Bhatia

Published May 30, 2017 at 4:12 PM EDT

The third Cavs-Warriors rematch is expected to bring big crowds to The Q -- even when the team is out west, since there will be watch parties at the arena.

Officials in Cleveland are preparing for the NBA Finals, with a lot of activity scheduled even on days when the Cavs will be on the West Coast.

There could be as many as four away games during the Finals, beginning Thursday night. And Quicken Loans Arena is planning to hold watch parties for all of them. On top of that, ESPN is broadcasting several shows during the finals, live from the Hofbrauhaus restaurant near Playhouse Square.

Cleveland police spokeswoman Jennifer Ciaccia says after having so many large events -- including the NBA Finals the past two years, the World Series and the Republican Convention -- the department is ready for all the activity thanks to several partnerships.

“RTA police, the FBI, the ATF, marshals, the sheriff's office [and] our state police all come together to assist us when we have these big-scale events.”

Ciaccia also says security preparations quietly begin well before each event.

“Things like officers walking foot beats around the area and maybe even conducting sweeps with the bomb unit and with dogs. And all of those are precautionary steps that we take in advance to ensure events stay safe.”

Ciaccia adds that the department always asks the public, “if you see something, say something," which she says is a key component of their efforts at community policing.

NBA Finals 2017:

Game 1 – Thu. June 1: @Golden State, 9 p.m.
Game 2 – Sun. June 4: @Golden State, 8 p.m.
Game 3 – Wed. June 7: home, 9 p.m.
Game 4 – Fri. June 9: home, 9 p.m.
Game 5 - Mon. June 12: @Golden State, 9 p.m. (if necessary)
Game 6 - Thu. June 15: home, 9 p.m. (if necessary)
Game 7 - Sun. June 18: @Golden State, 8 p.m. (if necessary)

ESPN will be at Hofbrauhaus Cleveland on the following dates:

Tuesday, June 6
Wednesday, June 7
Thursday, June 8
Friday, June 9
Wednesday, June 14 (if necessary)
Thursday, June 15 (if necessary)
Friday, June 16 (if necessary)

The shows are open to the public, and seating opens about 90 minutes before the start of each program: "First Take" is 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and "The Jump" is 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.