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7/31/2015
AUGUST 3 - 9, 2015
2:26 PM
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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
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Republican debate packs the house for local hotels By DAN SHINGLER dshingler@crain.com
CLEVELAND CLINIC PHOTOGRAPHY
Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao is shown with Dr. Richard Parker, right, during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
THE RIGHT MEDICINE Cavs doctor’s difficult task is made more hectic by his role with Clinic By TIMOTHY MAGAW tmagaw@crain.com
Just as the Boston Celtics’ now-vilified big man Kelly Olynyk pulled on Kevin Love’s arm during the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Dr. Richard Parker jumped from his seat, over a guard rail and sprinted into the training room at almost the same time as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ star power forward. “I just knew that something wasn’t right,” said Parker, the Cavs’ head team physician and recently named president of Marymount Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic’s 315-bed community hospital in Garfield Heights. Love’s injury — ultimately diagnosed as a torn labrum and dislocated shoulder — was a devastating blow for the team, and, for better or worse, one of the most memorable moments of the season for Parker. The team’s success early on hinged on two things: developing chemistry and staying healthy. That chemistry came together despite some early struggles, but it was the team’s health that would be its undoing during its deep playoff run. The even-keeled Parker boasts a critically important role within the Cavaliers organization. That’s especially the case during this offseason as two of the team’s biggest assets — Love and Kyrie Irving — recover from significant injuries in anticipation of another trek in which the Cavs are the odds-on favorites to win a championship. And with a playoff-destined team like the Cavs, that pressure is compounded. Parker said a single playoff game, for instance, can take the toll of five regular-season games on players’ bodies because of the intensity at which they play. Parker and his team of caregivers are tasked with ensuring a group of some of the world’s best athletes can compete at the highest levels during one of the longest and most-grueling seasons in professional
sports. It’s an intriguing role, too, given that Parker isn’t a direct employee of the Cavs, but rather the Clinic, which has contractual relationship with the Cavs to provide medical services. At times, Parker said that sort of relationship can create some tension with players or coaches, especially when limiting a star’s playing time is involved. “At the end of the day, my role is to allow the athlete to reach his or her maximum athletic potential but never do anything that would jeopardize their health or length of their career,” Parker said. “That is really what we do.” One of those players who credits Parker with extending his career is Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the former Cavaliers center who was plagued with foot injuries early in his career.
“There’s always a lot of pressure on the doctors. But Dr. Parker’s always been on point and done the right thing. He always puts the players’ health first, even if that means sometimes fighting the player to keep them off the floor.” – Zydrunas Ilgauskas former Cavaliers center It was only a few months into Parker’s tenure as team physician when Ilgauskas, or Z as he’s affectionately known, felt a crippling pain in his left foot after taking a shot during a game against Miami. Parker and Ilgauskas visited a handful of specialists around the country before settling on one in Baltimore to perform the reconstruction surgery. At that time, Parker persuaded Ilgauskas and the Cavaliers organization that a twoyear recovery lay ahead — a recovery that would include limiting Ilgauskas’ minutes
on the floor, even if it meant benching one of the team’s strongest players at a critical point in a game. One time, Parker recalls Ilgauskas being benched as the game went into overtime after hitting his 32-minute ceiling. “I remember sitting in the stands, and Z and (former Cavaliers coach) John Lucas were so mad at me,” Parker said. “You can imagine some of the four-letter words that were thrown at me. But at the end of the day, Z was able to end his career on his own terms.” The NBA is tough business, even so for the docs, Ilgauskas told Crain’s in a recent interview. For instance, they’re dealing with strong-willed players but also the team owners who are paying out multimilliondollar paychecks and expect players to perform even in the face of injury. “There’s always a lot of pressure on the doctors,” Ilgauskas said. “But Dr. Parker’s always been on point and done the right thing. He always puts the players’ health first, even if that means sometimes fighting the player to keep them off the floor.” He added, “He’s really old school and does the right thing.” When Parker began his tenure with the Cavs, it was an eight- or nine-month a year gig, whereas today it’s a year-round responsibility. That responsibility even includes draft-time recognizance — something of which he’s particularly proud of his role over the last few years. “It just keeps escalating and evolving. It’s a bigger and bigger business,” Parker said. “There’s so much more scouting and assessing of talent. Everybody’s trying to figure out what is the magic way of predicting the future — not only in terms of winning and losing — but predicting injuries.”
Balancing act When Parker began his medical training, he never considered sports medicine as a See MEDICINE, page 5
With about 4,500 ticket holders and an unknown number of media representatives coming downtown for the Aug. 6 Republican primary debate of presidential candidates, hotels in the city center expect to be full to capacity — even if Quicken Loans Arena won’t be. Most of the big downtown hotels report that they are either sold out already, or expect to be in the days leading up to the event. “A lot of hotels, us included, already had a large group base over that time frame, so our availability was limited. But we did pick up some more blocks (of guests),” said Brian Ludford, director of sales at the Radisson Hotel Cleveland-Gateway. Ludford said some other events, most notably a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses being held at Cleveland State University, will keep his and other downtown hotels busy before the debate. The Radisson is half a block from Quicken Loans Arena, where the debate will be held — but if you want a room that close to the action, it might be too late. “We’ve had calls from Fox News and others, but we had to tell them we were full,” Ludford said. Nearby, at the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland, sales and marketing director Lynn Coletto said she’s seeing a nice bump in room sales from the debate as well. “Absolutely, there’s been great demand and excitement for the Republican debate. And, because of that, we’re putting together some special events,” Coletto said. Those will likely include some sort of themed decorations for the lobby, as well as a Dixieland jazz band, she said. The hotel also is trying to decide on a gift to leave with guests in town for the debate. “We’re not sure what it will be. We’re deciding that right now,” Coletto said. “Sometimes it’s food, sometimes it’s beverage, sometimes it’s a keepsake — maybe it will be little elephant lapel pins.” At the Renaissance Cleveland on Public Square, general manager Steve Groppe said he’s also getting new business from the debate. “We’re very busy next week,” Groppe said. “At this point, we’re very close to being sold out, if we’re not already.” The same is true for the Hyatt Regency Cleveland at the Arcade, said its director of sales, Angela Perry. She said the hotel expects to sell out its 293 rooms for the nights around the debate, based on initial demand. Tickets for the debate itself are no longer available, and Fox News, which is organizing the event, has limited seating to about 4,500 people, even though the arena can hold more than 20,000. But then, organizers aren’t necessarily looking to generate the crowd noise of an NBA Finals game. Local tourism officials, however, are looking to make as much media noise as they can — and say the debate will help to show off Cleveland and its ongoing revitalization. They also say the event will be good for business in and of itself. “Any time that a large-scale event like this takes place in Cleveland, it gives the city a chance to shine — to those in attendance as well as to those who are at home watching,” said David Gilbert, president and CEO of Destination Cleveland. “Attendees will get to experience our revitalization first-hand through the hospitality of those who work in our hotels, bars, restaurants and attractions. In turn, hosting the debate attendees will create an impact for our local businesses,” he added.