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Zoldan to bring Jim Brown, DeBartolo Jr. to Cavs game
By Tom Williams
When tonight’s NBA Finals Game 3 tips off at Quicken Loans Arena, the Mahoning Valley will be represented by sports executives past and present.
Bruce Zoldan, a longtime Cleveland Cavaliers season ticket-holder who co-owns the Youngstown Phantoms hockey team, has courtside seats. His guests tonight will include Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown and Eddie DeBartolo Jr., former owner of the San Francisco 49ers who may someday join Brown in Canton.
Also attending the Finals will be Jeffrey Ryznar, owner of Eight Nine Eight Marketing in Canfield. Ryznar, an Ursuline graduate from Austintown, served as the Cavaliers’ Director of Strategic Marketing from August 2007 through October 2011.
Ryznar said the Cavs consider the Youngstown market a hotbed for supporters, even in the years when LeBron James played for the Miami Heat (2010-14).
His excitement at the thought of ending Cleveland’s 50-plus years of no championships is genuine.
“Youngstown is a large market for the Cavs,” said Ryznar, calling the chance for a crown “huge. The organization, the team and every fan in Youngstown and everywhere else, is ... well, simply stated All In!” Ryznar said.
When the Cavs last appeared in the NBA Finals in June 2007, Zoldan’s guests were Brown (the Browns running back on Cleveland’s last title team who sometimes advises his old team) and then-Ohio State University head coach Jim Tressel.
Zoldan, the Phantom Fireworks CEO who attended Saturday’s Belmont Stakes race in New York, said DeBartolo is bringing his grandson to the game. DeBartolo owned the 49ers when they won five Super Bowls from 1982-1995.
Zoldan commented on what an amazing month it would be if the Cavs end Cleveland’s championship despair a week or so after the 37-year Triple Crown drought was snapped by American Pharoah.
“It would mean so much for all of Northeast Ohio, and really, the whole state of Ohio,” Zoldan said.
Of Belmont Park, he said, “There was electricity in the air, without a doubt. It wasn’t for the gambling, it wasn’t about making money. It was about seeing history made.”
Zoldan was co-owner of Animal Kingdom when the horse won the 2011 Kentucky Derby.
“When the race ended, people were hugging each other whether they had bet on American Pharoah or not,” Zoldan said. “They just witnessed history.”
Ryznar said he hopes Cavs fans will see their own piece of history made. A graduate of Miami University, Ryznar went to the Cavs from a Chicago advertising agency.
One of his responsibilities was developing a marketing plan that incorporated social media to reach fans. The Cavs were one of the first NBA teams to send text alerts to mobile phones.
He was involved with ticket sales, corporate partnerships, marketing and digital initiatives to identify emerging markets and grow the brand.
“We wanted to develop a plan, not just slap a logo,” Ryznar said.
He said he loved working for the team, but it was no 9-to-5 day at the office.
“In sports, there are no typical 9-to-5 days,” Ryznar said.
His colleagues would go in to the facility around 6 a.m. to play basketball, then work from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on non-gamedays.
Games meant late nights, especially when the Cavs were on the road outside the Eastern time zone.
Ryznar left the Cavs when another opportunity arose. He and his wife, Dr. Meredythe Mimi McNally, have two daughters: Maeryn, 3, and Kyra, 1.
Everyone agrees on the Cavaliers and Indians, but their home is a house divided during NFL season. Ryznar is a lifelong Steelers fan while Meredythe is a Browns fan. His oldest daughter sides with her mother.
Zoldan said he invited Brown to the Finals because of his connection to Cleveland’s last championship team.
“Obviously, he’d like to see the Browns win a title, but the Cavs are very important to him,” Zoldan said.
Ryznar said he feels for the Cleveland fans longing for a parade.
“I don’t think the people of Northeast Ohio are recognized for how dedicated they’ve been even through the lean times,” Ryznar said.
Zoldan said he wants to see Cleveland’s reputation of being cursed evaporate.
“It would be something for all to be proud of,” Zoldan said.
As for the other championship series going on, Zoldan said he hopes the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup. Each team in the final has a former Phantom playing. Chicago’s Brandon Saad was a Mahoning Valley Phantom from 2008-09 and won the Cup two years ago. Andrej Sustr is a second-year defenseman with the Lightning and was one of the original Youngstown Phantoms (2009-10). Phantoms head coach Jon Cooper was once a guest at Zoldan’s home when the MV Phantoms hosted the NAHL championship in 2006.
“I cheered very hard for Brandon Saad to win in his rookie season and I’m a fan of every team that has one of my former players,” Zoldan said. “This time, I’m for someone new to win”.