Gay Games Set for Cleveland Despite Split

Organizers of the Gay Games say Cleveland won't lose the 2014 event despite the organization's break with the nonprofit group that submitted the city's winning bid.

Federation of Gay Games spokesman Kelly Stevens told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland Friday that the federation decided during the Cologne Games in early August that the international LGBT sporting event would remain in Cleveland in 2014. The resolution came after the federation broke its ties with the Cleveland Synergy Foundation, which campaigned with the idea that having the Gay Games in a more conservative city like Cleveland, as opposed to gay epicenters like Boston and Washington, D.C., which had both sought the Games, would help change hearts and minds concerning gay rights.

"I think D.C. and Boston could do a great Games," Stevens said. "The site selection group said all three cities were capable of producing the Games. Cleveland, we felt, is where we could really make a difference, and the total package was the best choice."