Rocket Arena has made several additions over the past few years — restaurants, private clubs, even fake “Cavalanche” snow — but this season, the Cavaliers focused on subtracting something.
Lines.
When fans entered the arena for the home opener on Sunday, Oct. 26, they got their first look at both the 2025-26 Cavs and a new way to shop.
The Center Court team store debuted a checkout system powered by RFID technology from EXO that lets fans drop items into a bin, see their total appear instantly on a tablet, and pay on-screen.
“It’s pretty crazy watching how fast people can move through,” said Chris Kaiser, the Cavaliers’ chief marketing officer. “It used to take about three minutes to get through a normal register. Now it’s probably half that — maybe even less as people get used to it.”
The technology — short for radio frequency identification — uses small chips embedded in price tags that are read automatically when placed in the bin. The Cavs are among the first NBA teams to install the self-checkout system, and they believe it helped contribute to the second-highest home-opener retail sales night in team history, led by classic edition jerseys featuring Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
“We know it’s going to help because if people see shorter lines and can have a better experience, that just feels like it’s going to help our business,” said Kaiser, who said team officials got the idea for the technology after seeing something similar at the Masters golf tournament. “We’ll be able to quantify it better as we compare this season to previous years.”
For now, each station still has an associate nearby to help fans get used to the process — more like a grocery store self-checkout than a traditional register. Staff are on hand to spot-check transactions and assist with things like barcode scans or membership discounts. Kaiser said the rollout has been smooth, and early results are close to what the team had hoped for.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve the fan experience at Rocket Arena,” he said. “It’s all about throughput — no lines, no waiting. If people want to get gear and they’re fired up about the Cavs, we want to make sure as many people can get through as possible.”
The same system is in place at the team’s Center Court store at Pinecrest, which opened in April. That store has been a hit so far — the team is on pace to top 4,500 orders within the first six months of its opening.
“It’s actually even cooler out there,” Kaiser said. “You can drop all your items in a bag and run it through this little port — it adds up your total and shows it on the tablet. It definitely feels like a very premium experience.”
Retail sales at all outlets are up 34.4% over last year, part of a steady climb since Donovan Mitchell’s arrival and the team’s push into lifestyle and collaborative merchandise. That figure includes all Rock Entertainment Group (REG) properties — the Cavaliers, Cleveland Monsters, Cleveland Charge and the WNBA team scheduled to debut in 2028.
The growth reflects how REG’s retail business has become more diversified and less dependent on the Cavs’ on-court performance, Kaiser said.
“The City Edition collection was super successful last year and the team obviously started off 15-0, which always helps,” he said. “But we’re also becoming less and less reliant on jerseys, which has always been a core part of the business. It still is the core of our retail business, but with the way we’ve shifted to lifestyle brands and some of the collabs we’ve done, it’s allowed us to become a little more loss-proof or team performance-proof.
“So, hopefully, we’re kind of raising that watermark and we’ll keep it high regardless of what the situation is on the court.”
The upcoming WNBA team — which will get its name and colors in the first quarter of 2026 — should help drive that growth. Early merchandise has been fairly simple: orange, black and white variations featuring the WNBA logo alongside “Cleveland” or “CLE.” Even so, sales have been strong.
Jerseys likely won’t be available until late 2027, when the team adds players through the expansion draft, but fans won’t have to wait that long for other merchandise.
“We should have a full assortment of gear and everything else right out of the gates,” Kaiser said.
Ultimately, the RFID rollout is part of a larger effort by REG to keep improving the fan experience — not just boost sales.
“It’s good for business,” Kaiser said. “But more than that, it’s good for fans — getting them back in their seats to watch a team we hope can win the East this year.”