Cuyahoga County (Ohio) "is preparing to finance" $60.4M worth of repairs and upgrades to Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena that "include a new scoreboard" for the Indians and roof for the Cavaliers, according to Mark Naymik of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. County Exec Armond Budish's administration "sponsored and introduced legislation Tuesday to cover these costs" through the sale of $65M of bonds that "will be repaid by the county's latest 20-year tax on alcohol and cigarettes, which voters approved" in '14. This is the "first proposed distribution of the so-called sin tax that is expected to raise" $260M for Progressive Field, Quicken Loans Arena and FirstEnergy Stadium. The $60.4M "is the cost of repairs and upgrades that the county is obligated to cover per its respective leases" with the Cavs and Indians. Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert "has fronted the money for some high-profile improvements at the Q" that non-profit Gateway Economic Development Corp. "is obligated to cover, such as the new scoreboard and sound system that were installed before the start of last season." The franchise "is already working on replacing the flat and curved roofs of arena and will likely have to front the costs." The Indians prior to the '15 MLB season paid for $26M of upgrades that taxpayers "were not required to cover per the lease." But taxpayers "are on the hook for the new scoreboard and sound system, flooring in balcony areas and a new paint job." The Cavs and Indians "have previously shared an estimated" $135M worth of fixes they are "expected to request from sin tax money over the next decade." The teams have said that they "hope the sin tax money will be split evenly between the three stadiums." But that decision "ultimately rests with County Council, which has yet to make a decision" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 10/15).
