Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert has "killed" a $140M deal to renovate Quicken Loans Arena "following a months-long battle over financing," according to a front-page piece by Karen Farkas of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. The move "comes eight months after the Cavs announced the planned transformation of the arena, aimed at making the 22-year-old building competitive by creating more space for dining, bars and public gathering." Community groups "opposed spending tax money on the upgrades." And 18 days ago, the Ohio Supreme Court "ordered Cleveland City Council Clerk Pat Britt to accept referendum petitions submitted by a coalition that opposes Cleveland's use of tax dollars for the upgrades." The court ruling "left the project in limbo." The team cited delays in construction and said that it "pushes the overall price tag of the project higher due to rising construction costs." The team added, "In addition, a time sensitive financing package that included historically low interest rates would be negatively impacted by further delay due to a prospective referendum exposing the project to an expected higher interest rate environment." The Cavs had "hoped to begin work right after the playoffs ended in June." The NBA recently "warned Cleveland that if work on the upgrades did not start by Sept. 15, the city's bid for the All-Star Game" in either '20 or '21 would "not be considered" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 8/29).
ON THE MOVE? In Akron, Marla Ridenour noted Gilbert backing out of the renovations could be "opening the door for the team to move or be sold" in '27, when the current lease expires. The deal would have "extended the Cavs’ lease" through '34. The team said in a statement that the proposed referendum "pushed up the costs of the project," adding the cost of a new arena would be $500-800M. The team added that the $70M in public funding was to have come from the "existing admissions tax" on every ticket sold for arena events from '23-34 and a "portion of the existing Cuyahoga County bed tax, paid primarily by visitors to the city." The Cavaliers had "committed to covering any and all construction cost overruns" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 8/29). In Cleveland, Robert Higgs writes, "When the team's lease is up, will it stay in Cleveland without a new arena? Or will it move elsewhere in the region or somewhere else across the country?" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 8/29).
