Hopefully the $140 million renovation of Quicken Loans Arena isn’t one of the selling the points the Cleveland Cavaliers planned to use on LeBron James when he enters free agency next summer.
Because it’s not happening.
From the Associated Press (via ESPN.com):
The team had hoped to upgrade the 22-year-old downtown facility with more dining spaces and a glass exterior. However, following opposition from community groups opposed to tax money being used, the NBA franchise has backed away from the project.
Construction had been scheduled to start in June but was held up by a prospective referendum being placed on the ballot by groups arguing that the city’s neighborhoods weren’t benefiting from the arena’s makeover.
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The Cavs had argued the arena was overdue for a face-lift and that the remodeling would help attract major concert acts and other events. The Q, as it is known locally, hosted the Republican National Convention in 2016.
The team also said the project would create over 2,500 construction jobs, increase the arena’s job base to 3,200 and increase tax revenues for the city and other neighborhoods.
The Cavaliers were planning to fund half the project, with the other $70 million coming from public funding.
Heaven forbid the Cavaliers, backed by billionaire owner Dan Gilbert, pay for the entire renovation of their arena, right? Particularly when the 2020 or 2021 NBA All-Star Game is on the line.
The league warned the Cavaliers that if construction on the project didn’t begin by mid-September, their bid for the 2020 or 2021 superstar exhibition would not actually be considered. The team has, previously, tried to leverage the possibility of hosting that game, along with all the jobs this renovation was supposed to create, as a way of justifying the public’s financial commitment.
With the makeover kiboshed, it’s now unlikely, if impossible, for the Cavaliers to make an adequate proposal. That might mean nothing. They can also try again or fire back up the project using most, or all, of their own money. But this move certainly does not portend a grander gesture in the near future from the organization. As pointed out in the original report, it wreaks of the Cavaliers and owner Dan Gilbert trying to save face, because they knew the $70 million they sought in public funding wouldn’t be approved.
