Cleveland’s $100 million settlement with the Browns will (eventually) get a city-owned NFL stadium off of City Hall’s balance sheet. But the city has two other professional sports liabilities to worry about: Progressive Field and Rocket Arena.
The upkeep of those two venues took over the conversation this week during a roundtable about the Browns deal with reporters and members of Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration.
The 31-year-old homes of the Guardians and Cavaliers consumed an extra $40 million of city and county resources last year. That’s because the usual source of money for repairs, the countywide sin tax on cigarettes and alcohol, is largely tapped out.
How will the city’s deal allowing the Browns to go to Brook Park affect Cleveland’s relationship with the other two teams? Bradford Davy, the mayor’s chief of staff, said City Hall wants the ball club and basketball team to stay where they are.
“We want to keep the Cavs and the Guardians playing in our urban core, in our central city, in our downtown, in our Gateway district,” he said. “We are going to have to make sure that those relationships are strong and thoughtful.”
Does that mean the city will pay Gateway Economic Development Corp., which owns the two stadiums, for future repairs? Davy said the city should look for revenue sources other than the pot of money that pays for basic city services.
“The general revenue fund cannot be held accountable, it cannot be the backstop, it cannot be the main funding mechanism for sports in Cleveland,” he said.
One idea is to create a special district, known as a new community authority, to raise money from businesses in the Gateway area. So far, it’s just an idea.
This chapter of the Browns saga may be over, but there are more questions about stadium subsidies waiting on the next page.
