The Guardians’ frosty home opener wasn’t the team’s only action this week.
Representatives from the ball club, the Cavaliers and Gateway Economic Development Corp. visited Cleveland City Hall on Monday.
They were at 601 Lakeside to meet with Bradford Davy, Mayor Justin Bibb’s chief of staff, according to Gateway board chair GiGi Benjamin. A statement from City Hall said that Gateway met with “a handful of city officials to discuss various topics.”
You don’t need to be able to predict this year’s American League pennant winner to make an educated guess about those topics.
Gateway, the nonprofit that owns Progressive Field and Rocket Arena, needs money to pay for repairs at the two buildings. The countywide sin tax on alcohol and cigarettes hasn’t been cutting it, which is why Cleveland and Cuyahoga County coughed up $40 million last year.
One idea circulating City Hall is to create what’s called a “new community authority,” a special district to levy fees on businesses around the ballpark and arena. There has also been talk about increasing or extending the sin tax — a move that likely would require a change in state law and a countywide vote.
If nothing else, the meeting serves as a reminder that Browns stadium is not the only taxpayer-funded pro-sports facility that City Hall has to worry about.
Here today…
Speaking of Browns stadium, here’s this. Workers have been installing giant green letters spelling out the new name for the building at 100 Alfred Lerner Way: Huntington Bank Field.
As the stadium’s landlord, the City of Cleveland pays for major repairs. But according to City Hall, this particular work was not done at taxpayer expense.
