What election? In the last week of the 2024 campaign, stadium politics are what’s capturing Cleveland’s headlines.
As Cleveland City Hall and the Browns prepared to tussle in court over the Modell Law, the Cavaliers and the Guardians came calling. Through their nonprofit landlord, Gateway Economic Development Corp., the teams are seeking $40 million for ballpark and arena repairs.
Gateway is obligated to make the repairs under the team leases. But the county’s tax on alcohol and cigarettes — the usual source of money — is stretched too thin. (The work includes upgrading broadcast equipment and 30-year-old elevators at the FieldHouse.)
The city and county could make up the difference if each cuts a $20 million check. But what about the repairs that come after these? And the ones after that? If the sin tax won’t cut it, what’s the long-term solution?
Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne said he’s looking for one. After a media event at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Tuesday, he said he’s talking with the Cavaliers, the Guardians and Gateway about finding money for future repairs.
“But we are not yet concrete in terms of what our long-term solution is,” he told Signal Cleveland. “Because it’s a conversation that’s probably also going to have to include the public.”
He didn’t specify exactly what he meant by including the public. But it’s not outlandish to think the question of stadium repairs could one day go back to voters. Cuyahoga County has cast ballots three times since 1990 to pass and extend the sin tax.
“The Cavs are in first place. They’re a lovable team,” Ronayne continued. “The Guardians just finished a great run deep into the playoffs. People love these teams. But we need to acknowledge that these facilities are now 30 years old. And as we acknowledge that, we have to think about how do we fix these old houses.”
One team was missing from that list.
“The Monsters?” the hockey fan county executive joked.
The missing team, of course, was the Browns. Like Mayor Justin Bibb, Ronayne has opposed the NFL franchise’s effort to move to Brook Park. He suggested that the road to county money led through downtown Cleveland.
“Until they come back to the table about being downtown, they are a missing piece in the puzzle for long-term stadium finance,” Ronayne said of the Browns, “because we haven’t committed to any financing in their move outside the City of Cleveland.”
Ronayne sat shoulder-to-shoulder on Tuesday with Cavaliers CEO Nic Barlage. Despite some past friction over Gateway, the two executives teamed up to headline an early voting press event in the FieldHouse’s glassy atrium.
Barlage told attendees that he saw the 850,000-square-foot facility as “Cleveland’s community center.” He highlighted its role as an Election Day polling location for downtown voters.
It’s not yet clear whether voters in a future election will walk into the FieldHouse to decide how to keep paying for the building’s repairs.
