The City of Cleveland will pay $20 million for repairs and upgrades to Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse Downtown.
City Council members, some of whom were still skeptical and critical of the owners' ask, approved the funding request Monday after a month of discussions between the city and Gateway, the nonprofit that owns the sports facilities.
Three-quarters of the money will come from the city’s general fund, which is mostly supported by taxpayers and pays for city services. $10 million of that $15 million were unused bonds moved to the general fund.
The remaining $5 million will come from federal pandemic relief dollars. This was a compromise made between the administration and City Council members, many of whom were wary of sacrificing $20 million of the general fund despite projections for increased revenue.
"[Our residents] got to deal with a lot of abject poverty in their house. But then we turn around and we give $20 million to this?" said Ward 9 Council Member Kevin Conwell at a Monday committee meeting. "I mean, just go for a walk sometime and see what we're talking about in our shoes. ... The $20 million, we can build playgrounds and do other quality of life for our residents in a depressed area. So it's a tale of two cities."
Despite some vocal opposition, City Council Blaine Griffin told members that failing to fund basic repairs to elevators, HVAC systems and concrete could result in costly litigation and possibly cause the nonprofit to default on its leases. If that happened, the city could end up responsible for the stadium — and the repair costs — anyway.
"The responsible thing, as hard and tough as it is for us to pass this, is for this council to do this so that we can avoid even more money," Griffin told his colleagues.
Griffin also said the investment in the city’s professional sports teams is necessary to spur long-term economic growth for taxpayers.
"That's something we have to articulate better to the community: When we do these things that it actually is a return on their investment and not something where we're just handing out money to millionaires," he said. "This is an investment where we're trying to leverage a corporate and private entity to make more investments throughout our city."
As part of their rental agreements, the teams are responsible for paying insurance and property taxes, as well as any major renovations that are not deemed necessary.
Some of the improvements and repairs are already underway.
In the 1990s, Gateway assumed ownership of Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse from the city and Cuyahoga County, respectively. Its budget comes from the county's sin tax, a tax on tobacco and alcohol.
Gateway representatives came before council in late October to tell members that the sin tax has fallen short by $44 million, asking the city and county to split $40 million in overage. It's unclear where the remaining $4 million will come from.
Council members cautioned Gateway to consider a more sustainable funding model to avoid future asks. As part of a long-term funding plan, city council also approved the creation of a Downtown community authority that could bring in money by charging fees on parking, food or hotels.
