Cleveland Cavaliers owner Daniel Gilbert has called off the $140M deal to renovate Quicken Loans Arena. The move comes about eight months after he announced plans to revamp the 22-year-old facility, adding more dining, bars and other public gathering space.
The Cleveland City Council approved using $88M in admissions taxes gathered over 11 years to partly fund the project. Community groups, led by Greater Cleveland Congregations, objected to that plan, gathering enough signatures via petition to put the subsidy up for a vote, Cleveland.com reports. Last month, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that City Council Clerk Pat Britt had to accept the referendum petitions.
The referendum vote would probably not have been until next year. The Cavaliers organization, in a statement, said the delay made the project unfeasible.
The NBA recently told the team that if upgrades did not start by Sept. 15, the city's bid for the All-Star Game in 2020 or 2021 would not be considered. The team would have agreed to extend its lease at the facility until 2034 under the terms of the financing deal, but now it could move as soon as 2027.
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