Cuyahoga County will borrow $14.5 million to help Gateway Economic Development Corp. pay the repair bills at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and Progressive Field.
On top of that, the county is giving $2.85 million in General Fund dollars to Gateway, the nonprofit that owns the ballpark and arena and oversees repairs. Another $2.65 million will come from interest generated by bond proceeds.
County Council approved the bond issuance and payment at its meeting Tuesday evening. Council recessed after a crowd chanted over the proceedings in protest of the county’s investment in Israel bonds. The body reconvened in an adjoining room at county headquarters
The county’s move, paired with Cleveland’s $20 million contribution, gives Gateway the $40 million it requested this fall.
The Guardians have outlined $19.5 million in repairs that Gateway has either approved or will soon consider. Among the items are swapping out old air handling units, fixing the ballpark’s subroof and replacing the emergency generator.
On the Cavaliers’ side of the ledger, Gateway has approved $24.4 million to replace elevators and a broadcast control room at the arena.
Gateway officials haven’t yet said how they’d cover the gap between the $44 million in projects and the roughly $40 million in city and county funding.
County Council Member Dale Miller, in a committee hearing on the proposal in November, argued that spending on repairs was preferable to building new stadiums.
“The key to our continuing to be a big-league sports town is that we maintain facilities in good condition, so that we don’t have to replace facilities every 25 years or so,” he said. “I know they’re doing that in some other cities, but we don’t have that kind of resources here.”
For years, Gateway has drawn on Cuyahoga County’s sin tax on alcohol and cigarettes to pay repair costs. But the sin tax isn’t keeping up with rising construction costs and the pace of repairs approved by Gateway.
That has left city and county officials searching for a new long-term source of money for the stadiums. Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin this week said he and County Executive Chris Ronayne have discussed seeking an increase in the sin tax. That would require a change in state law and a countywide vote.
More repair costs are expected after Gateway finishes its latest review of coming fixes needed at the ballpark.
This story has been updated to reflect the fact that Cuyahoga County will use interest income to round out its $20 million contribution.
