Source: The Washington Post / Getty
CLEVELAND – As the debate over renovations to Quicken Loans Arena has waged on, one of the arguments in favor of putting taxpayer money toward ‘the Q’ has been that it would help bring an NBA All-Star Game to Cleveland.
Those plans, however, appear to be on hold.
Last month, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert in a letter that if construction on the proposed Quicken Loans Arena transformation project didn’t begin by Sept. 15, Cleveland would fall out the running to host either the 2020 or 2021 All-Star Games. And when the Ohio Supreme Court ruled last week that the City of Cleveland must review petitions against the Q’s proposed $140 million renovations, it all but assured the arena upgrades wouldn’t meet Tatum’s deadline.
Per Cleveland Crain’s Kevin Kleps:
The next step is determining whether the referendum will be placed on the November ballot, or if it will be part of a special election early in 2018, which would cost Cleveland taxpayers another $763,600.
Either option would mean Cleveland would be out of the running to host one of the two All-Star Games.
A Cavs source told Crain’s that the organization hasn’t heard anything official from the league, but the source wasn’t certain that they would, since Tatum’s letter was “very clear.”
READ MORE: WKYC.com
Article Courtesy of Crain’s Cleveland Business and WKYC Channel 3 News Cleveland
Picture Courtesy of The Washington Post and Getty Images
