CLEVELAND — Cleveland City Council voted Monday to approve $20 million toward stadium repairs at Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, where the Cleveland Guardians and Cavaliers play. 

What You Need To Know

  • Gateway Economic Development Corporation, the nonprofit that owns the facilities, says Cuyahoga County’s sin tax on cigarettes and alcohol is no longer enough to cover the rising cost of materials and labor for repairs

  • The group is now dealing with a $40 million funding gap

  • They say the team’s lease agreements imply the city and county will cover the cost of capital repairs if the sin tax isn’t sufficient

Gateway Economic Development Corporation, the nonprofit that owns the facilities, says Cuyahoga County’s sin tax on cigarettes and alcohol is no longer enough to cover the rising cost of materials and labor for repairs.

The group is now dealing with a $40 million funding gap and is asking the city and county to split the difference, paying $20 million dollars each.

They say the team’s lease agreements imply the city and county will cover the cost of capital repairs if the sin tax isn’t sufficient. 

Council’s finance committee voted to allocate $10 million from projects that don’t yet require funding, $5 million in pandemic relief dollars and another $5 million from the general fund surplus. 

Several council members say city money could be better spent on resources for residents and raised concerns about the sustainability of the sin tax. 

Council president Blaine Griffin said he is working with Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration to find alternative revenue streams for stadium repairs moving forward.

“I do want to make sure that everybody knows that we do have obligations and responsibilities as this body. Moving forward, I do commit to bringing Gateway, as well as others, back in front of this council, so that we can do a deeper dive on modeling of funds and also how the decision making process is made through the FCA," Griffin said.

Cuyahoga County Council is also considering legislation to allocate $20 million for Gateway and are expected to vote in the coming weeks.