Cleveland Journalism Hall of Famer Roldo Bartimole speaks publicly against the sin tax extension. Credit: ERIC SANDY/SCENE

Cleveland Journalism Hall of Famer Roldo Bartimole speaks publicly against the sin tax extension.

  • ERIC SANDY/SCENE
  • Cleveland Journalism Hall of Famer Roldo Bartimole speaks publicly against the sin tax extension.

Members of the public listened to impassioned pleas from Indians, Cavs and Browns’ top brass today. The sports management leaders, in short, want to continue the running tap of tax dollars to rehab their stadiums.

The teams’ reps rattled off their respective wish lists and financial specs during a County Council hearing on Tuesday. In sum, repairs to FirstEnergy Stadium will total $80 million; repairs to Progressive Field will total $60 to $70 million; and repairs to the Q will total $55 to $65 million (all figures are over the next 10 years). The big question on the day was what, precisely, the teams were looking to buy and/or repair.

“This is about so much more than scoreboards!” Jim Roman of the Greater Cleveland Partnership said, citing the oft-reported upgrades at FirstEnergy Stadium. The teams provided lists of what they’d hope to cover with the money – including air handling units, sound systems, escalators, water heaters and, over at the Q, an HD-video scoreboard.

To get to those details, those in attendance had to wade through all sorts of congratulatory background information from the teams. Reps lauded Cleveland sports franchises’ generosity to the community and commitment to excellence both on the field and off the field. It was all pretty boilerplate rah-rah stuff. There was even a weird video that showed everyone how cool Cleveland sports can be. Downtown! East Fourth! The “Wave”! It all served to set up the request for more cash money.

Apart from Councilwoman Sunny Simon’s inquiry about only extending the sin tax for 10 years (the current issue seeks a 20-year extension), no real financial alternatives were presented.

The resolution to place the sin tax extension measure on the May ballot was referred back to County Council, where it will be read a second time during the next regular meeting. The deadline to get the issue on the ballot is Feb. 5.

This article appears in Jan 15-21, 2014.

Eric Sandy is an award-winning Cleveland-based journalist. For a while, he was the managing editor of Scene. He now contributes jam band features every now and then.

8 replies on “Dispatches from Cuyahoga County’s Public Sin Tax Meeting”

  1. Again i say….let owners …the players. . And ticket holders pay for it……only about one percent of clevelanders go to the games

  2. Whether you agree with the sin tax concept, or oppose it, the readers could do without the typically snarky tone of this piece. C’mon Scene-if you wish to be relevant to the readership once again, you should give your readers a little credit; or barring the implementation of any journalistic standards at least label such writing “opinion.”

  4. I absolutely hate sports!!.I like beer.I buy beer. I dont Buy Sports tickets. Let the people that are going to the games be taxed.Makes total sense.You people that go to the games dont get taxed for my beer as Im at home.Why should I get taxed because you want to go to a game.Figure it out and pay for it for yourselves!!Just the billionares trying to get over on us supposed little people that live near the freakin sports palaces again.

  5. Were members of the public allowed to speak at this meeting? If so, this article does not reflect that fact. All I read is what the big wigs want–nothing about what the public wants.

    If this goes through, every person living in Cuyahoga County should travel outside the county to purchase items with a “sin tax”.

  6. I’m baffled by this — Why should taxpayers be expected to upgrade stadiums when owners of other CLE businesses would never even ask. It’s laughable. Why, for example, would Dan Gilbert expect taxpayers to help with the Q when he would never (hopefully) ask for them to help re-carpet the casino?

  7. The answer is simple — a 20-year user’s fee on all single-game tickets, season tickets, partial season-ticket plans and “loge” seating, along with a surcharge on all merchandise purchased at team shops inside the facilities. It is hilarious – though – how the career politicians scramble around like little kids on Christmas morning when the hacks from pro franchises come calling….but too often can’t be found when a “regular” businessman comes knocking on the door in search of assistance just to level an uneven playing field in this region.

  8. This is stupid. Haslem just made $100 million, and got another $30 or so million from the city. Gilbert rakes in how many millions per month from his casino cash cow that everyone gave him. Dolan spent nothing for his entire ownership except for last year, so you know he’s loaded too. Yet all these guys want everyone to pay for their stadiums? Why? Because our sports teams bring us joy? Do they make us happy, or give us something to believe in? Shit, do they even entertain us, which is what “entertainment” is supposed to be all about? No, no, and hell no. Our sports teams are basically a joke, and serve as glorified farm teams for the real teams in the league. If you enjoy going to the games, YOU pay for the improvements. The rest of us can stay home and buy a case of beer for what it costs you to get 2-3 beers at a sporting event.

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