CLEVELAND, Ohio – There will be people who don’t like the terms of the new lease agreement between Tribe owner Paul Dolan, Cuyahoga County, the City of Cleveland and the state of Ohio.
Some will be angry and say taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for any of the $435 million deal to extend the lease for at least 15 years to keep the Major League Baseball team in Cleveland.
This is a complicated deal with the funding breaking down like this:
1. $150 million from the Dolans.
2. $138 million from Cuyahoga County.
3. $117 million from Cleveland.
4. $30 million from the state of Ohio.
There will be second-guessing from all directions, including some who think the team needs a new stadium with a roof.
But who was going to pay for that in this economy in Cleveland?
And there will be others who will insist, “If the team won’t pay for everything, let them leave.”
Does Cleveland really want to lose its baseball team?
Cleveland/Akron is the No. 19 media market in the country. It’s the smallest with teams in the NFL, NBA and MLB.
If you consider the use of public funds for enterprises such a sports venues, a MLB team delivers about 81 home dates each season. More if there is a postseason.
An arena with an NBA team has 41 home dates most years, plus lots of other events.
The worst investment is a football stadium, with about 10 games (preseason and regular season) a year along with a few other events.
I yawn when public officials estimate how many billions of dollars a pro team or a big event is worth to a city. They are guessing and often use very creative math. But pro sports, concerts, etc. do bring in huge dollars in terms of taxes and benefit to businesses. That’s common sense.
THE NAME CHANGE, THE TEAM
I received many emails insisting the Tribe was about to move, partly because the Dolan ownership changed the nickname to The Guardians for the 2022 season.
That sounded good, but if you plan to move a team you keep the old name – and change it when you relocate. Or at least you should, or you end up with strange combinations as the Utah (once New Orleans) Jazz and the Memphis (once Vancouver) Grizzlies.
You can criticize the Dolans for their small payrolls, especially this season.
But their commitment to Cleveland has been strong during their entire 21 years owning the franchise. As Paul Dolan said when the name change was announced, his is a five-generation Cleveland family.
He was not going to be the guy who moves the baseball team and goes down in history with Art Modell for shipping the NFL Browns to Baltimore.
BETTER EARLY THAN LATE
The Tribe had two more years (2022/2023) left on the current lease.
The team worked hard with the various public entities to construct a new lease to cool the speculation about leaving, rather than drag it out.
This is a pure compromise deal. When that happens, no one on any side tends to be completely pleased.
That’s the nature of compromise.
It’s also how big issues like this often are solved.
Cleveland city and Cuyahoga County politicians still have to approve the deal. There will be stormy speeches before this is settled.
But in the end, most reasonable people should see that keeping the MLB franchise in Cleveland is important – and this new lease deal makes that happen.
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