Days after a deal to fund renovations of Quicken Loans Arena collapsed, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert assured worried fans that he has no plans to try and move the franchise.
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Gilbert tweeted Thursday: "Let's put any silly rumors to rest: I will never move the Cleveland Cavaliers out of Cleveland. Period. And that's unconditional."
CLE,Let's put any silly rumors to rest: I will never move the Cleveland Cavaliers out of Cleveland. Period. And that's unconditional.@cavs
— Dan Gilbert (@cavsdan) August 31, 2017
While it's difficult to imagine even a post-LeBron James Cavaliers franchise leaving the city it has called home since 1970, the notion had been raised in some quarters after the team announced Monday it was bailing out on a public-private partnership to renovate The Q.
The Cavaliers had been slated to kick in half of the $140 million budgeted for the project, with the remaining $70 million coming from a tax on tickets sold for events at the arena and a bed tax for hotel rooms in the county. But the plan had drawn opposition locally, with thousands signing petitions requesting that the use of tax money be put before voters in a referendum.
As part of the terms of the deal, the Cavaliers would have extended their lease on the building through 2034. It currently expires in 2027, at which point Gilbert could decide to leave. But it sounds like he has no such intentions.
