At what point does the entire stadium, arena and ballpark situation in Ohio devolve into a realization that we’re existing in a world of bread and circuses?
The question comes on the heels of reports that the Cleveland Guardians and Cleveland Cavaliers will join the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals to seek money that sits in the state’s unclaimed funds account, which contains payments that could not reach their intended recipients for various reasons.
The Ohio General Assembly passed legislation last year that would make that revenue available for stadium projects throughout the state, establishing the Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility Performance Grant Fund with approximately $1 billion over the next two years.
Although the Browns are (tentatively) the first franchise to benefit from the law, being allocated $600 million in funds for their $2.4 billion Brook Park domed stadium project, it set a precedent that would surely open the floodgates.
The flood is here.
View from the Cuyahoga River of The Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center.
According to reports from Cleveland.com and Signal Cleveland, the Guardians ($65 million) and Cavaliers ($40 million) are seeking a combined $105 million for ongoing stadium repairs and improvements related to the arrival of the new WNBA franchise expected to begin play in 2028 at Rocket Arena.
For those two organizations, Cuyahoga County sin tax revenue is running dry or is at least woefully behind, trailing what it needs to be to the point where the county is considering asking voters to raise it, according to Signal.
A logical assumption is any grants from the fund will ease the tax burden to Cuyahoga County residents for those repairs and upgrades.
As a resident of the county who voted for the sin tax and went on to work for Gateway Economic Development Corporation, the nonprofit responsible for construction and upkeep of Progressive Field and Rocket Arena initially and would later include the Browns via another vote, I had little problem with that mechanism for funding those facilities.
Ohio politicians made unilateral decision regarding unclaimed funds
They were decided by the voters, not politicians susceptible to influence from owners, teams and leagues.
Therein lies the flaw with this current situation – voters receive no input. That’s probably with good reason. Places that are football strongholds such as Kansas City and Chicago have been reluctant to invest public funds to finance billionaires.
The sports landscape is vastly different from when the sin tax passed in 1990, extended in 1995 and again in 2014. Yes, I voted for both extensions, too. Sports franchise values have boomed. Jimmy Haslam paid just over $1 billion for the Browns in 2012. Its current valuation: $6.4 billion (Forbes ranking) or $7.14 (CNBC analysis). Dan Gilbert paid $375 million for the Cavs in 2005 and the team is now worth $4 billion, according to CNBC.
And leagues – particularly the NFL and NBA – have enjoyed record revenue from media rights, with the NFL set to go back to the bargaining table with its broadcast partners.
A view of the field from the new Huntington Bank Field, home of the Cleveland Browns.
Ohio sports teams like the Browns and Cavs need to foot the bill for facilities
In short, teams should be quite capable of lifting themselves up by their bootstraps — and the state and its politicians should not be doing anything to help.
Time changes perspective. At 26, I willingly forked over a few pennies per beer or shot of Jack Daniels, which was substantial given my alcohol consumption at the time. But nearly 61-year-old me? No, thanks.
Raising a family, contending with the day-to-day struggles of life of which personal finances play a significant role, change priorities.
When there’s the chance that working people are being pushed off healthcare and debates about how education should be funded with the primary mechanism – property taxes – being at risk, those unclaimed funds could be put to better use.
Northeast Ohio sports fans are a vocal minorityCleveland Cavaliers highlights. The best images from each game of the 2025-26 season
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This is area is filled with rabid sports fans, but I’d argue they are a vocal minority. The issue of stadium funding represents a case of the needs of the few outweighing the needs of the many.
Of course, all of this is in limbo as a class action lawsuit is winding its way through the courts. That doesn’t change the optics, however.
The phrase “bread and circuses” is Roman in origin. It plainly states the best way to keep the populace complacent is to keep them fed (presumably for free) and entertained.
The new renovations at Progressive Field ahead of the Cleveland Guardians 2024 home opener against the Chicago White Sox on April 8.
Given the nature of what’s happening, there’s nothing free here, except for the owners of assorted sports teams throughout the state, who are getting money that people, not all of whom are or were likely sports fans, forgot. While they most likely receive little in return.
The argument will likely be made that investment in sports facilities is good for an area’s future.
Actually, investing in the state’s people is better.
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs, Guards join Browns wanting unclaimed Ohio funds. It’s a problem