![\"Linda](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771644341_666_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nBROOKLYN, Ohio \u2014 Until last summer, Linda Pietrasz had no clue that Ohio was holding money with her name on it \u2013 a life-insurance check that\u2019s been sitting for 35 years, since her husband died.<\/p>\n
She found out about the cash after state lawmakers decided to tap unclaimed funds to help pay for pro-sports facilities, starting with a new suburban stadium for the Cleveland Browns. And she\u2019s feeling more urgency as other sports franchises turn to the same well.<\/p>\n
Ohio\u2019s budget office solicited grant applications from teams in January, despite an ongoing legal fight over the state\u2019s move to grab unclaimed funds \u2013 money the state\u2019s been holding on behalf of individuals, businesses, nonprofits and even public entities.<\/p>\n
This week, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Guardians confirmed that they both applied for state grants, with hopes of landing money for repairs at Rocket Arena and Progressive Field. The Cavs are seeking $40 million toward $161 million worth of work. The Guardians want $65 million toward $259 million in projects.<\/p>\n
Pietrasz has strong feelings about all of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s terrible,\u201d she said Friday afternoon. \u201cIt\u2019s not their money.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gary Abrahamsen\/News 5<\/p>\n
Linda Pietrasz only found out last summer that she has unclaimed funds – money from a life-insurance policy from her husband, who died in 1991.<\/p>\n
At 72, she doesn\u2019t have a computer, Internet access or a car. She called News 5 for help submitting documents online to support her claim for that old insurance payout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe process, to me, is too complicated,\u201d she said, running through a checklist of documents that the Ohio Division of Unclaimed Funds requires.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found out the stuff that I had to get, and it was basically everything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Pietrasz didn\u2019t know that her husband, who was only 40 when he died in 1991, had a life insurance policy. She found out in July, when her son searched the state\u2019s unclaimed-funds database and discovered the misplaced money.<\/p>\n
She managed to file an initial claim but couldn\u2019t scan and upload any supporting documents. Pietrasz doesn\u2019t have a way to make copies. And she didn\u2019t want to send the original documents to the state by mail, and risk losing them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got my marriage certificate, his autopsy report, date of death,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Here’s the backstory<\/p>\n
Records show Ohio has been holding the money since 2011, when John Hancock Life Insurance Company turned it over to the state. It\u2019s part of a roughly $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion bucket of unclaimed funds the state\u2019s been sitting on for a decade or longer.<\/p>\n
The General Assembly directed state officials to pull that long-held money out of the unclaimed funds trust and convert it to state property, starting Jan. 1. Lawmakers earmarked $1 billion for grants for sports and cultural facilities, with the first $600 million going to the new $2.4 billion Browns stadium in Brook Park.<\/p>\n
Ohio lawmakers settle on unclaimed funds to put $600M into new Browns stadium<\/p>\n
RELATED: Ohio lawmakers settle on unclaimed funds to put $600 million in new Browns stadium<\/a><\/p>\n And for the first time, lawmakers set a clock on how long people are allowed to file claims. Going forward, the money will become Ohio\u2019s property 10 years after the state accepts the unclaimed funds from the original holders, including banks, insurers and utility companies.<\/p>\n The General Assembly created a grace period to give people whose funds get taken another chance to file claims. That reimbursement window runs through Jan. 1, 2036.<\/p>\n Ohioans with unclaimed funds sued last year. They argue the state\u2019s new approach is an unconstitutional taking of private property. Lawyers for the state, meanwhile, say Ohio is on firm legal ground \u2013 and that owners have had ample time to claim their money.<\/p>\n Lawsuit filed over taking unclaimed funds to help build Browns’ Brook Park stadium<\/p>\n RELATED: Initial lawsuit filed over state’s plan to take unclaimed funds to help build a new Browns stadium<\/a><\/p>\n In December, a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge temporarily blocked the state from taking that first tranche of misplaced money. That temporary restraining order is still in place. The court is considering whether to impose a longer-term hold while the legal battle plays out. A decision on a preliminary injunction is expected soon.<\/p>\n Court extends pause on Ohio’s plan to tap unclaimed funds for new Browns stadium<\/p>\n RELATED: Court extends pause on Ohio’s plan to tap unclaimed funds for new Browns stadium<\/a><\/p>\n Other teams follow the playbook<\/p>\n Meanwhile, though, other pro sports teams are taking advantage of the opportunity state lawmakers created. The new Ohio Sports Facility Grant Program offers \u201cperformance grants\u201d of up to 25% of a project\u2019s expected cost \u2013 with a maximum award of $250 million.<\/p>\n To get a grant, applicants have to show their projects will yield higher tax revenues for the state, meeting or exceeding the value of the grant over an unspecified time period.<\/p>\n News 5 requested the full list of applicants from the state budget office this week but has not received that information yet.<\/p>\n Applicants must be pro sports franchises that own or run facilities located on sites owned by the state, another government entity, a nonprofit group or a special financing and governing body called a new community authority.<\/p>\n The Browns expect the new Huntington Bank Field in Brook Park to be owned by a new community authority that hasn\u2019t been created yet.<\/p>\n The landlord at both Rocket Arena and Progressive Field is the Gateway Economic Development Corporation of Greater Cleveland, a nonprofit with a board that\u2019s appointed by Cleveland and Cuyahoga County elected leaders. The Cavaliers have a lease that runs through 2034. The Guardians\u2019 lease ends in 2036.<\/p>\n Those leases require the teams to pay for maintenance and the landlord to pay for most of the capital repairs \u2013 projects to extend the life and usefulness of the buildings.<\/p>\n Gary Abrahamsen\/News 5<\/p>\n Workers are getting Progressive Field ready for the season.<\/p>\n ‘The funding deficiency’<\/p>\n In written statements, the Cavs and Guardians said that\u2019s exactly what they\u2019re trying to do, in partnership with Gateway.<\/p>\n \u201cRocket Arena is integral to the vitality and vibrancy of our city and community,\u201d a representative for the Cavs and venue operator Rock Entertainment Group wrote. \u201cThe preservation and continued modernization of our thirty-year-old venue are essential to sustaining and growing premier sports and entertainment in downtown Cleveland.\u201d<\/p>\n The planned projects include work to get the arena ready to host Cleveland\u2019s new WNBA team in 2028. A list of anticipated spending provided to Gateway\u2019s board includes everything from exterior work to investments in heating and cooling, plumbing, electrical systems and security \u2013 along with nearly $67 million in technology upgrades.<\/p>\n The to-do list is similar at Progressive Field.<\/p>\n In their emailed statement, the Guardians said the state funding would help pay for a preservation plan based on a facility-condition assessment completed late last year.<\/p>\n The plan \u201cprovides a strategic roadmap for those projects necessary to preserve and modernize Progressive Field \u2013 Ohio\u2019s oldest major professional sports facility \u2013 for the remaining 11 years of the approved lease,\u201d a Guardians spokesman wrote in an email.<\/p>\n The teams declined to comment beyond those written statements.<\/p>\n Gateway provided a support letter for the teams\u2019 state grant applications.<\/p>\n Right now, the dedicated funding source for repairs at the arena, the ballpark \u2013 and the existing Browns stadium in Cleveland \u2013 is Cuyahoga County\u2019s so-called \u201csin tax.\u201d That\u2019s an excise tax on cigarettes and alcohol. But the tax, established in 1990, hasn\u2019t increased with inflation. It still ranges from a few pennies to a few dollars, depending on the product.<\/p>\n The tax revenues aren\u2019t anywhere near enough to cover major repair needs at the arena, the ballpark and the stadium. And that\u2019s putting pressure on the city and the county \u2013 and taxpayers \u2013 to come up with the extra cash.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are just trying to work as cooperatively as possible with our public partners and the teams to find solutions to the funding deficiency,\u201d Scott Simpkins, Gateway\u2019s attorney, said during a phone conversation this week.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear when the state will start awarding its new grants for pro sports facilities.<\/p>\n Gary Abrahamsen\/News 5<\/p>\n News 5 reporter Michelle Jarboe, center, helps viewer Linda Pietrasz file documents to support her claim for unclaimed funds.<\/p>\n Pietrasz wishes Ohio would find another way \u2013 a different funding source.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want the Browns stealing my money,\u201d she said, laughing. \u201cIt\u2019s the people\u2019s money. \u201cI don\u2019t want the Browns taking money. It doesn\u2019t seem \u2026 logical. It has nothing to do with unclaimed funds. It\u2019s the people\u2019s money.\u201d<\/p>\n And she believes the path to claiming your funds should be much simpler.<\/p>\n \u201cThirty-five years, my husband\u2019s been dead,\u201d she said. \u201cWhy do I need to go through every little thing? \u2026 I think they give you way too much stuff to process. And I think they do it intentionally, so you cannot turn it in. That\u2019s my feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n Michelle Jarboe is the business growth and development reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @MJarboe<\/a> or email her at Michelle.Jarboe@wews.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BROOKLYN, Ohio \u2014 Until last summer, Linda Pietrasz had no clue that Ohio was holding money with her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":765935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,29043,5494,35446,85,54,11528,29917,2337,109054,7,109055,109056,4398,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-765934","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-browns-dome","10":"tag-browns-stadium","11":"tag-browns-unclaimed-funds","12":"tag-cleveland","13":"tag-cleveland-browns","14":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","15":"tag-cleveland-guardians","16":"tag-clevelandbrowns","17":"tag-cuyahoga-county-sin-tax","18":"tag-football","19":"tag-gateway-cleveland","20":"tag-gateway-economic-development-corp","21":"tag-huntington-bank-field","22":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116106491272616743","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/765935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Workers](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771644343_144_.jpeg\")
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