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Greater Cleveland Congregations Withdraws "Q" Deal Referendum

Monday afternoon brought the surprise announcement that the Cavaliers were abandoning efforts to overhaul the 22-year-old Quicken Loans Arena. 

That set off a firestorm of finger-pointing between supporters and opponents of the deal and even sparked speculation that the Cavs might leave town when their lease expires in 2027 --though owner Dan Gilbert tweeted that he would never do such a thing.

But then this afternoon, a reversal: 

The deal might be back on!

Greater Cleveland Congregations now says it is withdrawing its petitions to forbid using admission taxes collected at The Q to help pay for renovations.

The battle over the arena has been unlike anything Cleveland has seen in decades. Since the 1980s, a steady stream of big projects -- from building arenas and the RTA's Health Line to wooing the Republican National Convention -- came about because of what the late George Voinovich called Cleveland's public-private partnership.


  • Hunter Morrison, Former Cleveland City Planning Director
Gabriel Kramer is a reporter/producer and the host of “NewsDepth,” Ideastream Public Media's news show for kids.