Dive Brief:

• The NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers announced this week that they will start a two-year, $144-million renovation of Quicken Loans Arena in 2017.
• The team has agreed to extend its lease until 2034 and pay $70 million toward renovations. Cuyahoga County will pay the remainder.
• The Cavaliers have played at the same arena since 1994, and both team and county officials said a major rehab, both interior and exterior, is necessary to encourage fan attendance and draw more events like the NBA All-Star Game and big-name concerts.

Dive Insight:

The county will not enact new taxes to cover its share of construction but will instead utilize existing hotel taxes and a portion of entrance tickets, according to Cleveland.com. The county will set aside another $38.5 million for future sports venue construction. The Cavaliers will pay for any cost overruns and will make up any funding gaps caused by lower-than-expected tax revenues.

There seems to be a major wave of sports construction and renovation going on in the U.S. currently, and NBA teams are no exception. The City of Atlanta and the Hawks are going in on a $192.5 million renovation of the Philips Arena. The city has agreed to pay $142.5 million in return for a promise from the team that they won't move until at least 2046. If the Hawks move before then, they could be liable for penalties as high as $200 million. The Hawks announced last month that a Turner Construction-led joint venture would handle the renovation.

The Sacramento Kings also recently opened their new $557 million Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, the first indoor sports arena to be certified LEED Platinum. Progress on the Golden State Warriors new $1 billion arena in San Francisco, however, has been held up due to legal challenges from local activists who say the new venue will adversely affect nearby hospital operations and patients. But things are looking up for the team, as they recently won an appeals court decision that allows construction to proceed.