Cleveland’s basketball team sucks, but how is their economy?
Sanebull on 
Love him or hate him… King James is taking his talents to Los Angeles and all it took to get him there was $154 million. If you are a Los Angeles resident, basketball fan or not, LeBron’s arrival should give you plenty of reason to cheer. If you are a Cleveland fan – my condolences. With LeBron heading west is Cleveland’s economy bound to go south?
Where to start… I am not sure because local hospitality, tourism, and the value of the Cavaliers franchise are likely to take a hit. During LeBron’s time with the Cavs and Heat, the total number of bars and restaurants within a mile of the stadium went up a collective 13%, and total employment rose 23.5%. Also, the total amount of recreation and entertainment saw a $100 million jump, or 10% when James returned to Cleveland in 2015.
The Land will rebound… because as popular as LeBron is there is much more to life than basketball. Cleveland still has insurance, banking, technology, and healthcare. Not only that, but people will take the money they are not spending on the Cavs and use it elsewhere. Cleveland’s economy will be fine, but their basketball team may be hard to watch. That’s okay, though – no one is beating the Warriors this year.
