Quicken Loans Arena renovation is on time but $45M over budget (new photos)

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -The Q Transmission project has gotten a little pricier and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and its owner Dan Gilbert, are picking up the extra costs.

The original price tag for the major exterior and interior renovations was $140 million.

That has now grown to $185 million.

The original agreement was the Cavs would pay for half, $70 million, and the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County would pay for the other half mainly through giving back the taxes charged on tickets for events at the arena.

Also part of the agreement, the city and county commitment was capped and any extras would have to be picked up by the Cavs.

In a news release on Tuesday it appears it will take an extra $45 million to get everything the Cavs want done by 2019.

“The Cavaliers’ portion of the funding will cover all non-public, club, suite, team, premium space, AV/LED, lighting and multi-media upgrades, as well as a significant portion of the public space updates, which includes concourse improvements and square footage increases,” the release said.

The good news is that the project is on track to get the doors open for the start of October activities which include the Cavs, the Lake Erie Monsters and several big shows including:

· Justin Timberlake – Oct. 2

· Kevin Hart - Oct. 4

· Monsters hockey - Oct. 5, 6, 11, and 13

· Cavaliers basketball - Oct. 6, 8, 21, 24, 27, and 30

· Joel Osteen - Oct. 12

· Phil Collins - Oct. 18

· The Eagles - Oct. 20

· 21 Pilots - Oct. 23

· Fleetwood Mac - Oct. 26

The major exterior renovations, and some of the interior spaces, will not be completed until Oct. 2019.

What must get done, obviously, is the team locker rooms of which the release showed players Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. getting a personal tour.

Copyright 2018 WOIO. All rights reserved.