CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland Cavaliers announced Wednesday that the $140 million transformation of Quicken Loans Arena is a go.

The announcement comes a little more than a week after Cavs CEO Len Komoroski said the organization was withdrawing from the project.

The project was revived last Thursday after critics withdrew petitions that would have required a referendum on Cleveland's contribution to the transformation.

The Cavs said then they would reconsider the decision to pull out of the deal to renovate Quicken Loans Arena since construction delays that would have occurred due to a required vote on the referendum were no longer an issue.

"We are excited to confirm our renewed capital commitment of over $70 million to help renovate and transform Quicken Loans Arena - a tremendous publicly-owned asset for our community," Komoroski said in a statement Wednesday.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish issued statements of support.

Jackson said: "Throughout the process, my support for this agreement never wavered," Jackson said. "My efforts have always been to create vibrant neighborhoods

and

a vibrant downtown. I've said it before -this deal is one of the best I've seen because it provides opportunities for all of Cleveland. Those who demonized this process were shortsighted, and I encourage them to ask themselves what they can do for the future of this city. Strong leadership requires

doing

the right thing, not just saying what you think people want to hear."

Budish said: "We're excited the transformation project is back on track and we're looking forward to the energy and positive impact this important economic project will bring to the region. Improving the Arena, creating and retaining jobs, and locking the Cavs down in Cleveland through 2034, all without raising taxes, is a big deal for northeast Ohio! The county is taking steps to execute the sales tax revenue bonds for the project. We're committed to an aggressive schedule to compete for the All-Star game and other events that bring attention, development and jobs to our city and county."

If construction begins by mid-September, the Cavs may salvage the opportunity to host the NBA All-Star game in 2020 or 2021. The Cavs said that issue is still to be determined.

NBA won't award Cleveland 2020 or 2021 All-Star game if Q upgrades aren't underway by Sept. 15

Cleveland Council President Kevin Kelley said: "I am very pleased that Cavaliers have agreed to continue with the Transformation Project. This deal is an economic boom for the City of Cleveland. It saves and creates thousands of jobs; generates tens of millions of tax dollars for the city's general fund; and keeps the Q competitive in attracting events and concerts. The Cavaliers have guaranteed that the city's portion of admission tax collections will always be at least as much as the amount collected for arena debt payments and that money, I want to stress again, comes from the pockets of those who buy tickets to get in The Q arena. It is not a municipal tax on Cleveland residents."

Greater Cleveland Congregations, which led the referendum drive and sought a dollar-for-dollar match of the $140 million for neighborhood investments, later agreed to the withdrawal of the petitions.

The deal that was reached last December to transform the 22-year-old arena apparently remains the same.

The Cavs will extend their lease from 2027 to 2034. The team also pledged to rehab basketball floors in all of the city of Cleveland's rec centers and all of the Cleveland school district's high schools. That pledge would have involved about 40 gymnasiums.

What is the financing plan?

The plan, which includes annual debt interest of $9 million, includes a reserve fund for professional sports facilities. Here's how the bill breaks down:

The Cavs will pay $122 million for the renovations through increased rent payments.

Cleveland will provide more than $88 million, using its admissions tax on tickets to Q events from the years 2024 through 2034.

More than $44 million will come from the budget of Destination Cleveland, which will give up a piece of the county bed tax it receives.

The county will provide $16 million by dipping into the reserve fund it set up for the convention center and Hilton Cleveland Downtown, both of which are complete.

This is the full statement from the Cavs:

"We are excited to confirm our renewed capital commitment of over $70 million to help renovate and transform Quicken Loans Arena - a tremendous publicly-owned asset for our community. At the same time, we're very pleased to extend the Cavaliers lease with our landlord, Gateway Economic Development Corporation, for seven additional years at The Q until 2034. In other words, the Cavs will be a tenant at The Q in downtown Cleveland for at least the next 17 seasons.

We are very eager and enthusiastic to continue working side-by-side with our core civic partners on our shared vision and the numerous civic and community leaders and groups that have worked extremely hard to make sure this project excels and positively impacts downtown and Cleveland's neighborhoods in the full spectrum of ways that we have always believed that this well-thought out development would do.

Most importantly, we are proud to be part of a project that is going to create thousands of jobs and generate and grow additional, significant revenue and economic impact for our community and neighborhoods for many years to come.

The strong leadership of Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, along with Cuyahoga County Council President Dan Brady and Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley and the many respective County and City council members has been critical, as has the major support from United States Congresswoman Marcia Fudge. State Senator Sandra Williams has been a strong advocate of the project as well.

We are also pleased to continue this project with the support and engagement of a wide scope of civic, community and business leaders and organizations both locally and regionally, including the NAACP, the United Pastors in Mission, Cleveland Clergy Coalition, ACEE/Black Contractors Group, the Urban League of Cleveland, the Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council, Laborer's International Union Local 310, the President's Council, Greater Cleveland Partnership, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, Destination Cleveland, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, and others.