CLEVELAND AND ITS INDIANS Revenue loss wallops city

Missing the postseason cost the city $10 million thatvisitors would have spent.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Signing fan favorite Jim Thome to the Indians has become a big concern for not only the team, but also the city of Cleveland.
The city's already troubled finances suffered another blow this year when the Indians failed to make the postseason for only the second time in eight seasons.
The Indians have brought in $1.5 billion from 1996 to 2001, according to an estimate by the Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau. That includes everything from admission and payroll taxes to what visitors spend on hotels and meals.
But this year the city is missing out on an additional $10 million because the Indians failed to reach the playoffs, according to the convention bureau. A trip to the second round of the playoffs generates $20 million more for the city, and a World Series appearance, $35 million.
Tax revenue down
Income tax revenues have fallen in Cleveland, which Mayor Jane Campbell in August blamed in part on the Indians' decision to unload high-priced players. The city threatened layoffs earlier this year because of a budget shortfall, but instead ordered departments to cut spending.
Indians team spokesman Bob DiBiasio said the nature of professional sports is that revenues will fluctuate with the fortunes of the team.
"We have done everything people have asked of us relative to 'did building this facility make good business sense?' " DiBiasio of Jacobs Field, which opened in 1994. "You can point to those numbers and say 'absolutely.' "
With the club's five-year, 455-game sellout streak just a memory and attendance expected to keep sliding as the team rebuilds, city leaders met last month with owner Larry Dolan and general manager Mark Shapiro. They gave Campbell a briefing on where the franchise is headed and what the city can expect financially.
"The bottom line is they have a strategy to rebuild, and they were clear about their strategy," Campbell said Monday.
"What's important for me as mayor to know is they had a strategy to stay competitive. It's a game. You can't win every game."
No guarantees
A top Campbell lieutenant said the city couldn't expect any guarantees on how much the team would generate for city coffers.
"It's not something the Indians can guarantee or should," said Tim Mueller, the city's chief development officer. "The kind of questions we asked them on the fiscal side are very difficult for them to answer. Will we go to hundreds of consecutive sellouts?"
Mueller said that Indians management did warn the city before last season that if it looked like the team wasn't going to contend, the Indians were going to scale back on payroll.
They did just that, trading players like Bartolo Colon and Chuck Finley for young talent and a plan to contend for the playoffs again in 2005.
"We are very excited about where the Indians are going," Mueller said. "You take a down year for revenue, but the plans are all in the right direction."
It's unclear if Thome, who as a free agent is listening to offers from other teams, will be a part of those plans. One fan recently told a sports radio show that watching Thome meet with the Philadelphia Phillies last week was like watching his girlfriend dance with another guy at a high school dance.
Thome has endeared himself to fans over 12 years with the Indians by hitting 334 home runs and having an easygoing off-the-field personality. The first baseman received baseball's Roberto Clemente Award last month, presented annually to the player who combines outstanding playing ability with work in the community.