The Gund headed for rise in popularity

The pending arrival of prep star LeBron James has Cavs' business booming
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Gund Arena, home of the dreadful Cavaliers, wasn't the same place Friday. LeBron James had changed it, but nobody was complaining.
Office phones rang off their hooks. A convoy of TV news trucks were parked bumper-to-bumper on the streets. Fans waited on line in the lobby studying season ticket brochures, hoping that good seats were still available.
In less than 24 hours, James transformed the normally serene Gund -- one of the NBA's emptiest and quietest arenas -- into the hottest spot in town.
LeBron Mania arrived Friday to a city still in shock.
One day after hitting the NBA lottery jackpot and winning the rights to draft James with the No. 1 overall pick in the June 26 draft, the Cavaliers got their first taste of what life will be like once the Akron high school superstar is wearing one of their wine-and-gold uniforms.
Everything, it seems, has changed overnight.
"The reaction of the city has been unbelievable," Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson said. "It still hasn't sunk in yet."
Ticket rush
It has for hundreds of Cavaliers fans who rushed to buy season tickets for next season on Friday.
The team had 25 sales representatives answering phones and taking ticket orders from the moment Cleveland learned it had won the lottery Thursday night.
"At 8:22, the phones started ringing and I don't think they've stopped," Paxson said. "It's a huge lift for everyone here. We got lucky, and it's about time."
By late Friday afternoon, Cavaliers spokesman Tad Carper said the club had sold hundreds of season ticket packages on what he described as the best sales day since the Gund opened in 1994.
Cleveland's season ticket base dropped as low as 3,000, and the club was last in the league in attendance this season with just under 11,000 fans per game.
"Put it this way," Carper said. "This is a salesman's nirvana."
With the 2003-04 opener more than five months away, if sales remain brisk, it's possible the Cavaliers could sell out all 41 home dates before the season begins.
"That's premature to talk about," team president Len Komoroski said. "What we do know is the enthusiasm is phenomenal. When you have an icon like LeBron, it's a special opportunity."
Komoroski was reluctant to put a dollar figure on James' immediate financial impact.
"I don't know if there's anybody counting the money up to this point," he said. "We're selling tickets as fast as we can."
As for James, Friday was like any other for the 18-year-old hoops sensation. A spokesperson at St. Vincent-St. Mary said James was on time for school, attended his classes and had pizza for lunch.
Graduation
James, who signed a $90 million endorsement deal with Nike on Thursday, will graduate on June 7 -- 19 days before the draft.
Paxson said he spoke with James' agent, Aaron Goodwin, twice on Friday.
"It was very positive," said Paxson, who had not yet spoken to James. Paxson said the 6-foot-8 James will likely visit Gund Arena -- he has already played there several times as a high schooler -- sometime next week.
The Cavaliers are permitted to have contact with James before the draft. But under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, the earliest James can sign with the club is July 1.
As this year's No. 1 pick, James will receive a maximum three-year deal worth $12.96 million with the Cavs holding a fourth-year option.
Cleveland's lucky draw helped ease the pain of decades of sports frustration for the city's passionate fans. It also overwhelmed the Cavaliers' first No. 1 pick.
Austin Carr cried when the Cavaliers beat out 12 other teams for James.
"I couldn't help myself," said Carr, a Cavaliers' broadcaster whose No. 34 was retired by the team.