Great Expectations | Part 3

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Tourists stop by the dozens at Flannery's Pub these days, snapping photos of a sign on the front window that offers LeBron James his first Guinness on his 21st birthday -- Dec. 30, 2005.
It's the least Flannery's could do for an 18-year-old rookie who's expected to keep the pub and other downtown spots booming this winter as people flock to Cavaliers games.
"It's amazing what it's doing to the city," said Christine Connell, general manager of Flannery's near Gund Arena, home of the NBA team. "This is great!"
The Cavaliers' top overall draft pick hasn't played an official game yet, but hotels, restaurants and other area businesses are counting on him to do more than score on the court.
Connell, who updates the pub sign periodically to count down the days until James turns 21, said the day the Cavaliers chose James, Cleveland business people saw dollar signs.
"I think everyone in town couldn't believe that we got that pick," Connell said.
Expect good things
The 6-foot-8 James led his high school team to three state championships. His showing in the pros is especially important in Cleveland, a city used to floundering sports teams, economies and its own reputation.
The Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau has not completed a study that will show just how much money James and company will help bring to the city, but expects good things, said spokeswoman Becky Keck.
"A rising tide lifts all ships," she said.
"People who go to Cavaliers' games, they pay for parking, they pay for drinks and dinner before the game, they buy a LeBron James jersey, they stay in hotels," Keck said. "The impact on the economy is more than people buying a ticket for a game."
The home opener is Nov. 5, but businesses already are seizing the opportunity.
LeBron jerseys, Cavaliers T-shirts and caps fill local stores. Lots that charged $10 for game parking last season have raised prices to between $15 and $20. Restaurants, which generally offer new dishes as the seasons change, are revamping their menus.
"With the ice and the winter we had last year, it was tough. No one wanted to come downtown," said Todd Stein, executive chef of Vivo, an Italian restaurant near the Gund. "But now, LeBron James is right here. We can't wait. It's going to be great."
Hologram is a symbol
The Cavaliers can't believe their good fortune either.
"It seems like we've been walking under a four-leaf clover," said Len Komoroski, president of Cavaliers/Gund Arena Co.
A year ago, the Cavaliers sold less merchandise than any other team in the NBA. This season, the league expects Cleveland to rank among the top three, Komoroski said.
As of Oct. 12, 402,825 James jerseys had been sold, according to SportsScanInfo, a sports retail tracking firm.
Among other items fans will be able to buy is a hologram playing card that shows James jumping on the basketball court.
"You turn it the other way, it's LeBron leaping over Cleveland, the skyline," Komoroski said.
The card is a symbol of what Komoroski recently told Cleveland business leaders could be a big boost for a city that had to fight stereotypes.
Cleveland still finds itself the butt of jokes for being the first city since the Great Depression to go into default, in 1978. It's also remembered by some as home to the oil-slicked Cuyahoga River that caught fire in 1969.
The Cavs have been one of the worst basketball teams in the league. Browns fans were so angry when the football team was moved to Baltimore that they tore up seats and set fires in 1995 at the final game at Municipal Stadium, dubbed "The Mistake by the Lake."
The Cavaliers see this season as a chance to chip away at the image of a down-and-out city with losing franchises, Komoroski said.
"We can create this parallel, this synergy," he said. "Not only is there a team on the rise, but here's a market on the rise."
James, who grew up just 40 miles away in Akron, says he's excited about the expectations.
"We're a whole new city," James said. "They're looking for a new beginning."
The reach goes beyond Cleveland.
Lifelong fan
Sebastien Robert, a Montreal cell phone company worker, has been following the Cavaliers since he was 14.
Robert, 32, said he searched long and hard for the coveted James replica jerseys in Canada. He monitors the team closely on the Internet and may travel to Cleveland to see the team next season.
"My friends, for 10 years they've been saying, 'How can you root for the Cavs? They've never won anything.' Now, all of the sudden, they're like, 'LeBron James, wow,"' Robert said.
It's that kind of excitement that the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that won just 17 games a year ago and rarely filled Gund Arena, is seizing. Season ticket sales have tripled from the reported 3,000 a year ago, when the Cavaliers ranked last in the league in home attendance. The team has repeatedly refused to say how many tickets have been sold.
Among ticket holders for this season are 25 AAA Auto Club employees.
"We've all been talking in the cafeteria about how the Cavs have a great opportunity to make the city proud of its team again," said AAA spokesman Brian Newbacher. "We realize success won't be overnight but being able to watch LeBron and the team develop at the Gund is exciting in and of itself."
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