Cavaliers’ arena renamed Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers have changed dramatically and so has their downtown home.

Quickens Loans Arena is no more.

The team will no longer play at “The Q,” but inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, which is undergoing a $185 million renovation funded by the city and team.

The Cavaliers, who have had a difficult first season since LeBron James left for Los Angeles, announced the name change on Tuesday, hours before they hosted the Charlotte Hornets in their season finale.

Dan Gilbert, who has owned the Cavaliers since 2005, said he understands if fans are unhappy with the new name. There was a similar sentiment when the 19,000-seat building, which opened in 1994, went from being Gund Arena to Quicken Loans.

“I know that sometimes (with) change, you get a little resistance and people say, ‘Why are they changing it?’ and ‘How’s that name going to work?’” Gilbert said. “We heard that initially when it was the Gund Arena to Quicken Loans Arena. I think after time there will probably be some kind of short nickname that takes place naturally and it will fit right in perfect with Cleveland, Ohio, for a lot of reasons.”

Gilbert mentioned the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as one of the connections to the new name.

The arena has been under construction since hosting the 2016 Republican National Convention and won’t be finished until the fall when a concert by Akron rock group The Black Keys will officially usher in a new era for the building.

Cleveland will host the NBA All-Star game in 2020.