Quicken Loans Arena Water Update

Cleveland, OH – February 10, 2010 - The Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena organization wanted to update all fans on what has become a rather noticeable news story the last couple days regarding our decision to offer complimentary water to our guest and temporarily remove the water fountains at The Q. We wanted to make sure you had the “depth” of information on this issue. Here it is…

With the flu and H1N1 associated issues that were/are very real and have been such a very high profile part of the national health landscape and media this season, we significantly increased our cleaning and sanitization procedures and support resources throughout the arena, and made some operational changes as well, in order to foster what we felt would be a more health-safe environment for our fans and everyone at The Q.

What led to the decision to remove the water fountains at The Q?
Similar to our decision to take the additional step of providing full walk-through magnetometers at each entrance to The Q in order to take security and crowd safety to a higher level, we made the decision to provide complimentary cups (9 oz. cup serving size) of water at all permanent concession stands and remove the 18 public water fountains. This resulted in free water being available at over 100 separate service points at stands throughout The Q. This was done in an effort to foster the most health-safe environment we felt we could provide for our fans, in light of the well-documented and reported higher concerns associated with this season’s flu and H1N1.

Did other agencies recommend or mandate that you do this and did you seek information related to this issue from them?
We were not required or advised by another agency to take this specific step regarding the water fountains. This issue is much larger than just the water fountains, though. We gathered information and background on this topic from several qualified sources (NBA, IAAM, The Cleveland Clinic, local health authorities and experts) and factored that information and input into our decisions on how to better clean and maintain the arena in relation to the current health landscape. We adopted some of the practices outlined from these agencies. Even though it was not specifically recommended by one of these sources, we also decided to take the additional, higher step of offering complimentary water (again, 9 oz. cup serving size), instead of keeping the water fountains in service.

Was the decision to remove the water fountains just to get people to purchase more water at the concession stand?
That is simply not the case. This decision was completely focused on helping create and maintain a more health-safe environment at The Q. Some fans and most media have approached this issue suggesting we did this to sell more bottled water. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. To further demonstrate this, we will now offer dedicated, manned, complimentary water stations around The Q starting with tomorrow night’s Cavaliers game (Thursday vs. Orlando) and continuing until our new water fountains are installed. In addition, we will also continue to offer the complimentary 9 oz. cup servings of water at the over 100 points of service at our concession stands during this period AND after the new water fountains are installed.

What are your plans for the water fountains moving forward?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents that the typical (from 1975 to 2009) peak month for the flu season is February. We currently project installing new fountains as soon as possible near the end of February. At the same time, we will continue to offer the complimentary water service, so fans will then have their choice of the water fountains or the free service from the concession stands.

Did you receive advance approval from local officials to remove the water fountains?
We viewed this as a public health issue, and as such, we’ve had conversations with the local health authorities regarding our water fountains. These officials are in The Q regularly as part of their normal and on-going review of our operations. We shared our plan, in advance (end of October / beginning of November time period), regarding the temporary removal of the fountains (18 locations total) and the distribution points (again, over 100 total) and process for free water at our concession stands. We received positive feedback that we could move forward with those plans, given the current public health landscape and the non-permanent nature of the precautions.

What else did The Q do to address the flu and H1N1 issues this season:
(1) Upgraded our arena “clean sweep” program to do disinfectant wipe downs and spray all bathrooms and public areas, plus all dressing/locker rooms after events, instead of more of an industry-standard weekly process previously.
(2) Significantly increased the number of antiseptic hand-rub dispenser locations around the public areas of the arena and in offices and back of house also. Totaling approximately 350 dispensing units.
(3) Worked with The Cleveland Clinic to provide educational information to all team members.
(4) Offered free flu shots for all team members.
(5) All players and team staff received flu shots also.
(6) Had our team physicians from The Cleveland Clinic make a presentation specifically to players and team staff on the awareness and prevention process.
(7) Treated all players and team staff with a “presumptive” approach (as if they had H1N1) with Tamiflu.
(8) Encouraged team members to stay away (or work from home) if sick.