is expected to vote tonight on committing the city鈥檚 share of funds to help pay for $140 million in upgrades to .  Backers say the 22-year-old arena must be modernized to stay competitive and attract events that generate money for the entire community.  But if the measure passes as expected, opponents may try to stop it on the ballot.

and the have been fighting against public funding for the upgrades. They say there should be a commitment to spending the same amount of money on important social needs in the city鈥檚 neighborhoods.

The groups will be at tonight鈥檚 council meeting and announce their formal plan after the vote. They also plan a public meeting at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the to work on strategy.

A referendum would take just over 6,000 valid signatures within 30 days after council鈥檚 approval to get the measure on the ballot. At issue is the city committing $88 million from admission taxes for the Q renovations. Cuyahoga County has already agreed to sell bonds to help finance the project. and will kick in the rest of the funding.

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