Cavs Remove Water Fountains, But Will Have to Return Them

↵↵I first heard about this story back on Tuesday thanks to the crew over at Waiting For Next Year. The Cleveland Cavaliers removed all water fountains from Quicken Loans Arena “to prevent the spread of bacteria and illnesses, such as swine flu” this season.↵

↵↵Fans could go to the concession stands to get a small cup of water for free, but there was a conspiratorial line of thinking that it was a ploy to get fans to spend. The thought being, if you’re going to spend a few minutes in line for that free water, might as well grab a pretzel and hot dog while you’re there.↵

↵↵As it turns out, the removal of the water fountains went against state building codes, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and the water fountains could return at the end of the month.↵

↵↵⇥[Cavs team spokesman Tad] Carper said in the e-mail that the team was considering reinstalling the fountains because the peak of flu season was coming to an end. He said in interviews last week that the team removed the fountains to protect fans from bacteria and viruses that cause illnesses like H1N1 flu. ↵⇥↵⇥[...]↵⇥

↵⇥↵⇥Current state building code requires one fountain for every 1,000 occupants, Matt Mullins, the spokesman for the Ohio Department of Commerce, which oversees the Board of Building Standards.↵⇥

↵↵↵Scanning the comments on the Plain Dealer’s site, it’s clear that few people are buying what the Cavs are selling on this one. It’s tough to blame them. As Cleveland City Councilman Tony Brancatelli points out in the story, “If there were health reasons, we’d be taking fountains out of every school and institution.”↵

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