MILETI, NICK JAMES (19 April 1931-21 August 2024) was an attorney and sports magnate in Cleveland, who founded the CLEVELAND CAVALIERS and built the RICHFIELD COLISEUM. Mileti’s other holdings included, variously, the Cleveland Indians [See CLEVELAND GUARDIANS], the AHL CLEVELAND BARONS, the CLEVELAND CRUSADERS of the World Hockey Association, the CLEVELAND ARENA, and WWWE radio.
Mileti, the youngest of three children of Sicilian immigrants Vincenzo and Giuseppina Mileti, grew up in Cleveland’s Corlett neighborhood. He graduated from John Adams High School in 1949, where he’d served on student council and was a member of the cheerleading squad. He graduated from Bowling Green State University, where the alumni center bears his family name, and went to law school at Ohio State University.
Following a stint in the army, he started a law practice in Lakewood, becoming the city’s prosecutor. In 1968, Mileti bought the Arena and the Cleveland Barons, and Cleveland was granted an expansion NBA team, the Cavaliers, to begin play in 1970. The team’s wine and gold colors were a nod to Mileti’s alma mater, John Adams High School.
In 1972, VERNON STOUFFER sold controlling interest of the Cleveland Indians to Mileti, who promptly ended a deal Stouffer had in place to play 30 home games in the Superdome, then under construction in New Orleans. Also that year, he bought WWWE, and, thwarted in his attempts to bring the NHL to Cleveland, purchased the Calgary Broncos of the WHA and moved them to Cleveland, where they were renamed the Crusaders.
Mileti sought a replacement for the Arena, and began construction on a new facility in Richfield. The Coliseum opened in 1974 with a performance by Frank Sinatra, and became the Cavs’ home for the next 20 years.
Not a wealthy man himself, Mileti encouraged stock purchases for the Cavaliers, and wanted to do the same for the Indians, but was prohibited by the league. He became overextended financially, and ended up selling his interests in the Cavs, the Indians, the Crusaders and the Coliseum. Mileti moved to California and worked with a group producing movies, including titles such as “Streamers,” “Poltergeist,” “Diner” and “The Verdict.”Closet Italians: A Dazzling Collection of Illustrious Italians with Non-Italian Names
He was also a writing, publishing three books: Closet Italians: A Dazzling Collection of Illustrious Italians with Non-Italian Names, which was published in 2004, Beyond Michaelangelo: The Deadly Rivalry between Borromini and Bernini,published in 2005, and The Unscrupulous: Scams, Cons, Fakes & Frauds that Poison the Fine Arts", which came out in 2009.
Mileti was married three times. While at Bowling Green, he met and married Gretchen Garnes. They were parents to a son, James. Following their divorce, in 1987, Mileti married Ruth Ann O’Rourke. That marriage lasted about two years. Mileti’s third marriage was to Bernardine Rand.
Vincent Guerrieri
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-08-me-13419-story.html