Nick Mileti, Empire Builder • by Rich Passan • The Hockey Spectator • September 1972 Not many people can say they turned a childhood dream into reality. Nick Mileti can, and because he can, the Cleveland sports scene has benefitted greatly. Ever since he was a young boy growing up on the east side of Cleveland, Mileti dreamed of someday owning his own professional athletic team. Never, however, did he anticipate the suceess in sports he has realized in the last four years. The young (41), dynamic owner of the Cleveland Crusaders of the World Hockey Association, Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association and Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League is the most electric sports personality to hit Cleveland since Art Modell bought the Cleveland Browns 11 years ago. In addition, Mileti owns the Cleveland Arena, is president of the Cleveland Indians of the American League, on the verge of purchasing a 50,000-watt clear-channel radio station, and soon will see the first shovel hit the dirt for his $17 million indoor arena. He is so active, a joke regarding his multitudinous activities has been making the rounds lately. It goes like this: "Do you know what Nick Mileti's motto is? If you like it, buy it." While that might be somewhat of an exaggeration, it's not that far from being right. The man, to put it simply, is a human dynamo, He works as though there are 26 hours in every day and eight days in every week. Once you meet Mileti, you don't forget him, He's all hair and nose, and a sharp mod dresser. Mileti garnishes his vocabulary with cliches and proverbs and believes in every one of them. He ascribes to a theory of Vince Lombardi, the late professional football coach: "Sports are made up of 14,999 corny sayings and I believe in all of them," Lombardi once said, Says Mileti: "It's the same as in life. That's me, No magic. Just common sense and plain dealing. I've always lived that way. Nothing comes easy. Sports are no different from life. Look at the superstar. He works harder than anyone else, Life is like an iceberg — you see the 5 per cent above the water, but it's the 95 per cent below that's making it all happen." He is driven by hard work, The more there is, he says, the better he functions. "There's no substitute for hard work," he says. "I'm the kind of a guy who doesn't feel he's ever working because I love it so much. I thrive on it. I'm always working, even when I'm not working. To me, working isn't bad. It's good, I was bornand raised on the principle that It was good to have a job and bad to be unemployed." Despite his unbelievably strenous schedule, Mileti never tires. "I don't because I can't afford to," he points out, "I never try to accomplish easy things. I try to accomplish things that need to be done. And things thatare really worth while aren't easy, Anybody can get tired, but the idea of life is to overcome that and go forward." Nick is perpetual motion personified. He never wastes a moment. If he Isn't flying to meetings involving the Indians, Crusaders, Cavaliers or Barons, he's huddling with local businessmen to promote his teams or making public appearances on behalf of his stable. What makes this dynamic Sicilian run? What is the motivation behind all this energy? "I do what I have to do," he answers simply. "I recognize how short life is. I appreciate it and realize if I'm going to make an impact on society, I've got to do it when I can and the best way I can. That's part of what motivates me. That, money, having fun and doing things that interest and challenge me, Helping my family and leaving a good name for them also motivates me." Mileti is a man of the people. A familiar sight at games of the Indians, Cavaliers and Barons — and soon the Crusaders — is Nick mingling with the crowd. "I enjoy being with people," he explains, "It's something you must do If you're going to serve them and know what they want. I do it because I'm a people guy." Despite his great success, everything isn't rosy in Cleveland for Mileti, who has found that being in the public eye has its pitfalls. Mileti's new arena is scheduled to be built midway between Cleveland and Akron, causing several top Cleveland officials to accuse Mileti of carpetbagging. In typical Mileti manner, he answers his critics adroitly. "Anybody who says that is living in another generation," he says. "We serve northeastern Ohio. The overwhelming majority of Greater Clevelanders are closer to the new building. They don't live in the archaic political subdivision called Cleveland." Nick simply is moving with the times. The trend is out of the inner city and he realizes this. The site of his new arena has a drawing power of 4 1/4 million from a 50-mile radius. His current arena has a drawing power of only 2 1/2 million. Nick also has met some strong opposition in his campaign to get an outfield warning track installed at the Cleveland Stadium. After one of the Indians was injured on the outfield fence, Nick tried to get a warning track installed without permission of the city, which owns the edifice. Last week, the city terminated its lease with the Indians effective the end of this year. The purpose is to negotiate a new lease and Mileti is "taking it under advisement." Also on the critical side are those most notably the National Hockey League governors who turned down Mileti's bid for a franchise last June, who believe Nick is spreading himself too thin, "I've heard that since I was in the fourth grade," he replies. "Everybody is entitled to his opinion. That doesn't happen to be mine. If I did less than what I do, (1) I wouldn't be Nick Mileti and (2) I certainly wouldn't be as effective. I would be retired and I can't work that way. I have to lead my life in a certain way." If he had it to do all over again, would Mileti do anything different? "Subject to the usual, you're going to make any adjustment in life on details, but I certainly wouldn't change any of the basic principles," he answers, after a long pause. "The basic things being going into the NBA, deciding and planning to build a new arena, getting a major league hockey franchise and the Indians and buying the radio station. No, I wouldn't change a thing. I would change the timing maybe. For example, if the WHA came here next year instead of this, it wouldn't break my heart. We did it now because it was the time to do it." The last four years have provided some satisfaction and disappointments. Among the former is the chance "to bring a great distinction to our community with sports teams," Mileti says. "We can bring in clubs that can help our community in a way nothing else can. The visibility of an exciting, winning sports team is unbelievable. And if you can put it together with all three teams (Crusaders, Indians and Cavaliers), then you have people looking at our town and saying, 'Hey, that town is really moving.' That's a big deal to me, When people knock Cleveland, they're knocking me." Disappointments? "I haven't done as much as I'd like to do," Mileti says. "I'd like to have all the clubs ona championship and dynasty basis. But you can do just so much. In a way, I look back and say there's a lot more to do than we've done. It's very frustrating we haven't accomplished more and yet, four years ago, Cleveland had a minor league hockey team, no professional basketball, a baseball team that was leaving town. We stabilized those three things and have started to turn them around, each at a different level. Plus, of course, the new arena and the radio station." Nick's short-range goal is "to have the best hockey, basketball and baseball franchises in all of sports." His long-range goal is to be of greater service to his fellow man than he is today. "I would love to help bring peace on Earth," he says. "I'd love to affect that." Other than that, all Nick Mileti wants to do is "make some dough, have fun and leave my footprints in the sand." "In no particular order," he is quick to add.

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