Featured image credit: Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns have upped the ante in their bid to move to a new domed stadium in Brook Park by taking legal action against the City of Cleveland regarding a law which seeks to impede the relocation of sports teams.
The ‘Modell Law’ was enacted in 1996 and is named after former Browns owner Art Modell, who moved the team to Baltimore that year. The law requires sports teams to give their respective cities six-months’ notice before relocating and to grant the city or area residents the opportunity to buy the team first.
The latest development comes after the Browns last week signalled their intention to pursue a move to a new $2.4bn (£1.85bn/€2.22bn) domed stadium in Brook Park, a decision Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb slammed as “driven by a desire to maximise profits rather than positive impact”.
Both parties issued lengthy statements on the subject of the NFL franchise’s long-term stadium future. The Browns have been exploring the prospect of building a new venue or renovating Huntington Bank Field since 2017 as their lease at their current home expires in 2028.
The Browns’ lawsuit, filed in federal court in Cleveland, is seeking to have the law ruled unconstitutional. Cleveland City Council has already passed a resolution directing city administration to enforce the law.
In a statement, Dave Jenkins, chief operating officer of the Browns’ ownership body, Haslam Sports Group (HSG), said: “Throughout our future stadium planning process, we have always acted transparently and in good faith with the City of Cleveland and are disappointed in the City’s latest course of action stating its intent to bring litigation regarding the ‘Modell Law’.
“These statements and similar actions create uncertainty and do not serve the interests of Greater Cleveland. Therefore, we have filed a lawsuit seeking clarity on this vague and unclear law.
“As we have consistently conveyed, the intent of our future stadium planning has always been to work in collaboration with our local leaders to find the optimal long-term stadium solution that will benefit our fans while positively impacting our region. Our lease expires at the end of the 2028 season, and we are working hard to develop a long-term solution upon completion of our current agreement.
“Today’s (Thursday’s) action for declaratory judgment was filed to take this matter out of the political domain and ensure we can move this transformative project forward to make a new domed Huntington Bank Field in Brook Park a reality.
“We have no interest in any contentious legal battle but are determined to create a project that will add to Greater Cleveland by building a dome stadium and adjacent mix-used development, a $3-3.5bn project, that will include approximately $2bn in private investment. This project will bring premier events and economic activity that will generate significant revenue for the City, County and State.”
In August, the Browns issued a first look at a potential future home in Brook Park, a city in Cuyahoga County located around nine miles southwest of the team’s current home in Downtown Cleveland.
This came just days after the City of Cleveland made its first official move over the Browns’ stadium future by outlining a $461m funding contribution towards a redevelopment of Huntington Bank Field.
The Browns have called the 67,431-seat stadium home since it opened in 1999 and a proposed 30-year lease arrangement had been on the table that the City stated would provide the team with a “dramatically transformed facility that will serve the region for decades”.
Such a redevelopment was expected to cost in the region of $1bn, but Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, of HSG, have signalled their intent to pursue a move away.
Former Cleveland Mayor Dennis Kucinich, who authored the Modell Law as a state representative, has also threatened Cleveland with a taxpayer lawsuit if the City does not invoke the law. Kucinich told Cleveland.com that what the Browns are doing is “fundamentally wrong”, adding that the lawsuit will cost the cash-strapped city millions of dollars.
Kucinich also said that the Haslams were the beneficiaries of the Modell Law in 2018, as part of the ownership group that acquired MLS franchise Columbus Crew amid the team’s proposed relocation from Ohio to Texas.
Kucinich said taxpayers have an interest in keeping the Browns in Cleveland, having spent hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds on the team. He said he expects the Modell Law to overcome the HSG challenge.
“If their legal strategy is as good as their management of the Browns, the taxpayers don’t have anything to worry about,” Kucinich added.
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