CITY OF CLEVELAND TO BLOCK BROWNS OWNERS FROM EXPLORING NEW STADIUM

As Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam explore options for a new and updated stadium for their football team, the Cleveland City Council has stepped in and enacted a now-famous law to prevent the team from leaving First Energy Stadium prematurely.

The Ohio Revised Code, Section 9.67 - also known as the "Art Modell Law" - states:

No owner of a professional sports team that uses a tax-supported facility for most of its home games and receives financial assistance from the state or a political subdivision thereof shall cease playing most of its home games at the facility and begin playing most of its home games elsewhere unless the owner either:

(A) Enters into an agreement with the political subdivision permitting the team to play most of its home games elsewhere;

(B) Gives the political subdivision in which the facility is located not less than six months advance notice of the owner's intention to cease playing most of its home games at the facility and, during the six months after such notice, gives the political subdivision or any individual or group of individuals who reside in the area the opportunity to purchase the team.

What it boils down to is the Haslams cannot leave First Energy Stadium - a tax-supported facility - without giving six months notice, or they have to give another potential ownership group a chance to buy the franchise.

This was meant to prevent exactly what former Browns owner Art Modell did in 1996 when he moved the prior franchise to Baltimore to become the Ravens.

The current Browns lease with the stadium expires in 2028, and the Haslams are on record that they will not move the team outside of the Northeast Ohio area.

2024-05-07T22:20:52Z dg43tfdfdgfd