Cleveland’s fight to keep the Browns from moving from downtown and into a proposed dome in the suburbs has taken yet another legal turn.
The city has filed a lawsuit to stop the NFL team from leaving Cleveland’s lakefront when its stadium lease expires after the 2028 season. Team owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam intend to build a $2.4 billion stadium and adjacent entertainment complex in Brook Park, Ohio, 15 miles south of the city.
Cleveland filed the lawsuit in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday.
It’s the latest twist in a struggle that has history and familiarity to Browns fans, who felt betrayed in 1995 when late owner Art Modell, unable to strike a deal with the city to get a new stadium, moved the franchise to Baltimore.
That messy situation led to the enactment of the “Modell Law, ” which in part says that any professional sports team that uses state funding for its facility for home games can’t leave without permission or providing advance notice.
The law, passed in 1996, also gives residents a chance to buy the team or find a new buyer. In the lawsuit, the city claims the Browns violated the law by not doing either.
The Browns have not commented on the city’s lawsuit.
In October, the team informed Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb of its intentions to build the state-of-the-art stadium, which the Browns have proposed being partially funded by public money. Cleveland has been in its current home, Huntington Bank Field, since 1999 when the city was awarded an expansion team following Modell’s exit.
The team has filed its own lawsuit seeking clarity on the “Modell Law.” That federal case is pending.
The Haslams previously benefited from the Modell Law. When it was enacted to keep the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from leaving Ohio’s state capital in 2019, the Haslams bought the franchise. Haslam Sports Group also has a minority ownership stake in the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.
The city had previously offered the Browns $461 million to help with renovations to their current 65,000-seat stadium.
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