The Cleveland Browns are 3-13 this season and are on the verge of having a Top 3 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Cleveland had high expectations entering this season and it didn’t go as planned. The Browns finished 11-6 last season before losing in the wild-card round in the AFC to the Houston Texans.
The Cleveland Browns will be in the news this offseason for many reasons. Cleveland could very well be moving into a new home soon.
City Of Cleveland Intends To Enforce “Modell Law” In An Attempt To Block the Cleveland Browns From Leaving Downtown
On Monday, Peggy Gallek and Ed Gallek of fox8 Cleveland reported:
“The city of Cleveland has decided to invoke the Modell Law in an attempt to block the Cleveland Browns from leaving the stadium downtown and building a dome stadium in Brook Park, the FOX 8 I-Team has learned.
The I-Team obtained a letter written by Mayor Justin Bibb and sent to the team’s owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam on Monday. The mayor states in the letter that the city will lead the fight to find new owners.”
Some of the letter states:
“I am writing this letter on behalf of the City of Cleveland (the “City”) to the Cleveland Browns Football Company LLC (the “Browns”), as owner of the professional sports team known as the Cleveland Browns.
As you are well aware, in 1996, following the relocation of the Browns to Baltimore, the Ohio General Assembly enacted, and the Governor signed, Ohio Revised Code § 9.67. Known as the Modell Law, the statute provides in full:
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.”
It is going to be very interesting to see what happens with this. Is there a chance that the Cleveland Browns’ current owners will be forced to sell? The Browns fans would love to see the owners sell the team, but they had some other comments about this current issue with the team on social media.
Fans React To News
Great use of city dollars
— 🟧🟧🟫░M░A░T░T░I░E░🟫🟧🟧 (@mattpie0011) December 30, 2024
Not even moving out of county. Good luck. This rule was meant for actually moving franchises out of cities.
— brandonwojo (@brandonwojo) December 30, 2024
Come on…. Modell Law was to keep the team here, Brookpark / Cleveland, same difference. It’s Not Baltimore… City of Cleveland is going downhill and this move is the worst. This would cause me to move @CleGuardians @cavs & @Browns To a massive complex in Brookpark. @cavsdan work…
— Mike Vara (@VaraSells) December 30, 2024
I don’t understand this one huge item. Called a Sin Tax which was supposed to be temporary to build the stadium. The ENTIRE CUYAHOGA COUNTY paid for the stadium. So why is it an issue moving to a new stadium to a suburb of Cleveland?
If Cleveland City paid for it initially then I…— Peanut0007 (@Peanut44546416) December 31, 2024
Liberal cities love attacking their cash cows.
— Paul Stephens (@PaulStephensGPG) December 30, 2024
This will be one of the biggest stories about the Cleveland Browns this NFL offseason. If they were to stay downtown instead of moving, things are going to get very dicey.
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