Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam could face legal action after being challenged by the Cleveland mayor following plans to relocate the NFL team.
The Haslams are keen to move the Browns away from the Cleveland lakefront and 17 miles inland to Brook Park, with their lease at Huntington Bank Field expiring in 2028. A potential $1.1 billion renovation of the current stadium has been considered, but the owners have revealed plans to build a new and improved $2.4 billion dome in Brook Park.
However, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has given the owners a Jan. 9 deadline to respond to his letter, in which he revealed that the city intends to enforce the Modell Law. The law allows residents the opportunity to purchase a sports team before it can leave the area to play in a new location.
The law was passed by the Ohio General Assembly in 1996, after the owner of the previous Browns franchise, Art Modell, moved the team to Baltimore. The current Browns organization, which has been active since 1999, has already attempted to challenge the law in the hopes of receiving an exemption. The move has been opposed by Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.
Now, Bibb has announced that if he does not receive a formal response from the Browns by Jan. 9, or that if the team doesn’t confirm whether it plans to comply with the law, then the city will “take appropriate legal action.” Part of the legal issues stem from the Browns playing in a tax-supported stadium.
The city of Cleveland planned to split renovation costs with the Browns in order to keep the team at Huntington Bank Field, pledging $461 million in funding. Should the Browns relocate, Bibb has confirmed they won’t receive any taxpayer money.
The Modell Law agreement means that no owner of a professional sports team in Ohio can leave without an agreement from the city, or before a six-month purchase period has passed. Due to playing in a tax-supported stadium, if the Browns honor the law then the owners may be forced to sell the organization.
“Yet, to date, the Browns have not provided the City or others with the opportunity to purchase the team, as required by law,” Bibb’s letter to the Browns reads. “And if that opportunity were provided, the city intends to take a leadership role in assembling,” referencing a potential consortium that could be formed.
The letter then states that if the team intends to activate the six-month buying window, the Browns must offer a date in advance. Should the Browns comply, the city will send “representatives to begin inspection and evaluation of the Browns records,” as stated in the Modell Law.
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