Cleveland, OH
Browns stadium drama: Surveys, lawsuits, economic studies, and amendments, oh my!
The Cleveland Browns have just two games remaining before they close the book on their latest season of frustration and disappointment.
While everyone will get a much-needed break after the final whistle blows in Baltimore on January 5, one topic related to the team will most certainly not be decided anytime soon. And that is debate over where the team will be playing its home games in the future.
Team officials have made it clear they intend to build a domed stadium and surrounding entertainment district in the Cleveland suburb of Book Park. City and county officials have continually countered with their preference for the Browns to remain downtown on the lakefront and play in a renovated Huntington Bank Field, which has been home to the team since its return to the NFL in 1999.
For the Browns, team officials have been busy focusing on a campaign to win the hearts and minds of fans and politicians. This campaign started with the release earlier this month of an economic study conducted by RCLCO, a real estate consulting company.
According to a story on the team’s website, the main takeaways from the study include:
- A domed stadium can attract up to an additional 1.5 million visitors through a mix of year-round programming of various sizes and major events.
- A projected annual direct economic output of $1.2 billion across Cuyahoga County, as well as create nearly 5,400 permanent jobs.
- Total annual spending at bars, restaurants, and hotels downtown is projected to increase by about $11 million over what is generated today by the activity at Huntington Bank Field.
That was followed up last week with a team-led interview with Lance Evans, lead architect of HKS, the firm chosen to design the domed stadium.
Evans hit all the right notes, especially by appealing to fans when he discussed the approach to creating the Dawg Pound in a new stadium:
“You’ve got to start with the Dawg Pound and the idea that it is a celebrated item. When we were listening to the fan base about what they wanted in the building, number one was to restore the power of the fans of the Dawg Pound. And so, we’ve created essentially a wall, a vertical wall of fans for the Dawg Pound. We have brought them as close as we can to the players and to the end zone. We’re going to have the visiting team run out right beside them. It is going to be a raucous wall of electricity, and we’re excited about that. That informed the decisions, like really the seating bowl was informed, the whole design of it, around this idea of catering to the kind of fandom of Brown’s nation, which is palpable.”
Finally, the Browns have been conducting surveys to gauge interest in the idea of the domed stadium project. While some local media have made a big deal out of the surveys, they appear to be filled with the standard type of questions that are commonly used when undertaking a project of this magnitude, such as how important the addition of restaurants and bars is to the project, how often the survey respondent would visit the area on non-game days, and the like.
One interesting element of the surveys comes in a series of questions that lay out some potential price points for season tickets, including amenities like unlimited food and drink, or priority access to other events. The prices are not the actual prices, but are shown solely for “research purposes.”
No matter what the results of the survey say – either for or against the domed stadium – there is nothing compelling either side of the debate to act on the results, so it is probably a good idea to not get too worked up about their existence.
There are two areas that deserve some attention, both of which come from the government side of the debate.
The first comes from Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin, who confirmed last week that the city plans to use the state’s Modell Law to try and keep the Browns downtown. Griffin is joined in that fight by Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.
The city first floated the idea of using the law, which requires owners of professional sports teams that play in a taxpayer-supported stadium to give at least six months’ notice before leaving and must give the city or local investors an opportunity to buy the team, in October.
While nothing official has happened, the city has hired the law firm of Jones Day to reportedly act as outside counsel as the city works on its response to the team’s position that the law is unconstitutional, according to NEOtrans blog.
Ronayne also continues to lead the fight to keep the Browns downtown as opposed to using public money for the Brook Park site, as the told NEOtrans:
“Cuyahoga County cannot afford to subsidize the creation of a second downtown with taxpayer dollars. I continue to ask for the downtown stadium renovation plan to be shared publicly and for the Cleveland Browns to come back to the negotiating table with the city of Cleveland to build off of the billions of dollars of investments already made in the downtown core.”
The second comes from the Statehouse in Columbus, where lawmakers closed out their year by giving the Cincinnati Bengals a tax break on their upcoming $120 million renovation of Paycor Stadium.
As part of an amendment to House Bill 315, the Bengals can exempt themselves from around $9.3 million in sales taxes if Governor Mike DeWine approves the proposal.
Ultimately it is a lot of posturing between the Bengals and Hamilton County officials, which you can read more about here. As it relates to the Browns and their plans, it is still unclear how the amendment could potentially impact a new or renovated stadium project, but it is something to keep an eye on in the coming months.
While the 2024 regular season is winding down, the battle over where the Browns will call home is far from over. As always, it is important to remember that the Browns current lease does not expire until after the 2028 season, so they are not going anywhere. And even if they eventually do land in Brook Park, it is only a move to the suburbs so they will still be the Cleveland Browns.
CLEVELAND (WJW) — Crowds gathered along the Lake Erie shoreline Saturday morning to welcome the USS Cleveland as it arrived in its namesake city.
The Freedom Class littoral ship will be historically commissioned in Cleveland on May 16 during its weeklong stay, after which it will officially join active service in the U.S. Navy.
The arrival of the ship is a milestone for Ohio and the nation, marking the first time in the 250-year history of the United States that a U.S. Navy warship will be commissioned in the State of Ohio.
“There have been 81 ships in the history of the U.S. Navy that have been named after cities in Ohio or the state of Ohio itself, but out of all 81, this is the first that will be commissioned in its namesake city, so this is an incredibly historic moment and it’s fitting that it’s happening for the 250th anniversary of the Navy and our nation,” USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation Director Nick Lippert said.
Ahead of the commissioning ceremony next weekend, the public is invited to tour the ship starting Sunday, May 10, at the North Coast Yard. The USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation is hosting a “Community Day” Sunday that will include live entertainment, family-friendly activities, food, drinks and more.
“This special event will connect the crew with the community of Northeast Ohio for a day of excitement and celebration as residents will have the opportunity to meet the Sailors, learn more about the ship and our Foundation, and kickoff Commissioning Week in true Cleveland fashion,” the USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation website reads.
Tours will be available through Thursday, May 14.
Click HERE For more information about the tours and the weeklong celebration.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – For the second day, Northeast Ohio school districts are receiving bomb threats.
On Friday morning, two schools in the Elyria City School District, the high school and Ely Elementary, received bomb threats.
Both schools are evacuating students, and emergency responders are on the way, according to a social media post.
All other district schools are in a lockout status as a precaution.
The district asks that family members not come to the schools or call school offices at this time so emergency communication lines remain available.
Elyria Police said that the department is working with the district to ensure the safety and security of students and school personnel following the threats.
“We are aware that neighboring school districts experienced similar swatting-related incidents yesterday, and our investigative personnel are working diligently with our law enforcement partners to identify the source of these threats,” police said.
Five Northeast Ohio school districts received bomb threats on Thursday, including:
- Alliance City School District
- Amherst Exempted Village Schools
- Cleveland Metropolitan School District
- Lorain City School District
- Shaker Heights School District
Below are the details from each district and the protocols in place to protect students and staff.
ALLIANCE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Alliance Police Department confirmed there was an ’anonymous’ robo-voice style call that came into the high school saying there were ’20 pipe bombs’ outside of the school” before 12:30 p.m.
Officers rushed to the high school and Rockhill Elementary School campuses “due to an alarm in which we were not getting a response from the school,” according to APD.
APD shared that the schools evacuated the students temporarily as officers conducted a sweep of the area.
“Nothing was found, thankfully,” APD Lt. Christopher McCord stated. “The school staff, and especially the students, did a great job of staying calm and making everyone’s jobs easier, smoother, and safer.”
“We will be looking into the source of the threats to hold those responsible accountable, if possible,” McCord added.
AMHERST EXEMPTED VILLAGE SCHOOLS
The Amherst Exempted Village School confirmed at 10:25 a.m. that Marion L. Steele High School and Walter G. Nord Middle School received a bomb threat.
AEVS said all district facilities were placed on a level 1 lockdown before the two schools were evacuated to a safe location under the supervision of administration and staff, according to district protocol.
The Amherst police and fire departments teamed up with the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office to perform perimeter and building sweeps to determine if the threat was substantiated, said AEVS.
The perimeter sweeps of the two schools were complete by 11:34 a.m., and law enforcement then conducted the interior sweeps of the buildings, AEVS explained.
Amherst Junior High School and Powers Elementary School lifted their lockdowns at that time and resumed normal procedures, according to AEVS.
AEVS also confirmed at that time that all students and staff were accounted for and safe.
The Amherst Police Department completed its sweep of Steele High School and cleared the building of any threat by 11:51 a.m., AEVS updated.
Students were dismissed for the day at that time, according to AEVS.
AEVS instructed student drivers to leave the campus, and students unable to immediately leave were to stay at the school until they could be picked up by a parent, guardian, or approved emergency contact.
The bus routes were running at the scheduled normal dismissal time for students who need a ride home, AEVS added.
APD completed its sweep of Nord School and cleared the building of any threat by 12:32 p.m., AEVS updated.
Nord School students were safely escorted back into the building, according to AEVS, after evacuating to the New Beginning Church as a safe location.
AEVS instructed parents, guardians, and approved emergency contacts who wanted to pick up their student to report to the school’s front entrance, where staff and APD officers would help.
Classes, activities, and normal dismissal procedures resumed as scheduled for students who stayed at the school, AEVS shared, and bus dismissal also proceeded per usual.
“We appreciate the cooperation, patience, and support of our families and community throughout today’s situation,” AEVS stated.
According to AEVS Superintendent Mike Molnar, all evening activities at the school will continue as scheduled, and school will resume on Friday.
Molnar added that AEVS will have an increased police presence at schools on Thursday night and Friday.
CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District confirmed two threats were received on Thursday morning. The threats were against East Tech High School and Buhrer Dual Language Academy.
According to CMSD, Cleveland police and CMSD’s Department of Safety & Security conducted an investigation and found the buildings to be safe.
From the information gathered during the searches, Cleveland police believe both calls were swatting incidents.
Classes at both schools were uninterrupted, and the school day progressed normally.
Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Communications Officer Jon Benedict added that parents were informed about the incident.
LORAIN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Lorain City School District confirmed the high school has been evacuated due to a bomb threat on Thursday afternoon.
This is the third Northeast Ohio school district to receive a bomb threat on May 7.
The district announced the evacuation of Lorain High School at 12:23 p.m., and dismissed students at 12:40 p.m.
Bus riders were escorted to the buses waiting to take them home, according to LCSD.
LCSD said many elementary and middle school students were at the high school for the dance showcase.
Those elementary and middle school students were brought back to their home schools, said LCSD.
All students and staff are safe and following established protocols, LCSD stated, and these measures are being taken out of an abundance of caution.
The district safety team and law enforcement partners continue to investigate this threat.
“Your students’ and our staff’s safety is our top priority,” LCSD stated.
A 19 News crew is on their way to the scene to learn more.
SHAKER HEIGHTS SCHOOL DISTRICT
Shaker Heights High School received its second threatening phone call this week on Thursday, the district confirmed.
Shaker Heights School District said it immediately teamed up with the Shaker Heights Police Department to investigate the threat and determined its credibility.
SHSD said it was aware of the other Northeast Ohio school districts that received similar threats on Thursday.
“Based on the SHPD’s assessment and established safety protocols, the decision was made to continue normal school operations rather than initiate a shelter-in-place,” SHSD stated.
Additional SHPD officers and a K-9 unit were sent to the school out of an abundance of caution to support the safety and security of the building as the investigation continues, SHSD added.
Orrville City Schools were also placed on a soft lockdown on Thursday.
However, this was not a bomb threat, nor any direct threat to the school.
The soft lockdown was a precautionary measure for an incident that happened not just off school property, but out of the town.
This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.
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