The Browns’ ongoing dispute with Cleveland about moving to a new stadium in the suburbs has now entered the courts.
On Thursday, the NFL team announced it has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking clarification of the “Modell Law.” This law, which the city plans to use, aims to prevent the Browns from leaving once their lease at Huntington Bank Field ends in 2028.
The team has been playing in downtown Cleveland since the 1940s, using the current stadium, which seats 65,000, since 1999.
Last week, Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam shared their plans to build a domed stadium and entertainment complex in Brook Park, roughly 15 miles south of Cleveland.
Earlier this week, the Cleveland city council warned that it might block the move by applying the “Modell Law,” named after former Browns owner Art Modell. Modell relocated the team to Baltimore in 1996 after failing to secure a new stadium, where it became the Ravens.
The state law, passed in 1996, was previously used to prevent the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from moving to Texas in 2019. The Crew remained in Ohio and was later bought by the Haslams, who also partly own the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.
“Today’s action for declaratory judgment was filed to take this matter out of the political domain and ensure we can move this transformative project forward to make a new domed Huntington Bank Field in Brook Park a reality,” said Dave Jenkins, CEO of Haslam Sports Group, in a statement.
“We have no interest in any contentious legal battle but are determined to create a project that will add to greater Cleveland by building a domed stadium and adjacent mixed-use development. … This project will bring premier events and economic activity that will generate significant revenue for the city, county, and state.”
