Cleveland Browns to permanently leave the city, relocate to suburbs

The Cleveland Browns and the city of Cleveland have agreed to a $100 million exit settlement, and the team will leave the city for the first time, relocating to Brook Park.

Before the deal was finalized, the Cleveland City Council fought for over a year to keep the team in the city, going as far as filing a lawsuit against the team’s owners, according to WOSU Public Media.

The agreement includes a $100 million commitment from the team’s owners, the Haslams, to demolish the existing stadium, invest tens of millions of dollars toward community projects and lakefront development over the next decade and pay $25 million upfront days after council’s approval.

“This is really a win for the city. We think what we have here is a deal that is historic,” Law Director Mark Griffin said. “Instead of us paying to subsidize professional football, they’re going to pay us.”

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibbs also defended the deal, adding that he followed the council’s direction to ensure the city didn’t leave empty-handed.

“For the last three years, this administration has worked hard to deliver a deal we believe works for the taxpayers in all of your wards, all our wards,” Bradford Davy, the mayor’s chief of staff, said.

However, members of the council didn’t like the decision, with even those who approved the deal admitting they did so because they didn’t see another way out and saying that they were “blindsided” by Bibb’s October press conference during which he announced the settlement without consulting them.

The deal was approved by a 13-2 vote, with two members, Mike Polensek and Brian Kazy, voting against the measure.

“I couldn’t even hold out my nose and vote for this,” Polensek said. “There will not be one dollar of improvement going into St. Clair Superior, Glenville, Collinwood, Euclid-Green. There will not be a dollar going into those neighborhoods … out of this deal.”

Former Cleveland mayor, council member and state representative Dennis Kucinich, who also previously filed a lawsuit on behalf of taxpayers, came before the council on Monday to urge members to take more time before “rushing” approval of the deal, telling them that the agreement was a “financial malpractice.”

“This will have an impact on the Guardians and the Cavs because if there’s no way to protect the city’s interests, then you can kiss those teams goodbye too,” he said. “Don’t tell me it can’t happen.”

However, there are still some things that are yet to be resolved, such as two court cases outside the city’s control, the need to formally strike a deal with the city of Brook Park for the creation of a community authority to own the new facility, manage the lease and oversee broader site development, according to Cleveland.com.