Latest news with #Haslams'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New developments in Cleveland's fight to keep the Browns downtown
CLEVELAND (WJW) — The Fox 8 I-Team is tracking new developments in the city of Cleveland's fight to keep the Browns playing football downtown. On Friday, attorneys for the city filed a motion in federal court asking a judge to reconsider allowing the Browns to file an amended complaint. I-TEAM: New development in unsolved Cleveland Metroparks double murder 'Defendant the City of Cleveland (the City) respectfully asks this Court to reconsider its May 23, 2025 Order granting the Browns' motion to amend because the Court overlooked the threshold question of whether it even had jurisdiction to grant leave to amend,' the motion filed by attorneys for Cleveland states. 'As the City explained, the Browns did not properly invoke this Court's jurisdiction by suing under the Declaratory Judgment Act as a basis for federal-question jurisdiction.' The Browns are taking steps toward moving to a dome in Brook Park, and last year, they filed suit asking the federal court to throw out the Modell Law, an Ohio law that restricts sports teams from moving. The Browns filed an amended complaint Monday. More tax money requested to build Browns dome site as group support grows: I-Team The amended complaint attacks the city while referring to the plan by the Haslam Sports Group, saying, 'The Haslams' proposal is a fiscally sound solution for the City that will keep the Browns in the heart of the greater metropolitan area for at least another fifty years. Instead of recognizing the benefits of the Haslams' proposal, the City seeks to hold the Browns hostage to its own failure of vision. Instead of a new domed facility that can drive significant economic activity year-round, the City insists on sticking with an aging, uncovered stadium that is used only a dozen or so times annually.' Meanwhile, on Friday Downtown Cleveland, Inc President and CEO Michael Deemer testified before the State Senate Finance Committee in Columbus. Deemer told members of the committee he is in favor of keeping the Browns playing football downtown. The Browns plan to invest more than $1 billion in a dome and entertainment complex, but they are also asking for $600 million from the state. A decision on state funding is expected late next month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
14-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Thought bubble: Ohio's $600 million for Browns stadium
👋 Sam here, offering some context on the money the state of Ohio may allocate to the proposed Browns stadium in Brook Park. State of play: House Republicans passed the biennial state budget last week, which included $600 million in state-backed bonds for the Haslams' project. The Senate and Gov. Mike DeWine must also approve before it's formally adopted. Friction point: Paying back those bonds could cost Ohio taxpayers nearly $1 billion, once interest is included, according to DeWine. That money will not be repaid by the Browns in the same way that you or I repay a loan. What they're saying: The team argues the stadium and surrounding new development will generate sufficient tax revenue to pay back the debt over the next 25 years. By the numbers: The Browns have agreed to pay $38 million up front in what they're characterizing as "prepaid rent" to alleviate state risk. (Lawmakers amended that figure to $50 million.) But other than that, the team itself is not paying off the bonds at all. Revenue from parking taxes, admissions taxes, and income taxes will be used. Between the lines: History tells us that the economic projections of pro teams tend to be overstated to justify public subsidies. Remember when Gateway initially promised 28,000 jobs? Between 1989 and 1996, the entire central business district only grew by 6,300 jobs, including the menial, low-wage jobs the stadiums created. The state's foremost stadium financing expert, Ken Silliman, believes the Browns revenue projections are "way too optimistic." Plus: Economists have published studies for years showing that pro stadiums are great at shifting economic activity, but not at creating new spending. In other words: Even if the Browns' projections are accurate, it would likely come at the expense of the rest of the region — leeching spending (and tax revenue) from other places where we already spend our money.
