The city of Cleveland has filed a lawsuit against the Browns over their proposed move to build a stadium in the Brook Park suburb.
In the lawsuit filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court (h/t Michelle Jarboe of Cleveland.com), lawyers for the city are seeking to invoke the “Modell law” that states a sports team owner that uses a tax-supported facility for home games and receives funding from the state or a political subdivision can’t move unless it gives a notice of at least six months or receives permission from local government officials to do so.
As the Cleveland Browns set their sights on the suburbs, Ohio’s top cop is weighing in on the escalating fight over the Modell law, a state law designed to make it harder for pro sports teams to leave publicly subsidized facilities. https://t.co/OWw1BoS364
— Michelle Jarboe (@mjarboe) January 16, 2025
The City of Cleveland has sued the Haslam Sports Group & Cleveland #Browns in Cuyahoga County Court for violating the ‘Modell Law’ of 1996 by proposing to build a dome in Brook Park.
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) January 14, 2025
Jarboe noted the Modell law has never been fully tested since it went into law. The closest it came was in 2018 when the city of Columbus invoked it in a lawsuit after the owners of the Columbus Crew were threatening to move the MLS club to Texas.
The Browns’ current lease with Huntington Bank Field runs through the 2028 season. If the team is approved for a new stadium, the goal would be to have it ready for the start of the 2029 campaign.
