The relationship between the city of Cleveland and the Cleveland Browns has always been a bit unwieldy. This week, Mayor Frank Jackson continued the trend and confirmed that the city will toss the football organization $2 million each year for 15 years for all sorts of neato stadium improvements. Like escalators and “fan experience” upgrades at the city-owned and clunkily-named FirstEnergy Stadium, Home of the Cleveland Browns.
Private funding and an NFL loan will take care of the $120-million project from the start, but that public money will then flow forth from the city’s general fund.
Here’s some choice Jackson input, via Tuesday’s press conference:
“Now could we have hired another police officer as a result of this? Yes. Could we have swept a street? Yes. We could have done it, because it’s general fund money. But what I’m saying to you is that the level of service we provide today will not be in jeopardy.”
In retrospect, the Cleveland Browns “fan experience” may be a more worthwhile endeavor than hiring another police officer. But city services like street-sweeping, snow-plowing, or, say, mostly anything that accounts for more than simply treading municipal water would be a more significant investment in the city’s future. Fan experience! Here’s Councilman Brian Cummins with a clutch line:
“The Browns and the NFL talk about enhancing the fan experience. I’m concerned about funding the neighborhood experience.”
Inevitable as they are, the social and political implications seem to be simply rolled into another awkward deal cut with ultra-wealthy team owner Jimmy Haslam III. That deal includes extra latitude for the team’s expenditures of the “sin tax” (levied on purchases of alcohol and tobacco products). Unsurprisingly, Haslam and team CEO Joe Banner have publicly expressed a desire to see that tax extended past its 2015 expiration date. Jackson has sided with them; the extension is imminent.
Half of the current sin tax pool of money ($12 million of the $24 million) is slated for expenses in 2016, though the team is mum on what that entails.
This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2013.
You know what would improve the fan experience, A WINNING TEAM! I personally don’t want to watch the browns get their ass handed to them via a bigger screen while my car sits in a lot with flat tires due to potholes all over the city. Great investment Cleveland!
Stupid
Why does this city cater to a multi-millionaire ? This money would be better spent improving the education experience of students who sadly must attend one of the worst school systems in the nation.
Hey Haslam—get your hands out my pocket! I’m done with this team, the nfl and all other *pro* sports. You can ALL Kiss my ass.
This is an idiotic investment. The stadium isn’t that old or outdated at all – I’ve never been to a game and been disappointed with the “fan experience.” The city is paying the Browns $30 million over 15 years?! Can you imagine what the city could do with that amount of money? Fixing the streets, actually training police to not fire 117 shots into a single car – any amount of police training would be nice actually, improving the school system, attracting business to downtown with tax cuts/incentives? Instead we dump it into that hole by the lake that is used 9 times a year. Brilliant F*&(*ing plan, Frank.
And here is what you (not all of you) voted for. Enjoy!!! Wonder what Haslem did with the money he got for letting FirstEnergy name the stadium?
I tell you what. I used to love the Browns. Almost as much as an old friend. But as I have grown up and have become more disenfranchised with pro sports, I just can’t justify giving any of tax payers money to a sports franchise.Not with that shit product they continue to put on the field.:
The original deal was backloaded heavily the last 5 years in the browns favor there are no additional tax dollars being spent on this revised deal that the browns quite frankly gave the city a break
Joseph you are incorrect in your understanding of the deal being proposed. How is asking the City to pay an additional $30 million a break? And, the $12 million we’d be giving them access to in 2016 would in fact reduce the amount of payments in the balloon portion beginning in 2021, but it doesn’t reduce the total amount we would be paying. It actually reduces the interest we could earn on that $12 million for the years it would not have been obligated.
Instead of putting new tires on a rusty Yugo – courtesy of farmer Mike White – the long-term planning should have been for a new stadium with a retractable dome.
how about a dome so it can be used year round? Why should a team that has such a shitty record get more $ to fix a brand new stadium that can’t be used for anything but football? For REAL?
Cleveland is full of a bunch of crooks that are just WASTING MONEY and ruining the place-get rid of them all and let’s see some LIFE in Cleveland–
Let’s rebuild the Music Business here, cut the Police State shit and let’s actually have FUN here again…There is more to Cleveland than SPORTS-What happened to our BALLET?
Let’s get some PRIMO Concert Venues, cut the prices so people that aren’t corporate CEO”s can go out with their families to enjoy the area…Support SMALL BUSINESS so that people have jobs and can afford to do more than try to keep a roof over their heads–12 Million a year for the Stadium? Ludicrous!
FirstEnergy will be paying the Browns an average of about $6 million a year for at least 17 years for the right to have its name on Cleveland Browns Stadium.Since the tax payers own the stadium why not charge FirstEnergy 2 million a year to put their Logo on the stadium.Haslem & the Cleveland City Council are screwing the tax payer again.
Wow. Most of the 11 previous comments are against spending the money at the stadium and the city govt is all gung ho about going forward with it. I guess this is what is known as TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.