DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Haslam Brook Park Stadium Proposal

j/c...

lol, and now the Bengals have their hand out.

Isn’t their lease up in 2026?

Yep. The team has two 5 year lease extension options it could exercise.

The world and how it hasn't changed- Vietnam War- 58000, Lady Bird Johnson bought lots of Bell Helicopter stock....teacher in Texas dies a multimillionaire several times over working the political handshakes and defense stocks filling the overflowing trough politicians eat from.....same thing at work building stadiums.

No. 2028. That is why the rubber needs to hit the road. A 3 year project ends in July 28.

They can have the stadium and parking complete. The rest might take a little while longer. The state and county will have the roads ready.

the lease ending doesn't really mean much if they get the deal that everyone can live with.. The lease can be extended if need be.

No doubt. With some of the goofballs on the city council, they might try to enforce a 5 year deal and not 1 year extensions, if in fact that isn't already possible. I don't know the terms of the extensions

I hope it wouldn't come to that and force the Browns to play a season elsewhere for a season. That would end any chance of goodwill between the city and the Browns. Heck, the Browns might actively pimp west side restaurants and hotels. "Great establishments and way less crime".

Just so you know, Downtown Cleveland is pretty nice these days. I remember when it wasn't nearly as nice.

I know. I go to games 5-7 times a year for the last 20 years. I stay downtown at least once per season.

Just so you know, those GoofBalls as you put it, are responsible for some of those improvements...

My comments are based on how they have handled the Browns situation. It's one of 3 issues that have any real direct impact on me. The Guards and Cavs being the others. You live in the area so the local politics has more of an impact on your life. If you say they are doing a good job on running the city, you know better than I.

So if I use the term goofball in the future, understand it is simply my opinion on the Browns and stadium issues. After that, I don't pay any attention to the local goings on to any degree. I was glad when Sherwin Williams elected to stay inside the city and build that beautiful building.

I bet the paint job was nice.

This new stadium is going to happen, everyone will come to a financial agreement that works for almost all. I’ve seen it many times in big infrastructure projects, : once the ball starts to gain momentum, it gets the go-ahead.

It’s an old stadium that is no longer upper-echelon.


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Side note... here is the link for Ohio folks to check and see if they have any unclaimed funds.

Link

When I first heard this story I went to the link and started the process. To say I was pleasantly surprised by what was out there for me would be an understatement.

Here's a question, Say we use these unclaimed funds to build the Browns Facility and then, at some point, those that are owed money come forward to collect, who is going to pay them?

I mean I understand that the amounts that individuals are owed is probably pretty small in the grand scheme of things, but what if?

In the article it said escrow accounts would be funded by Haslam and whoever else to cover any reasonable refunds to be paid until tax dollars covered the money taken out of the unclaimed funds account.

I suppose we can "what if" anything. The money in these state accounts has been accumulating for decades. It isn't reasonable to think that all of sudden all of this money will be claimed in a matter of a few years.

As you said, in most cases the amounts are small. All states have these accounts. In many cases, the steps one needs to take to get the refund aren't equal the effort.

You're probably right, but I would never bet against pettiness.

My grandfather is owed between $50-$100. He died in 1995. I'm sure there are plenty just like that.

Exactly. I looked in my state account several years ago and am owed nearly $40. For what exactly I don't know. I suspect the accumulation of those random over payment/refund checks we get for $2.30 that we set aside and never get to the bank. The company who issues the check only sends one to the named address. After 90 days they just issue it to the state fund in your name so they can close it out as paid.

I looked in to claiming the money, but the steps needed weren't worth the hassle to get under $40.

And that’s how they get ya.

Sounds like he was attempting to dodge the question. I'd guess he doesn't want to put anything out there that might sound like an ultimatum...

I'm hopeful that the Haslams don't want to come across as: Give us the money or we will move the team somewhere else.

From a purely business perspective if another city offered you a nice, shiny new dome and Ohio refused to, what would you do?

They aren't in the Football business for anything other than Money and Ego.

most of the old time owners might have had Loyalty for the community

But in reality, the kinda money Baltimore threw at Modell was something he couldn't pass up. Yet, he still ended up having to sell the team

I'd take the new digs and run or I'd sell the team where it sits and get a boat load more than I paid for it.

Not a surprise.

Not sure who "they" might be. The business has paid the money.

Personally, I think after a set time the money hasn't been claimed...what? 5 years. 10 years, the money should just be added to the states rainy day fund and be taken off the books.

As to the stadium, I am glad everybody has worked out the details and the city has stopped it's foolish attempt to prevent the Browns from moving 2 miles outside the city limits.

I still think there are avenues to explore where the city can still receive money from the Browns.

The city and county and it's citizens have plowed a bunch of money into that facility and for that matter, into the return of the team. The emotional investment shouldn't be discounted either.

Now, what to do with the current facility?

All that aside, Haslam owns the team. He's going to win this battle no matter what. So cut a deal with him that allows the city something to help with what to do with the stadium.. No idea what that might look like.

I totally understand that people as fans consider the NFL a sport and that they have a very emotional attachment to both their team as well as some of the players. They bleed orange and Brown. I get it. In this case I suppose I get it less than most times. The team is just moving down the road so some of the responses have been quite surprising. Not on the board nearly as much overall as in general.

But when it comes to the reality, the NFL is a business, a corporation. It's a money making enterprise to the owners. It's a money making enterprise to the city. The taxes and money a city makes from a team being located there is huge. So what we have been seeing is a struggle over money. Each side putting its own self interest first. None of it has anything to do with the fans themselves. I suppose a much nicer stadium for is a good thing but make no mistake, it will be the fans who pay for that in increased prices.

I've said many times over the years that if the fans could keep in mind that the decisions we see made are strictly about business first because that's what the NFL is, some of the decisions we see being made in terms of players, stadiums and costs, it would be much easier to understand. That doesn't mean we would like those decisions more, but I would certainly make those decisions easier to understand.

I certainly miss the days when a man could take his family to a game and it would cost much less than his entire weekly paycheck. But those days are long gone and we're never gong to see those days again.

Blow it up. Salt and burn the remains. Then call in the exorcists. Maybe use them before and after.


"Sunk costs" are what they are. How much was invested (financially and emotionally) doesn't matter as much as what it is now "worth" (what can you do with it now?) from a business/public good going forward perspective. Chances are, there are better uses of the space than the stadium as it was constructed.

I'm not sure what that looks like either.

I do like calling in an exorcist!

That facility on the lake is excellent. We'll taken care of over the years. I'm not sure if blowing it up is the best idea overall.... in the end, I suspect that is what will happen

I agree, those days are gone and it might not be an exaggeration about it costing a weeks pay. In fairness it has always been expensive to go to an NFL game. I remember my dad giving up his season tickets because the price was being raised to $14 per seat per game. I can still hear his rumbling..."I'm not paying $14 a seat to go watch a football game".

As much as things have changed, it still remains somewhat the same. LOL

Not really. I'm that way about a lot of things. It reaches a certain price point that I'm no longer willing to pay the price they want for that product. That however doesn't mean I can't afford to pay that price. In 1980 a Super bowl ticket went for $30.

1980 -- $30 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.

By 2000 it was -- $325 Georgia Dome, Atlanta

By 2009 it was-- $1,000, $800, $500 Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.

https://www.espn.com/espn/thelife/news/story?id=3864815

By 2024 the cheapest SB ticket, face value was $950.