The city of Cleveland had publicly discussed the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the Cleveland Browns after the NFL franchise announced it would proceed with plans to build a domed stadium at Brook Park.
The Browns are fighting back against the move, however.
The organization filed a lawsuit against the city of Cleveland on Thursday, asking for the “Modell Law” to be declared unconstitutional, according to an article by analyst Daryl Ruiter.
Ruiter noted the reason the Browns made the move as a preemptive measure for the organization.
“City of Cleveland beat Browns to Brook Park announcement, Browns in turn beat city of Cleveland to court to preempt the city threatening to challenge Brook Park dome proposal and any attempt to derail the project by invoking ‘Modell Law,'” Ruiter wrote on X.
City of Cleveland beat #Browns to Brook Park announcement, #Browns in turn beat city of Cleveland to court to preempt the city threatening to challenge Brook Park dome proposal and any attempt to derail the project by invoking 'Modell Law.'
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) October 24, 2024
The law that the city of Cleveland is attempting to enforce is named after former Browns owner Art Modell, who in 1995 moved the franchise after the season in a dispute with the city over building a new stadium.
Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore in 1996, and Cleveland was rewarded with a new franchise with the same name by the NFL.
The franchise was reborn in 1999.
Ohio enacted the state law in 1996 after Modell’s move, and the law has been used in the past to keep the Columbus Crew – a franchise in the Major League Soccer association – from moving to Texas in 2019.
However, the Modell Law has not been applied to teams attempting to move to another location inside of Ohio.
The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Ohio’s U.S. District Court.
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