CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns on Friday made new arguments in a lawsuit over the franchise’s potential move from its lakefront stadium to Brook Park.
Team attorneys said the so-called “Modell Law”— which puts certain restrictions on professional sports teams that intend on leaving a city that funded it with taxpayer dollars— only applies when a team is under contract with a city.
The amended lawsuit argued that the team intends on fulfilling its contractual obligations by playing its home games at the lakefront stadium until the lease expires after the 2028 season.
The Modell Law “is plainly intended to prevent a team that is playing in a tax-supported facility from moving from that location during the term of the applicable lease,” the new complaint said. “The Browns have not, and do not intend, to move while they are obligated to play at [Huntington Bank Field].”
The new complaint filed in federal court in Cleveland, also reiterated its prior goal of getting a federal judge to rule that the state law is too vague to be constitutional.
The Modell Law, passed in 1996 after former owner Art Modell moved the original Browns to Baltimore, requires teams to give their cities six-months’ notice before leaving town and give residents a chance to buy the team first, among other provisions.
City attorneys have not yet responded to the lawsuit, and in a filing this week, said they were seeking to hire outside attorneys to handle the case. Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to a city spokeswoman for comment.
The Ohio Attorney General has asked to intervene in the lawsuit against the Browns. The Browns didn’t oppose giving the state standing to argue, but U.S. District Judge David Ruiz has not yet ruled on the attorney general’s request.
Among the other new arguments, the Browns expanded on their belief the Modell Law is too vague, particularly the law’s language regarding political subdivisions whose taxpayers help fund the team’s stadium. The Browns receive financial support from both Cleveland and Cuyahoga County taxpayers.
The team argued that it’s move wouldn’t take it outside Cuyahoga County’s borders and wouldn’t violate the Modell Law, even if a judge rules the law constitutional.
“If there can be more than one political subdivision, then which political subdivision would have priority or apply?” the lawsuit said. “In this case, the Brook Park site is located within Cuyahoga County, which is the same county within which the existing lakefront stadium is located.”
Adam Ferrise covers federal courts at cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. You can find his work here.