For the second time in their history, the Cleveland Browns are leaving the city they call home.
In a press conference on Thursday, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb announced that the Browns have decided to move to Brook Park.
A suburb of Cleveland, Brook Park is located approximately 17 miles away from the team’s current downtown home, Huntington Bank Field.
“The Haslams’ choice to move the team away from this progress is frustrating and profoundly disheartening,” Bibb said, referring to the Haslam family, which has owned the Browns since 2012.
While it’s unclear when the Browns will move to Brook Park where they plan to build a state-of-the-art domed stadium, the team’s current lease for Huntington Bank Field expires in 2028.
The move has been met with a mixed reaction from fans, with some who are upset even likening it to the franchise moving from Cleveland to Baltimore in 1996, where they became the Ravens.
The Browns returned to the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1999, reassuming the franchise’s colors and history. In the time since, the Browns have played at Huntington Bank Field — previously known as Cleveland Browns Stadium and FirstEnergy Stadium — with the city having made efforts to keep the team downtown by renovating the stadium.
“My team and I stand ready to re-engage with the Haslams if the Brook Park option does not prove viable,” Bibb said.
“And should the Haslams reconsider, we are ready to return to the table and continue working towards a solution that keeps the Browns in the city that has stood by them for decades, and decades, and decades — Cleveland, Ohio.”
Clearly, this is a big move for the team and the fans.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.