FirstEnergy Stadium is no more. Big news for a Thursday as the Cleveland Browns announced a decision with the utility company to end their stadium naming rights deal with seven years left on the contract. The name had come under fire following the House Bill 6 scandal, in which FirstEnergy admitted to paying bribes to then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and Samuel Randazzo, the ex-chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The Browns say the stadium will return to its previous (bland) name, Cleveland Browns Stadium, but that didn’t stop buzz about future possibilities -- both from business writer Sean McDonnell and readers through Editor Chris Quinn’s Subtext account. Slyman’s Stadium, anyone? - Kristen Davis |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Streak of sunny days continues today, but rain returns to forecast Saturday and Sunday |
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The Browns and FirstEnergy have mutually agreed to end their naming rights deal on the team's stadium. |
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Browns stadium:The Browns and FirstEnergy announced Thursday they have reached an amicable decision to end their stadium naming rights agreement after 10 years, Dan Labbe reports. The name change comes at a time when the Browns are expected to seek renovations to the facility, now in its third decade of use. Name suggestions: After the Browns and FirstEnergy announced they’re ending their stadium naming rights agreement, the obvious question remains: What would fans like the stadium to be called? Zach Mentz compiles some of the suggestions from readers. Sean McDonnell reports naming rights for the stadium likely will attract some interest from major businesses who are willing to spend more than $100 million. Today in Ohio: Opponents to bills in the state legislature that would strip the Ohio State Board of Education of most of its power say the legislation is unconstitutional. We’re talking about a voter-approved 1953 constitutional amendment that opponents cite in their arguments against the change on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
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Ohio Lottery Commission: In the wake of Ohio Lottery Commission Director Pat McDonald’s retirement, Gov. Mike DeWine’s office says it’s hiring an outside firm to investigate “potential HR irregularities” at the commission, reports Jeremy Pelzer. Death penalty: As Ohio’s death-penalty system lingers in a years-long purgatory, Attorney General Dave Yost says the state could be spending hundreds of millions of dollars unnecessarily to keep inmates on Death Row, reports Jeremy Pelzer. |
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Jail site: A plot of undeveloped land in suburban Garfield Heights is on Cuyahoga County’s short list of sites for the future jail, reports Kaitlin Durbin. Multiple sources familiar with planning have confirmed to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer that the site at Granger Road and Transportation Boulevard is among the main contenders being vetted to house a new county jail. Jail upgrades: Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne unveiled Thursday some of the ideas he’s pursuing to “reimagine” the jail and courthouse facilities, reports Kaitlin Durbin. His announcement included very few details, but it did nail down one fact that had been in question over four years of planning: the county will build a new jail. Lakefront development: After failing for decades to build a strong connection between downtown and Lake Erie, the city of Cleveland could soon have a lakefront development authority, reports Steven Litt. Mayor Justin Bibb plans to introduce legislation to City Council to create a North Coast Development Authority empowered to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in private capital and government grants to shepherd big, complex projects to fruition across election cycles and administrations. Protest concerns: Akron City Hall and the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center will have restricted access beginning this evening as the city prepares for possible protests regarding the upcoming decisions from the grand jury seated in the Jayland Walker case, Molly Walsh reports. West Side Market: The City of Cleveland is proposing big changes for the West Side Market, including redoing the basement infrastructure of the historic landmark and reorganizing the produce arcades to add a prepared food hall, reports Paris Wolfe. Weather alerts: Northeast Ohio was under two weather alerts on Thursday, one for air quality and the other for risk of fire spread. Zachary Smith looks at how often this happens and if they are happening sooner than expected. Nature preserve: A 127-acre parcel of old-growth woods surrounded in part by residential homes at the southeast edge of Cuyahoga County has been designated as a state nature preserve by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, reports Peter Krouse. |
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Oxygen relief: A local scientific discovery found a promising new method for delivering oxygen to tissues damaged by disease by coupling nitric oxide, which dilates blood vessels, with the oxygen carrying molecule hemoglobin, reports Gretchen Cuda Kroen. Tax services: Haven’t filed taxes yet? Kaylee Remington rounds up all the tax services to save you before the April 18 deadline. COVID-19 cases: The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ohio ticked downward slightly, from 5,214 last week to 5,165 this week, reports Julie Washington. The weekly tally was lower than at any point since April 2022. |
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Officer shooting: A 21-year-old man who shot and killed an undercover Cleveland police detective and his confidential informant will remain in prison at least until his early 70s, reports Cory Shaffer. David McDaniel was 18 when he and two juveniles tried to rob Det. James Skernivitz and Scott Dingess after seeing the two handling money in an unmarked police car parked in a West Side strip mall. On Thursday, he was sentenced to life in prison with his first chance of parole after 50 years. School gun protocol: A judge on Wednesday ordered an 18-year-old West Geauga High School student held without bond after authorities accused him of planning to shoot several students in the school library, reports Molly Walsh. He was arrested and accused of bringing a gun to school, forcing the school district to make more plans to ensure safety in the schools. Eviction shooting: An argument over an eviction led to the fatal shooting of a 61-year-old woman in the Cleveland's Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood on Wednesday, reports Olivia Mitchell. Child porn: Federal agents on Thursday arrested a Summa Health IT employee on charges that he downloaded thousands of videos of young children being raped, reports Adam Ferrise. Rudolph Johnson, 44, is accused in federal court in Akron of possessing child pornography and receiving and distributing images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Drug bust: A U.S. Postal Service worker in Solon intercepted packages of methamphetamine for a Cleveland man accused of dealing drugs, Adam Ferrise reports. |
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Air Force museum: Susan Glaser looks at Dayton’s National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, which has been showcasing aviation history longer than the Air Force itself. Midwestern etiquette: In the latest edition of our etiquette guide, Jane Morice compiles advice about dining, like how much to tip and how many food samples you can ask for. Airport parking: Cleveland Hopkins has created a second cell-phone lot for people picking up and dropping off passengers at the airport in an attempt to alleviate overcrowding on the roadways near the terminal, reports Susan Glaser. Jacobs Pavilion: From Tyler Childers, Young the Giant and Yungblud to Buddy Guy, the Beach Boys and Lynyrd Skynyrd, Malcolm X Abram and Kaylee Remington have the full schedule of concerts announced for Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica thus far. Cavs watch parties: The Cavaliers will host watch parties when the team is on the road in its first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, reports Marc Bona. |
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Cop whose chief placed KKK sign on his jacket loses public records case Read more Shooting victim dies after being found in canal behind Akron apartment complex Read more Former Erie County sheriff’s sergeant pleads guilty to using excessive force on female inmate Read more Orange council approves purchase of pavilion for Community Park Read more Larry Genova to replace Daniel Fritz as assistant Orange fire chief Read more Want a ‘Star Wars’ wedding theme? Akron Municipal Court has May 4 offering Read more One of the world’s oldest mountain chicken frogs dies, Akron Zoo announces Read more |
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