Dee and Jimmy Haslam have shared few details about their intentions for a $2 billion domed Browns stadium in Brook Park. But that hasn’t stopped some fans from imagining a slick sports district in the suburbs, cheering for easy parking, bustling shops and restaurants, and sleek residential units. But does such a dream financially make sense? How long would it take for a successful mixed-use development to break even, let alone make a profit? Experts say that payback period is usually two decades or more. And that’s if those shops and restaurants are prosperous. There’s no guarantee in a built-out region like Cleveland – especially when the stadium is used only a dozen or so times a year. It’s a nice idea, a dome and a destination. But is it realistic? — Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
Guardians vs. New York Yankees: Guardians avoid sweep with wild 8-7 victory over Yankees in 10 innings Cavs vs. Charlotte Hornets: Cavs end regular season with a whimper and some boos, losing to Hornets, 120-110 Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Near-perfect spring day |
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| The potential Cleveland Browns stadium site in Brook Park. To the left is Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. To the north is the remaining Ford plant. The highways on the edges of the site are Ohio 237 and Interstate 71, with I-480 to the north. (Google Earth) |
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Browns investment: Jimmy and Dee Haslam say a domed stadium could transform Cleveland. But even if hotels, restaurants and condos do get built around a new venue in Brook Park, whether theycould recoup the stadium’s $2 billion price tag is questionable. A similar Atlanta Braves’ development generated $50 million last year, reports Sean McDonnell. At that rate it would take years for that to pay for an open-air baseball stadium, let alone a domed NFL stadium. Modell law: Art Modell – the locally despised former Browns owner, who uprooted the team and moved it to Baltimore in 1996 – is memorialized in an Ohio law that aptly bears his name. It requires sports teams to give their respective cities six months notice before leaving town and to give the city or area residents a chance to buy the team first, Lucas Daprile reports. But the Haslams were already familiar with the Art Modell law and how it can throw sand in the gears of a team owner’s relocation plan when the Columbus Crew planned to leave Ohio. Stephens vs. Huffman: Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens, who won his position with split support from his Republican colleagues, is wary of Senate President Matt Huffman, who is running unopposed for the House because of term limits. He suggested that Huffman shouldn’t be able to jump straight from the top leadership position in one chamber and onto the dais in the other, reports Jeremy Pelzer. Greyhound station: What will the Playhouse Square Foundation do with the landmark Greyhound bus station on Chester Avenue just north of the theater district? In his first interview about the $3.35 million purchase, Craig Hassall, Playhouse Square’s president and CEO, underscored Playhouse Square’s commitment to preserving one of the city’s most compelling architectural treasures. He also said the purchase could help leverage the revitalization of an urban dead zone north of the theater district between downtown to the west and Cleveland State University to the east, writes Steven Litt. Today in Ohio: The death of a former state regulator has wrenched state and federal criminal cases accusing him of accepting a $4.3 million bribe from a power company before doing its bidding inside Ohio’s government. We’re talking about how the charges against Sam Randazzo and his businesses now stand on uncertain ground on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Warrantless surveillance: After a debate that pitted two Ohio Republicans who chair different House committees against one another, the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted 273-147 to reauthorize the nation’s warrantless surveillance powers. Sabrina Eaton reports the legislation would let the U.S. government collect communications of foreign citizens located outside the United States to gather foreign intelligence without obtaining a warrant. Republican bank account: Republican opponents of House Speaker Jason Stephens say they’re zeroing in on wresting control of the Ohio House GOP’s campaign arm from the speaker using several different approaches. But despite a legal challenge, getting the Ohio Republican Party involved and threats to create an alternative campaign organization, Stephens is still in charge of the Ohio House Republican Alliance (OHRA) – and its bank account, reports Jeremy Pelzer. Derailment payments: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown wants the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department to ensure that residents of East Palestine, Ohio, don’t have to pay taxes on payments they got from Norfolk Southern after last year’s derailment. Sabrina Eaton reports the Ohio Democrat sent a letter Thursday asking Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel to take steps to inform residents that amounts paid or reimbursed by Norfolk Southern are qualified disaster relief payments and therefore may be excluded from taxable income. Supreme Court: The candidates running for the state Supreme Court shared a stage Friday, providing a glimpse of how they approach legal clashes, constitutional issues, and the precarious intersection of partisan politics and an independent judiciary. Jake Zuckerman reports three seats are on the ballot this year, meaning liberals could seize control or conservatives could reach a 6-1 supermajority. Aisha’s Law: A bill that would require police officers to screen victims of domestic violence to assess the risk that they could be killed by their partners, among other changes for survivors, was introduced in the Ohio House for the third time. Laura Hancock reports House Bill 486 is sponsored by state Reps. Sara Carruthers, a Cincinnati-area Republican, and Juanita Brent, a Cleveland Democrat. Forhan civil protection: A Cuyahoga County magistrate has lifted state Rep. Juanita Brent’s civil protection order against her fellow Cuyahoga County Democrat, state Rep. Elliot Forhan, ruling that Brent failed to meet the legal burden needed to get one. Andrew Tobias reports that Magistrate John Dyke also rejected Brent’s request to extend the restraining order while noting that Forhan had apologized for incidents that she cited as part of the case, including testimony she gave last week. |
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County jail: Cuyahoga County is one step closer to breaking ground on a new jail complex in Garfield Heights, reports Lucas Daprile. County Council gave unanimous approval to a $33.4 million contract to Gilbane Building Co. for “early packages” and “pre-construction” on the Central Services Campus, which will be home for the county’s planned new jail. Safety adviser: Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration was aware when it hired its newest top public safety official, who was also Bibb’s college roommate, that he was sued over allegations that he violated an elderly Black couple’s civil rights as a police detective in Washington D.C., Olivia Mitchell reports. Official fired: Cleveland Assistant Director of Public Safety Jakimah Dye was fired Friday, a city spokesperson confirmed. Dye was facing criticism after crashing her city car with four children in it after leaving a basketball game in February, days before a similar issue led to the resignation of then-Safety Director Karrie Howard, Molly Walsh reports. 'Octopus Hunting': It’s been three years since Richey Piiparinen was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a brutally aggressive brain cancer. He has used the clarity and focus brought on by cancer and the prospect of dying to write his first book, titled “Octopus Hunting,” a collection of 14 essays that link the author’s fight for life and Cleveland’s fight for revival, reports Steven Litt. Blending memoir, urban history, economics and religious philosophy, the book is a genre-bending journey through Piiparinen’s struggle to make meaning and find connections between his medical experiences and the troubled city that shaped him. Fish pin: The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife hands out “Fish Ohio” pins to anglers who report snagging one of 25 species of fish of a certain length. Peter Krouse reports if you land four different species of qualifying length in a year, you can get a “Master Angler” pin. Trumpeter swans: The trumpeter swan has been removed from the list of threatened species in Ohio, reports Peter Krouse. The decision was made by the Ohio Wildlife Council at the recommendation of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. Wildlife help: The Kevin P. Clinton Wildlife Center in Kirtland devotes itself to helping wildlife that have been injured, become ill or orphaned return to their habitats, reports Cliff Pinckard. |
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Expensive real estate: The second $3 million home of 2024 in Cuyahoga County was sold in March, reports Zachary Smith. The colonial in Strongsville, which sold for $3.1 million, has nearly 10,000 square feet of living space and sits on 4.41 acres. Organ transplants: Advances in organ and cell transplants from one species to another will be among the topics discussed at the ninth annual Patient Symposium, a free event that seeks to educate kidney patients and caregivers about kidney health. Julie Washington reports that earlier this year, a 62-year-old man in Massachusetts became the first living person to receive a genetically edited kidney from a pig, a medical breakthrough that gives hope to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are on dialysis and waiting for kidney transplants. |
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Police lawsuit: The family of Tavion Koonce-Williams is demanding accountability and preparing to sue the city of Akron after body camera video released this week shows a police officer shooting the 15-year-old boy in the arm. Molly Walsh reports the teenager sat in silence Friday morning wearing a black dress shirt and a gray striped tie flanked by family and local activists during a news conference in Akron. Connected arsons: State investigators said six fires in three different cities have been ruled as arsons and all are connected, reports Molly Walsh. The fires were set in Richmond Heights, Willoughby Hills and Beachwood between March 13 and March 24. Heartless Felons: A new federal indictment says a Heartless Felons street gang crew ran a drug ring inside a private prison in Youngstown and discussed recruiting people to work as prison guards so they could smuggle drugs inside the lockup, reports Adam Ferrise. Members of the Cleveland gang’s subsect called the Fully Blooded Felons discussed recruiting people as young as 18 years old to become corrections officers at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center so gang members could get drugs into the prison. Boogaloo Bois: A Boogaloo Bois group member pleaded guilty to federal charges that he threatened to kill police officers and federal agents and burn down buildings. Adam Ferrise reports that Aron McKillips, 30, of Sandusky, faces a range of about two-and-a-half to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sending interstate threats and possessing a machine gun, according to court records filed on Friday. Clean Sweep: The city of Cleveland announced Friday that police led a nearly month-long operation that resulted in 77 people being arrested for various crimes, reports Olivia Mitchell. Operation Clean Sweep was in place from Feb. 28 through March 27. In addition to the arrests, authorities arrested 77 people, seized five guns -- including two machine guns -- and found a stolen vehicle. |
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Sokolowski’s University Inn: Memorabilia from one of Cleveland’s iconic and treasured restaurants is being liquidated at a sale next month. About four years after the restaurant closed its doors, the many mementos from Sokolowski’s University Inn in the city’s Tremont neighborhood will be sold to the public, reports Marc Bona. Fan Expo: Dreams and reality collided in downtown Cleveland as thousands converged on the final day of Fan Expo Cleveland to meet their favorite film stars and pop culture icons, Megan Sims reports. Attendees came dressed for the occasion, in costumes ranging from Ghostbusters and Jason Vorhees to anime characters in colorful wigs and characters with TVs for heads – and everything in between. Floral cocktails: To celebrate the start of spring, Alex Darus gathered up eight floral cocktail recipes worth making at home to usher in the season. The drinks include notes of elderflower, rose, lavender and beyond for blossoming notes in every sip. Picnic condiments: Cleveland has a dizzying array of artisanal products from traditional takes on ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, to tangy hot sauces, salsas, hummuses, dressings, marinades, pickles and fermented foods. Local purveyors are crafting unique flavors that tap into fresh, locally sourced ingredients and they’re doing it all with a personal touch. Peter Chakerian suggests what to add to your picnic basket. House of the Week: Priced at $1,950,000, a Chagrin Falls Cape Cod-style home was built in 2020 and has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, a three-car garage and an in-ground pool. Starting in the foyer, the home exudes casual elegance, Joey Morona reports. |
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Game of tag led to 18-year-old’s death in Avon, police say Read more Man convicted of fatal road-rage shooting gets at least 15 years in prison Read more Lake County Sheriff investigating after deputies say man strangled and killed his girlfriend Read more Businesses, city reap benefits of Middleburg Heights job creation grants Read more ‘All about shopping local:’ North Union Farmers Markets back outdoors for the season Read more Middleburg Heights Mayor Matt Castelli recaps another year of progress Read more Notre Dame College release states there is 'no pathway' to keep school open, but supporters still believe there may be Read more Lowden housing development sold out in South Euclid; still more new homes coming Read more Bring home a furry friend from April 27 animal adoption open house in Middleburg Heights Read more |
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