Add Dennis Kucinich to the list of officials trying to block the new Cleveland Browns suburban dome stadium.
The former Cleveland mayor, and a former U.S. Presidential candidate, has filed paperwork trying to block the Brook Park dome under the recently altered Modell Law, that he wrote.
The Browns are seeking public funds to build a dome stadium roughly 15 miles southwest of their home at Huntington Bank Field, where they have played since they were reinstated as an NFL team in 1999.
But even though the Browns are banking on $600 million in unclaimed public funds to help build their weatherproof suburban home, which was approved by Governor Mike DeWine last week, Kucinich has picked up the fight in one last-ditch effort to keep the Browns within the city limits.
What Did Dennis Kucinich Do To The Browns Dome?
Kucinich inserted himself into this fight about a week ago when he wrote a “taxpayer’s demand letter,” to the City of Cleveland to keep fighting to keep the Browns there.
On Monday, Kucinich added a “friend of the court” brief where he submitted his legal interpretation of the recently adjusted Modell Law that would keep the Browns playing at Cleveland.
That Kucinich is the person to cite the law is appropriate, since he wrote the legislation, named for the longtime former Browns owner who moved the Browns to Baltimore in 1995. The statute bars Ohio-based sports teams from breaking their leases to move out of their playing facility.
“The City of Cleveland, having invested hundreds of millions of public dollars, holds rightsâ¦that are firmly rooted in Ohio constitutional law and public policy,” Kucinich wrote, according to FOX 8 in Cleveland. “The Cityâs statutory and equitable rights under the Modell Law remain undisturbed and fully enforceable.”
In a recent appearance on FOX 8, Kucinich urged the city to continue its fight.
“Donât quit on the Cleveland taxpayers. Follow through, and raise these issues in court,” Kucinich said on the network.
Why Is Cleveland Trying To Block The Browns’ Move?
Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have been publicly lobbying for months to get their new $2-plus billion dome in the suburbs. They finalized a land purchase for $76 million in late June, where they acquired 176 acres that will be for mixed-use retail, housing and the Browns’ new home.
The Ohio government, in a controversial move, rewrote the Modell Law recently to give the Haslams more wiggle room as long as they keep the Browns within Cuyahoga County. Then DeWine earmarked the public funds of more than half-a-billion dollars last week.
Yet, Kucinich, the Cleveland mayor from 1977-79 who served Ohio in the House of Representatives from 1997-13, is trying to help Cleveland retain the Browns even using public money to keep the team in downtown Cleveland.
On top of Kucinich’s fight, former Ohio attorney general Marc Dann and former state rep Jeff Crossman filed a class-action law suit to return the unclaimed funds to their rightful owners.
“The State of Ohio intends to steal over a billion dollars in private property from its citizens and pour it into the pockets of Jimmy Haslam, one of Americaâs richest men,” Crossman said in a statement according to the Columbus Dispatch. “Everyday Ohioans are rightfully outraged by this blatant abuse of power. The government canât just take someone’s property and give it to someone else.”
Under the terms of the Modell Law, which Cleveland reportedly seeks to enforce, there would be a public option to purchase the team or the city could buy the team.
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