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Haslams Eyeing New Domed Stadium for Browns

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  • @dutch-oven said:

    It seems to be how things are now with stadiums, I mean, how old was Three Rivers, Riverfront, etc when they were replaced? Probably not that much older than what First Energy will be when it gets replaced by whatever stadium the Haslams and tax money build. Even less for the ballparks the Braves and Rangers walked away from recently. (But are still being used for college football teams)

    But First Energy is a mediocre stadium. Always felt to me like a stadium whose blueprints could be bought on-line for $199. The thing that makes no sense is that a complaint about First Energy by the Haslams is that because it sits right on the lakefront, it takes a beating. How much does anyone want to bet that the new stadium is built on the lakefront? ? The Haslams are going to build a hotel/restaurant/bar community around this stadium, and the lakefront is prime real estate to do this. Doubt they will complain about how their new stadium on the lakefront takes a beating from the elements when they are surrounded by the Haslam's cash cow business ventures. 

    Not much to disagree with, but see below.

    @mjp28 said:

    ★ Some stadiums just feel old or just not well thought out.  I saw a lot of Pirates games in the 1970s in Three Rivers, always around 1st base BUT it just wasn't a good baseball park.  Dual use stadiums just don't work regardless of how old they are.   The 3 rivers was 30, riverfront 32 but everyone was glad when they were gone.

    AND new stadiums have really nice amenities yes CBS is old and time to go.....but ONLY if it's well thought out and done right.......like a good steak, ooops wrong thread.   😆

    First Energy was built on the quick and the cheap. Quality concrete shouldn't be crumbling after a mere 25 years. With me as my own general contractor, the driveway I built to interstate highway standards in 1991 is still in great shape.  The thought to make the new stadium have the "feel" of the old place was a disaster. Brings up my major gripe, compared to Ford Field, Lucas Oil, Reliant, or Paul Brown (more on PB later) the space behind the stands in First Energy is sardine city. I was hoping when they did the big upgrade, they'd do what Ohio State did, add another 100' or so to the concourses. 

    It really chafes me that Cincinnati used the same architects as Cleveland, and Paul Brown turned out 10X nicer. 

    Yeah, the trend is to build ever more deluxe venues like Jerry World and SoFi... but just because a stadium is 30+ years old doesn't necessarily make it obsolete. Arrowhead is a great place to see a football game. Never been to Lambeau, but the reports I've gotten say the same. So just stop the whining "but we're never going to get a  Super Bowl without a dome". You think the folks in  Foxborough care?

    PS. The evolution of domed stadiums was in plain view in my trip to see the Browns play in Houston. The original Astrodome still stands (now used for rodeos and such), and it's positively dwarfed by Reliant Stadium next door.  

    OrionO Orion wrote on last edited by
    #24

    @hoorta said:

    "but we're never going to get a  Super Bowl without a dome". You think the folks in  Foxborough care?

    They don't have Tom Brady any more.  That euphoria is over.  -  It's all about winning.  When my generation was young, a few of us could decide to go see a game, get in the car and drive the 45 minutes to the stadium, buy tickets at the box office, go inside and watch the game.  It's all about winning..  It's harder to make yourself go watch your team, in the winter type weather, in an outdoor stadium, when the team is not a consistent winner.....than it is to go watch them in a dome and not get soaked and frozen.  And it doesn't matter the team name.  

  • @canton-dawg said:

    You can bet your azz it won’t be Jimmah.

    Can you say Tax Abatement?... Sure ya can!

    Canton DawgC Canton Dawg wrote on last edited by Canton Dawg
    #25

    @nickers said:

    Can you say Tax Abatement?... Sure ya can!

    Maybe Watson can loan the Haslams some money for the new stadium?

  • @nickers said:

    Can you say Tax Abatement?... Sure ya can!

    Maybe Watson can loan the Haslams some money for the new stadium?

    mjp28M mjp28 wrote on last edited by
    #26

    @canton-dawg said:

    Maybe Watson can loan the Haslams some money for the new stadium?   😆   Now that would be an interesting conversation.   Hey DW can you chip in for $100M, we know you're good for it.  

    Maybe DW doesn't want to get involved in the DW mess.

    But DW minority owner does sound......strange.   😳

  • @hoorta said:

    "but we're never going to get a  Super Bowl without a dome". You think the folks in  Foxborough care?

    They don't have Tom Brady any more.  That euphoria is over.  -  It's all about winning.  When my generation was young, a few of us could decide to go see a game, get in the car and drive the 45 minutes to the stadium, buy tickets at the box office, go inside and watch the game.  It's all about winning..  It's harder to make yourself go watch your team, in the winter type weather, in an outdoor stadium, when the team is not a consistent winner.....than it is to go watch them in a dome and not get soaked and frozen.  And it doesn't matter the team name.  

    hoortaH hoorta wrote on last edited by hoorta
    #27

    @orion said:

    They don't have Tom Brady any more.  That euphoria is over.  -  It's all about winning.  When my generation was young, a few of us could decide to go see a game, get in the car and drive the 45 minutes to the stadium, buy tickets at the box office, go inside and watch the game.  It's all about winning..  It's harder to make yourself go watch your team, in the winter type weather, in an outdoor stadium, when the team is not a consistent winner.....than it is to go watch them in a dome and not get soaked and frozen.  And it doesn't matter the team name.  

    Are you trying to say you're now an oldster, who doesn't like to get cold and\ or wet at a game anymore? I've been to three domed stadiums... Lions, Colts, and Texans. MHO  is if you like that sort of ambiance, you may as well stay home and watch the game on TV, because that's what it feels like in a Dome.  

    If my count is correct, there's only 9 "true" domed stadiums in the NFL. SoFi is covered but IIRC it's open air.  Every one of those Domes has pretty legit reasons for being domed. Vikes, cold weather . Cardinals and Raiders 110 degrees in early September. You could say Indy and Detroit don't have any worse weather than Cleveland. TBD if Buffalo's new stadium will be domed or not. So the other 23 teams without a dome suffer the same fate as Cleveland... We can't use that facility year round for stuff...   

    Yeah, I may be an outlier with my mountaineering and winter camping experience. But it's ALL how you approach the weather, and having the right gear. I sat through 10 degree weather with occasional snow at Michigan's Stadium for the NHL Hockey Winter Classic, and I can' honestly say I wasn't cold. .  

  • VamboV Vambo wrote on last edited by
    #28

    “As we have consistently communicated, along with the City of Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and other prominent local organizations, we have been immersed in discussing ways to best approach the lakefront’s future and the stadium naturally is a critical piece to the long-term execution of such a project. Contrary to recent speculation, a recent feasibility study we launched does not contemplate a new stadium or showcase new stadium sites. A significant stadium renovation at our current site is the premise of the study as well as a focus on how to provide accessibility to the lakefront, drive density and create 365-destination major development opportunities that would include new public parks, retail, office, experiential and residential spaces. The vision, as many in our community have already seen, is centered on an extensive land bridge. As we are just beginning the study, we certainly do not have enough information to determine the cost of renovating the stadium or what the aesthetics of such a renovation would entail. We believe our study will help answer those questions and should be completed in 2023. The future of the stadium is one of several important pieces to the long-term execution of the lakefront project, and our organization looks forward to continuing to work with our community partners and leaders to identify next steps and our role in helping advance this initiative.”

    Peter John-Baptiste, Haslam Sports Group

    ‘Contrary to recent speculation’: Browns respond to report they’re looking into new stadium

    https://fox8.com/news/contrary-to-recent-speculation-browns-respond-to-report-theyre-looking-into-new-stadium/

  • “As we have consistently communicated, along with the City of Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and other prominent local organizations, we have been immersed in discussing ways to best approach the lakefront’s future and the stadium naturally is a critical piece to the long-term execution of such a project. Contrary to recent speculation, a recent feasibility study we launched does not contemplate a new stadium or showcase new stadium sites. A significant stadium renovation at our current site is the premise of the study as well as a focus on how to provide accessibility to the lakefront, drive density and create 365-destination major development opportunities that would include new public parks, retail, office, experiential and residential spaces. The vision, as many in our community have already seen, is centered on an extensive land bridge. As we are just beginning the study, we certainly do not have enough information to determine the cost of renovating the stadium or what the aesthetics of such a renovation would entail. We believe our study will help answer those questions and should be completed in 2023. The future of the stadium is one of several important pieces to the long-term execution of the lakefront project, and our organization looks forward to continuing to work with our community partners and leaders to identify next steps and our role in helping advance this initiative.”

    Peter John-Baptiste, Haslam Sports Group

    ‘Contrary to recent speculation’: Browns respond to report they’re looking into new stadium

    https://fox8.com/news/contrary-to-recent-speculation-browns-respond-to-report-theyre-looking-into-new-stadium/

    hoortaH hoorta wrote on last edited by
    #29

    @vambo said:

    ‘Contrary to recent speculation’: Browns respond to report they’re looking into new stadium

    https://fox8.com/news/contrary-to-recent-speculation-browns-respond-to-report-theyre-looking-into-new-stadium/

    🙂 Some of the "Dome" crowd wishin' and a hoping'.  Reading the entire original article, that multi million dollar land bridge over the tracks has to be funded first. 

    https://www.news5cleveland.com/sports/browns/decisions-of-the-past-could-determine-future-plans-for-firstenergy-stadium-lease

    Yeah, I initially thought $100 or $200 million would be enough to spruce up the place. Silly me....  The cost of needed upgrades (around a billion or so) approaches the cost of building an entirely new stadium.  🙁 Hence the speculation it would be better to just build new. Lotsa luck figuring out how you could pull $1.5 billion out of your ass in Cuyahoga County to build a new stadium.  

    Damn... As I replied to mjp.. the stadium was built too fast and too cheaply. Crumbling concrete? My brother- who did cement work for years, and was my expert on putting in my new driveway...  You DON'T want to be pouring concrete when the temperature is way below freezing and using accelerant to make the stuff actually harden at those temperatures.      

  • @orion said:

    They don't have Tom Brady any more.  That euphoria is over.  -  It's all about winning.  When my generation was young, a few of us could decide to go see a game, get in the car and drive the 45 minutes to the stadium, buy tickets at the box office, go inside and watch the game.  It's all about winning..  It's harder to make yourself go watch your team, in the winter type weather, in an outdoor stadium, when the team is not a consistent winner.....than it is to go watch them in a dome and not get soaked and frozen.  And it doesn't matter the team name.  

    Are you trying to say you're now an oldster, who doesn't like to get cold and\ or wet at a game anymore? I've been to three domed stadiums... Lions, Colts, and Texans. MHO  is if you like that sort of ambiance, you may as well stay home and watch the game on TV, because that's what it feels like in a Dome.  

    If my count is correct, there's only 9 "true" domed stadiums in the NFL. SoFi is covered but IIRC it's open air.  Every one of those Domes has pretty legit reasons for being domed. Vikes, cold weather . Cardinals and Raiders 110 degrees in early September. You could say Indy and Detroit don't have any worse weather than Cleveland. TBD if Buffalo's new stadium will be domed or not. So the other 23 teams without a dome suffer the same fate as Cleveland... We can't use that facility year round for stuff...   

    Yeah, I may be an outlier with my mountaineering and winter camping experience. But it's ALL how you approach the weather, and having the right gear. I sat through 10 degree weather with occasional snow at Michigan's Stadium for the NHL Hockey Winter Classic, and I can' honestly say I wasn't cold. .  

    Dutch OvenD Dutch Oven wrote on last edited by
    #30

    @hoorta said:

    TBD if Buffalo's new stadium will be domed or not. .  

    Buffalo will have a 62,000 seat open-air stadium. It is estimated that it will cost well over a billion dollars. 

    https://buffalonews.com/news/local/hochul-reaffirms-again-no-dome-for-a-new-bills-stadium/article_0a2a1116-6fec-11ec-8ee7-278bb6dfeb68.html#:~:text=The%20next%20Bills%20stadium%2C%20like,Kathy%20Hochul%20said%20again%20Friday.

  • @orion said:

    They don't have Tom Brady any more.  That euphoria is over.  -  It's all about winning.  When my generation was young, a few of us could decide to go see a game, get in the car and drive the 45 minutes to the stadium, buy tickets at the box office, go inside and watch the game.  It's all about winning..  It's harder to make yourself go watch your team, in the winter type weather, in an outdoor stadium, when the team is not a consistent winner.....than it is to go watch them in a dome and not get soaked and frozen.  And it doesn't matter the team name.  

    Are you trying to say you're now an oldster, who doesn't like to get cold and\ or wet at a game anymore? I've been to three domed stadiums... Lions, Colts, and Texans. MHO  is if you like that sort of ambiance, you may as well stay home and watch the game on TV, because that's what it feels like in a Dome.  

    If my count is correct, there's only 9 "true" domed stadiums in the NFL. SoFi is covered but IIRC it's open air.  Every one of those Domes has pretty legit reasons for being domed. Vikes, cold weather . Cardinals and Raiders 110 degrees in early September. You could say Indy and Detroit don't have any worse weather than Cleveland. TBD if Buffalo's new stadium will be domed or not. So the other 23 teams without a dome suffer the same fate as Cleveland... We can't use that facility year round for stuff...   

    Yeah, I may be an outlier with my mountaineering and winter camping experience. But it's ALL how you approach the weather, and having the right gear. I sat through 10 degree weather with occasional snow at Michigan's Stadium for the NHL Hockey Winter Classic, and I can' honestly say I wasn't cold. .  

    OrionO Orion wrote on last edited by
    #31

    @hoorta said:

    Are you trying to say you're now an oldster, who doesn't like to get cold and\ or wet at a game

    Absolutely.  Remember, it's sports entertainment....that's what the NFL is.

    @hoorta said:

    if you like that sort of ambiance, you may as well stay home and watch the game on TV,

    It's ALWAYS better to watch it on TV.  Indoors, outdoors, you name it.  Now, if you wanna watch 'off the ball' stuff, like receivers running routes, DB's doing their thing, then you can watch that indoors or outdoors.

  • Riffer XR Riffer X wrote on last edited by
    #32
  • Dutch OvenD Dutch Oven wrote on last edited by
    #33

    @riffer-x said:

    Browns dispute new stadium reports, planning 'significant' renovations to FirstEnergy Stadium

    I will be shocked if the Haslams don't try to move every mountain to get a new indoor stadium. 

  • MLD WoodyM MLD Woody wrote on last edited by
    #34

    Honestly, I used to be in the "you need to deal with the weather! that's REAL football crowd!"

    That's old thinking now though. We need to get with times and have a stadium that's usable year round and for multiple events. And one that promotes more attendance in the colder months

    I know it is "soft". I know it's "not Cleveland". But it makes economic sense 

  • Honestly, I used to be in the "you need to deal with the weather! that's REAL football crowd!"

    That's old thinking now though. We need to get with times and have a stadium that's usable year round and for multiple events. And one that promotes more attendance in the colder months

    I know it is "soft". I know it's "not Cleveland". But it makes economic sense 

    Dutch OvenD Dutch Oven wrote on last edited by
    #35

    @mld-woody said:

    Honestly, I used to be in the "you need to deal with the weather! that's REAL football crowd!"

    That's old thinking now though. We need to get with times and have a stadium that's usable year round and for multiple events. And one that promotes more attendance in the colder months

    I know it is "soft". I know it's "not Cleveland". But it makes economic sense 

    Sadly, yes.

    I love bad weather football gamea. Snow, mud, bring it on. 

    But economically, it makes zero sense to build a stadium that sits vacant 90% of the time, especially with tax payer money. Economically it also makes zero sense to sink a ton of money into refurbishing First Energy instead of sinking a ton of money into a stadium that can make a lot more money. 

  • VagitronV Vagitron wrote on last edited by
    #36

    Why would you build a dome? I get the appeal for obvious reasons but isn’t Cleveland/steeler football kind of rooted in those shit weather games? I feel like it leaves behind a identity. 

  • Why would you build a dome? I get the appeal for obvious reasons but isn’t Cleveland/steeler football kind of rooted in those shit weather games? I feel like it leaves behind a identity. 

    nickersN nickers wrote on last edited by
    #37

    @vagitron said:

    Why would you build a dome? I get the appeal for obvious reasons but isn’t Cleveland/steeler football kind of rooted in those shit weather games? I feel like it leaves behind a identity. 

    I totally concur... It takes an exciting element away from the game... The game is essentially being catered to bunch of woke sissies... And Goodeel is the biggest sissy cheerleader of them all.. I agree with Jon Gruden when he says Goodell is pussifying the league...

  • @vagitron said:

    Why would you build a dome? I get the appeal for obvious reasons but isn’t Cleveland/steeler football kind of rooted in those shit weather games? I feel like it leaves behind a identity. 

    I totally concur... It takes an exciting element away from the game... The game is essentially being catered to bunch of woke sissies... And Goodeel is the biggest sissy cheerleader of them all.. I agree with Jon Gruden when he says Goodell is pussifying the league...

    MLD WoodyM MLD Woody wrote on last edited by
    #38

    @nickers said:

    I totally concur... It takes an exciting element away from the game... The game is essentially being catered to bunch of woke sissies... And Goodeel is the biggest sissy cheerleader of them all.. I agree with Jon Gruden when he says Goodell is pussifying the league...

    Oh Jesus here we go...

    This isn't "woke" anything. It just makes business sense. Stop shoving your idiotic ideas where they don't belong. 

  • Why would you build a dome? I get the appeal for obvious reasons but isn’t Cleveland/steeler football kind of rooted in those shit weather games? I feel like it leaves behind a identity. 

    mjp28M mjp28 wrote on last edited by mjp28
    #39

    @vagitron said:

    Why would you build a dome? I get the appeal for obvious reasons but isn’t Cleveland/steeler football kind of rooted in those shit weather games? I feel like it leaves behind a identity. 

    So much for  "the good ol' days"  having a northern climate single use open stadium just doesn't make good business "dollars & cents ".  

    And now just putting lipstick on that old pig the current CBS mediocre mess is a bad idea and get stuck with it for decades into the future is just a bad sports and business decision. 

    We put up with that lovable but totally outdated two sport Municipal Stadium for my whole lifetime plus several decades and did what.......hurriedly built another open stadium right on Lake Erie.  Bad decision. 

    I can't wait to see what happens next.     😕

    YA5LNXJK5NHJ3EJZSYQURYT46A.jpg

  • @nickers said:

    I totally concur... It takes an exciting element away from the game... The game is essentially being catered to bunch of woke sissies... And Goodeel is the biggest sissy cheerleader of them all.. I agree with Jon Gruden when he says Goodell is pussifying the league...

    Oh Jesus here we go...

    This isn't "woke" anything. It just makes business sense. Stop shoving your idiotic ideas where they don't belong. 

    nickersN nickers wrote on last edited by
    #40

    @mld-woody said:

    Oh Jesus here we go...

    This isn't "woke" anything. It just makes business sense. Stop shoving your idiotic ideas where they don't belong. 

    Stop commenting on things you know nothing about... Commie!

  • @mld-woody said:

    Oh Jesus here we go...

    This isn't "woke" anything. It just makes business sense. Stop shoving your idiotic ideas where they don't belong. 

    Stop commenting on things you know nothing about... Commie!

    Dutch OvenD Dutch Oven wrote on last edited by
    #41

    @nickers said:

    Stop commenting on things you know nothing about... Commie!

    This guy played Little League Football in Willoughby or somewhere.

    He's obviously not a pussy. Total badass there. 

  • Why would you build a dome? I get the appeal for obvious reasons but isn’t Cleveland/steeler football kind of rooted in those shit weather games? I feel like it leaves behind a identity. 

    Dutch OvenD Dutch Oven wrote on last edited by
    #42

    @vagitron said:

    Why would you build a dome? I get the appeal for obvious reasons but isn’t Cleveland/steeler football kind of rooted in those shit weather games? I feel like it leaves behind a identity. 

    Because the last thing a midwestern Rust Belt city needs to do is spend a ton of money on a building that can barely be used to make money.

    I love outdoor football. The nasty the weather, the better. Fiscally, it makes no sense, though. 

  • Why would you build a dome? I get the appeal for obvious reasons but isn’t Cleveland/steeler football kind of rooted in those shit weather games? I feel like it leaves behind a identity. 

    hoortaH hoorta wrote on last edited by hoorta
    #43

    @vagitron said:

    Why would you build a dome? I get the appeal for obvious reasons but isn’t Cleveland/steeler football kind of rooted in those shit weather games? I feel like it leaves behind a identity. 

    I'll agree... Green Bay that has way worse weather prospects than Cleveland December on, doesn't have a dome on the horizon...   None of the other AFC North teams have domes... Said it before, if you can afford tickets to an NFL game, you can afford to go to REI and spend $200+ bucks on a cold weather parka, and some Sorel boots.  I can tell you from a SW Ohio perspective, Da Bungles will never have a domed stadium in my lifetime- I damn guarantee it.  Not with Mike Brown not being able to spring for an indoor practice facility. And if he asked for a dome, Hamilton County would tell him to go pound salt. 

    @mld-woody said:

    Oh Jesus here we go...

    This isn't "woke" anything. It just makes business sense. Stop shoving your idiotic ideas where they don't belong. 

    It may not make business sense Woodster, but it does make a lot of aesthetic sense. The majority of NFL venues- including at least a dozen with cold weather prospects agree.  

    The fan base that goes to games has changed- and not for the better. To give away my age, I probably saw my first Browns game "live" circa 1960. Shit, it was like being at a high school game. Screaming yelling, guys in their 70s jumping up and down.  No longer. Blame NFL greed in part for that. Gramps got courtesy tickets two rows behind the Indians dugout that were listed at $4 bucks. I'll let you pull out the inflation calculator what that is in 2022 dollars, but I'll bet it sure as shit isn't anywhere close. 

    Ah give me those good old days when if you were 1\2 discreet, you could haul any type of adult beverage you wanted to into the stadium... Fifths? No prob. 2 liter 7Ups that were 1\2 seven and 1\2 vodka.  The famous Dawg Pound Dawg House that contained a keg.  All in the name of "security" or forcing you to buy a $12 buck Great Lakes once you get inside. Not Rocket Science why tailgating has become a tradition.  

    I'm in Section 111... almost like being at the opera now.   DOWN IN FRONT!!!!  I'd rather check my Fantasy stats on my phone than watch the game....  🙁  I get seriously pissed- and this isn't isolated to Cleveland....  When it comes over the PA Bullhorn...  IT'S THIRD DOWN!!!!  You think I don't know that? Apparently a lot of the younger generation who are too busy playing phone tag texting et al- apparently does need to be "woke" Woody.   My 0.02