Cleveland Council Member Brian Kazy sent a warning Monday to Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, who have publicly discussed the option of moving the team to Brook Park to build a new stadium, possibly one with a roof. 

The warning came in the form of a solo news conference during which he invoked a state law – the “Art Modell” law – that could potentially prevent the Browns owners from moving the team. 

Passed in 1996, the law – which was sponsored by then-State Sen. Dennis Kucinich – was a reaction to the then-Browns owner Art Modell moving the team to Baltimore. The law requires that the host city either approve the move or give the city or group of residents get a chance to buy the team. 

“A lot of people who are involved in these negotiations right now were either too young or were not even not involved to remember when the Browns left the first time,”  Kazy  said.  “We want to ensure the Cleveland Browns remain the Cleveland Browns.”

While the resolution itself won’t have much impact on negotiations, it potentially adds council’s voice to the debate. Council, according to Kazy and other members, has not been privy to details of current negotiations between Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration and representatives of the Browns. (A couple members of the Bibb administration attended Kazy’s news conference.)

Signal Cleveland broke the news that, last October, the team was pitching a $1.2 billion renovation of the current Browns Stadium and offering to split the costs with taxpayers, though not all from the city of Cleveland. 

Neither the Browns organization nor Bibb’s administration have said publicly if those terms are still in play. 

The team and local governments could pursue a combination of revenue options, including state money and a new countywide tax on alcohol and cigarettes, which would require state lawmakers to clear the way for such a move. The city officials and Cuyahoga County officials have not formally discussed working together on financing a renovation or new stadium, according to several people familiar with negotiations.

The mayor’s office told Signal Cleveland last week that it continues to meet with the team regularly. 

A worthy side note is that the Haslams were able to purchase the Columbus Crew soccer team in part because the former club owners – who wanted to move the team out of Columbus – were required to follow the Art Modell law.