CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns have just a few days to rebrand their stadium before Sunday’s season opener. And city council isn’t going to block their play.
Council members voted Wednesday to greenlight a name change for the city-owned stadium on the downtown lakefront. The building is now Huntington Bank Field as part of a 20-year deal between the Columbus-based lender and the team.
The Browns announced the agreement during a news conference Tuesday morning.
But before the new signs went up, city council needed to sign off – a perfunctory nod that took place against the backdrop of bigger negotiations over the stadium’s future.
“This is not the Browns deal. This is not the stadium deal,” Council President Blaine Griffin stressed during a special meeting at Cleveland City Hall. “This is not anything else but approving a resolution saying we agree on the naming of the stadium.”
Members voted 13-to-1 to ratify the change. Three council members were absent. The only “no” vote came from longstanding East Side Councilman Mike Polensek.
He argued that council should have been notified earlier – before the Browns held a news conference. He wanted a chance to grill representatives from the team and the bank.
“I’m voting ‘no’ on principle,” Polensek said, pounding the table. “You’re not gonna disrespect me. You’re not gonna disrespect my citizens and the people of Cleveland. And I’m tired of the disrespect. And we see it every day in our neighborhoods by the disparity and poverty. Lack of investment.”
But council didn’t have much room to object.
The city’s lease with the Browns gives the team all the revenues from any naming-rights deal. It encourages the team to seek out sponsors, including financial institutions – like Huntington. And though the lease requires council to pre-approve any name change, it says lawmakers can’t reject a proposal unless it’s illegal or embarrassing.
“Unless it is something very egregious, something offensive … we traditionally as council need to approve it,” Griffin told his colleagues.
Council last voted on the stadium’s name in 2022, when members urged FirstEnergy Corp. to strip its name from the building. At the time, the Akron-based utility was mired in a bribery and political corruption scandal that took down an Ohio House speaker.
“The taint of that company was not beneficial for a city building,” Griffin recalled.
FirstEnergy and the Browns parted ways last year, ending their naming rights deal early. The FirstEnergy signs came down in June of 2023, and the building reverted to its old name, Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The Browns and Haslam Sports Group worked with Legends, a New York-based firm, to find a new marquee sponsor and negotiate the deal with Huntington. During the council meeting, Councilman Brian Kazy asked about the terms of that agreement.
Ted Tywang, the chief administrative officer and general counsel for the Browns and Haslam Sports Group, said that information is proprietary.
Stadium naming rights deals can range widely in value, from a few million dollars a year to tens of millions annually.
“This partnership makes us an anchor investor, whether it’s the existing stadium or a new home, for the Browns. … This is by far the largest and longest commitment we’ve made in our nearly 160-year history,” Steve Steinour, Huntington’s chairman, president and CEO, said during Tuesday’s news conference.
The Browns are exploring a move to Brook Park, where they hope to build a domed stadium surrounded by other developments on a former automotive plant site along Snow Road.
Haslam Sports Group clearly prefers that suburban option, but they’re still talking to Cleveland about renovating the existing stadium as an anchor for a reimagined lakefront.
A new stadium would cost roughly $2.4 billion. A renovation could cost $1 billion.
In either case, Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam are looking for the public to cover half of the tab – money that could come from new tax revenues created by the projects.
It’s unclear when the Browns will make a final decision. They’re on a tight timeline, though. Their lease on the downtown stadium expires at the end of the 2028 season.
That uncertainty doesn’t impact the agreement with Huntington. The naming-rights deal will transfer to a new stadium if the Browns ultimately do move.
“When you look at the money that is involved in this, what’s our piece of the action? I see nothing, as usual,” Polensek said Wednesday.
He also said lenders, including Huntington, need to do more in Cleveland.
City leaders are working on community reinvestment agreements with several banks to step up lending in underserved areas. Cleveland hasn’t had such agreements in years.
Griffin alluded to those discussions on Wednesday. He called Huntington a solid partner, a bank that’s willing to invest in small businesses and work with neighbors.
“Beyond the name change, I expect Huntington Bank to continue collaborating with this Council and the city of Cleveland to strengthen our neighborhoods and enhance the quality of life for all residents in Northeast Ohio,” he added in an emailed statement after the vote.
Huntington is one of the largest banks in Northeast Ohio by deposits. The bank also holds the naming rights to the downtown convention center. That 20-year deal was inked in 2015 by FirstMerit Corp., a regional bank that Huntington acquired the following year.
