Tag: Jimmy Haslam

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam confirms building dome in Brook Park is on the table

Both options are firmly on the table.

The Cleveland Browns and their owner Jimmy Haslam are candid about the football team’s future home.

No, the Browns are not leaving Cleveland again. Well, I guess they technically could, but they are not leaving the Cleveland area. Speaking to the media at the NFL owners’ meetings today, Haslam confirmed what we already knew based on the purchase of 176 acres in a Cleveland suburb:

Building a dome is firmly on the table for the Browns.

But that is not the only stadium renovation pathway on the table for the Haslams and their team. The Browns have also pitched a $1 billion renovation idea to the city as well. However, if the city of Cleveland is unwilling to assist in the project, where the Browns are currently requesting a 50/50 split in costs, then that’s when Haslam is most likely taking his talents to the suburbs.

If the Browns were to renovate the current stadium, it would remain an open-air facility.

Brook Park is about 15 miles from the downtown location of Cleveland Browns Stadium right now, and the plot of land is right next door to the Cleveland Hopkins airport.

Will the Browns stay downtown and renovate or will they build a dome in the suburbs?

Browns want Cleveland to pay for half of stadium renovations totaling $1 billion

Would residents be OK with the city picking up half the tab?

Another event in the stadium saga has taken place as the Cleveland Browns have suggested a renovation plan costing between $1 billion and $1.2 billion. The real kicker, of course, is that the Browns want the city of Cleveland to foot about half of the bill.

This comes after the team bought land in Brook Park, leading fans to believe that the Browns could be moving to that location after the current stadium lease ends. This seems like it could be the team positioning themselves to say they are moving the stadium to Brook Park if the city doesn’t help with renovation costs to keep them on the lake.

This storyline will continue for a while — the stadium lease isn’t due to end until after the 2028 season.

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Browns release statement regarding future stadium planning

Could the Browns move out of Cleveland?

The lease between the City of Cleveland and the Cleveland Browns regarding the team’s current stadium runs through the end of 2028, so no future stadium plans are imminent right now.

However, rumors were flying early in the week after the Haslam Sports Group bought a ton of land in Brook Park which could be for the site of a future stadium.

This left a lot of plans frustrated that the team could move outside of the City of Cleveland if the future new stadium ends up being built in Brookpark. With all of these rumors going around the Browns decided to release a statement about future stadium plans.

“We’ve been clear on how complex future stadium planning can be. One certainty is our commitment to greatly improving our fan experience while also creating a transformative and lasting impact to benefit all of Northeast Ohio. We understand the magnitude of opportunity with a stadium project intent on driving more large-scale events to our region and are methodically looking at every possibility. We appreciate the collaborative process with the City of Cleveland and the leadership of Mayor Bibb in analyzing the landbridge and renovating the current stadium. At the same time, as part of our comprehensive planning efforts, we are also studying other potential stadium options in Northeast Ohio at various additional sites. There is still plenty of work to do and diligence to process before a long term stadium solution is determined and will share further updates at the appropriate time.”

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Feds investigate Browns owner Jimmy Haslam after Berkshire Hathaway accused him of bribery

Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York investigate Jimmy Haslam over Berkshire Hathaway’s bribery accusations.

Jimmy Haslam, the owner of the Cleveland Browns, is under investigation by Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York for an alleged bribery scheme, as reported by Bloomberg. The prosecutors are reviewing claims by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway that Jimmy Haslam offered bribes to a dozen executives at Pilot Travel Centers to inflate profits affecting a sale to Berkshire Hathaway.

This investigation is part of a legal battle between the Haslams family, including Jimmy’s brother Bill Haslam, the former Governor of Tennessee, and Berkshire Hathaway over the Haslams’ remaining 20 percent stake in Pilot Travel Center. In 2017, Berkshire Hathaway agreed to a deal with the Haslams to buy 80 percent of the company by 2023, and the Haslams would have an option to sell the remaining 20 percent of the company. It’s reported that the 20% share is worth close to $3 billion.

In late October, Pilot Corp. sued Berkshire Hathaway charging Berkshire Hathaway of changing their accounting rules to suppress the family’s stake. Berkshire Hathaway countersued Pilot a month later for the alleged Haslam bribery scheme. 

On December 13th, the Haslams received some good news when a Deleware judge ruled that Berkshire Hathaway could not use the bribery allegations to defend itself in the Pilot Corp. lawsuit.

The Haslams and Pilot J were investigated by the FBI over a decade ago for a rebate scam which resulted in them paying a $92 million fine.

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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway accuses Jimmy Haslam of offering bribes to Pilot executives

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway accused Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam of bribing multiple Pilot Flying J executives to improve company profits.

Berkshire Hathaway has accused the Haslam family, including Jimmy and his brother – who’s the former Governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam – of offering bribes to multiple Pilot Flying J executives to inflate company profits to force Berkshire Hathaway to pay a higher price for the Haslam family’s remaining 20% of ownership in the company. This report is from Reuters.com.

The Haslam family and Berkshire Hathaway have been fighting for the past few months over the Haslam family’s remaining 20% stake in Pilot. In late October, the Haslam family sued Berkshire Hathaway, accusing Hathaway of changing their accounting rules to devalue the family’s 20% stake.

In 2017, Berkshire Hathaway and the Haslam family agreed to an arrangement where Hathaway would buy 80% of the company by 2023 and allow the Haslams an option to sell the remaining 20% share to Hathaway at the end of 2023. It’s reported that the 20% share is worth nearly $3 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway’s countersue alleges Jimmy Haslam of offering bribes to 15 Pilot executives to inflate company profits, promising the executives excessive end-year bonuses.

The Haslams have been struck by allegations of financial irregularities before. Soon after Jimmy Haslam bought the Cleveland Browns, Pilot Flying J was investigated over a rebate scam that resulted in a $92 million fine.

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NFL News: Jimmy Haslam will sit on new ownership rules committee

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam appointed to the committee to oversee NFL ownership rules in response of underwhelming Commanders bid.

Last week, the NFL announced a new committee to review the NFL’s ownership policy, according to Sports Business Journal. The committee is composed of five owners: Jimmy Haslam of the Cleveland Browns, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Broncos owner Greg Penner, and the Committee chairman, Clark Hunt of the Chiefs. The committee will suggest changes to the NFL ownership rules ahead of the NFL owners’ meeting in the offseason.

The committee was formed in response to the recent sale of the Washington Commanders to Josh Harris. It’s rumored that the owners were unhappy with the number of bidders for the team. Owners were also reportedly displeased by Josh Harris’s complex bid structure. On the other hand, bidders found the NFL ownership rules extremely constraining.

Currently, NFL teams can only be owned by individuals, and the new committee’s job is to examine whether they need to broaden this policy to include financial entities. The group is reportedly interested in examining nonprofit foundations and Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, which would keep ownership between natural persons. The group is expected to recommend changes to the debt limit that an ownership group can take on to buy a team.

The committee could also recommend radical changes to allow private equity funds, including investment groups, sovereign wealth funds, and public companies, to buy teams. Across the pond, soccer teams are now mega investments for countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia and American-based groups like 777 Partners and RedBird Capital. It seems doubtful that the owners would allow such arrangements to befall the “real” football, but one can never know. While the owners use the business as vanity projects, the teams are still businesses.

The last time the NFL owners changed ownership policy was in 2018, which allowed NFL owners to own and operate teams in other sports. Many league owners took advantage of the policy change, including Jimmy Haslam, who helped save the Columbus Crew from relocation in 2018. Haslam recently bought a 50% stake in the Milwaukee Bucks. Jimmy Haslam has become quite the expert on sports franchises over the past decade. Haslam seems dedicated to Ohio and smaller market teams in general. The committee will gain valuable insight from him as I hope he looks out for small-market teams.

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Jimmy and Dee Haslam approved as Milwaukee Bucks co-owners

Haslams officially owners in the NBA as well.

The previously reported purchase of 25 percent ownership of the Milwaukee Bucks by Jimmy and Dee Haslam, the owners of the Cleveland Browns, has officially gone through. The Haslams will pay $800 million for the stake in the NBA franchise.

The different ownership groups plan to rotate who governs the team. The Bucks are the Eastern Conference’s top seed entering the NBA playoffs and are two years removed from a league championship, so it’s a good time to get in on an ownership stake with everything running right with the franchise. The Haslams continue to grow their ownership of sports teams, and Bucks fans hope their impact isn’t similar to when they took over the Browns in 2012.

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Browns Jimmy Haslam does not regret Deshaun Watson contract

The Browns owner still believes the fully guaranteed deal was necessary.

With everything surrounding former MVP Lamar Jackson’s contract, the fully guaranteed deal the Cleveland Browns gave Deshaun Watson remains the talk of the town. But team owner Jimmy Haslam has no regrets about giving the former Texans quarterback the record-setting deal.

“We did what we thought was in the best interest of our team. We still feel that way”

The Browns owner was and still is willing to do whatever was necessary to win in Cleveland. Only time will tell if this works out but no remorse or regret is coming from Haslam regardless of how the rest of the league might feel.

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Browns: Jimmy Haslam committed to upgrading First Energy Stadium

The stadium is in desperate need of repairs.

There have been rumors this offseason of the Cleveland Browns want to build a new stadium. However, on Tuesday the team released a statement about how Jimmy and Dee Haslam are committed to upgrading First Energy Stadium and the lakefront around it.

“Dee and Jimmy Haslam said Monday at the NFL Annual Meetings they remain committed to upgrading the Browns’ stadium — with the primary goal of renovating FirstEnergy Stadium in accordance with the City of Cleveland’s plans to upgrade waterfront area between Lake Erie and downtown.”

The current stadium is in rough shape after being built in a rush so that it could open in time for the 1999 season when the team returned. It will be interesting to see the plans and when the renovations begin or if they end up calling for a whole new stadium instead.

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Jimmy Haslam: No ultimatum for Kevin Stefanski but ‘we have expectations’

Jimmy Haslam has high hopes for the Browns but is not giving his head coach an ultimatum.

The Cleveland Browns are looking to get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and so is owner Jimmy Haslam. Speaking to the media at the NFL owner’s meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, Haslam talked about his expectations and what he expects from head coach Kevin Stefanski.

“You all know how hard it is to win in the NFL… We certainly do. So I think everybody has a sense of urgency that we need to play well this year.” (via Cleveland dot com’s Mary Kay Cabot)

While Haslam did not give Stefanski an ultimatum to make the playoffs or he’d be fired, the owner added, “I don’t want to say that, but I think that we have expectations to go to the playoffs.”

The Browns and Stefanski are out of excuses. They rightfully moved on from Baker Mayfield, they no longer are starting a backup quarterback for 11 games and have plugged significant holes on their roster. They have a full offseason with their $230 million quarterback and all 17 games.

The time is now for the Browns.

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