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Council member demands briefing on Cleveland Browns talks, cites potential public cost
Summary
Councilman Timothy Polensek said council members have not been briefed on discussions with the Cleveland Browns and the Haslam group, urged administration to brief council and raised concerns about potential public subsidies and facility outcomes.
Councilman Timothy Polensek used his miscellaneous remarks on May 19 to criticize the administration for not briefing council members on reported discussions between the city and the Cleveland Browns organization and the Haslam group. Polensek said council members have learned of developments through media reports rather than direct briefings.
“I'm greatly concerned about what I've read and what I've heard…We have not been briefed at all of what is on the table with regard to the Cleveland Browns and the Haslam group,” Polensek said. He cited media reports and public discussion about potential public support he described as “$600,000,000 to the Cleveland Browns plus possibly another $80,000,000 for the reconstruction of the roads,” and warned of long-term debt-service implications.
Polensek said council members should be briefed and that the mayor and administration should negotiate terms that protect the city from being left with an unused stadium or other fiscal liabilities. “If that stadium was going to Brook Park and Mike White was mayor, it’d be scorched earth right now,” Polensek said, arguing the council deserves transparency because potential decisions could carry large public costs.
No administration representative delivered a briefing during the May 19 meeting. Polensek urged the administration to provide updates and suggested limited-group briefings if necessary; he did not propose or move formal legislation during his remarks.
