With the Brook Park Dome seeming like a sure thing, the city and now county are fighting back with words that seem like desperation. The city is trying to fight, the county is sort of stuck in the middle. But the reality is that they both may be playing into the Haslam’s hands.
With the “Modell law” being law. The Browns are most likely staying in the area. The chances of them leaving without a huge court battle and offering to sell the team seem slim. That being said, the Haslam’s are going to get what they want. Let’s play a game now. What if the Haslam’s want to stay downtown? What if this is their way of getting the city to do exactly what they want? What if they want the West Bank of the Flats? What if they want all of Burke Lakefront Airport to build their master plan that’s being shown to you now in Brook Park?
Burke is about 450 acres. It’s flat. Developing it would not only meet the 176 acre plan from Brook Park. But it would allow for almost 200 more acres to be developed. Hotels that are needed for a Super Bowl. Bars, restaurants, entertainment venues and more. The possibilities are endless on a great lakefront. The challenge is how do you shut down OR relocate a corporate airport that is used regularly? What are the hurdles? How can you relocate it instead of closing it completely?
The West Bank is underdeveloped at the moment. Jacob’s Pavillon, the Cleveland Aquarium and Shooters are really the only draw. Again, it’s flat developable land. That being said. The West Bank would be an absolute traffic nightmare unless Cleveland got creative.
Regardless, the Browns have the upper hand. They decide their own fate with this stadium. If it’s Brook Park or somewhere else. There seems to be a quiet calmness coming from the Haslam’s that leads some to believe that Book Park may be their bluff to get exactly what they want downtown Cleveland. Time will tell, but there is developmental land available. The Haslam’s hold all the cards now and they should get exactly what they want which is a brand new dome either downtown near the current stadium or Brook Park.
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