A closely divided Cleveland City Council refused to reimburse the Browns $1.1 million Monday night for repairs that the team made to the lakefront stadium.
Council voted 7-6 to reject legislation supported by Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration to pay for repairs officials said the city is obligated to cover under its lease with the team. Cleveland owns the stadium and uses its share of the Cuyahoga County tax on alcohol and cigarettes to pay for repair work.
It’s the first time in recent memory that council has rejected a proposal to pay for stadium repairs, showing there’s still discontent simmering over the NFL franchise’s planned move to Brook Park.
After the vote, Council President Blaine Griffin hinted at the possibility of the team suing the city for breaching its lease.
“I think that a lot of people are giving each other high fives right now, but when those bills start rolling in, I want us to also…make sure that we let everybody know why we’re spending all of this money on all of these legal battles as well,” he said.
Council Member Michael Polensek said the city’s $100 million settlement with the team — in which Cleveland dropped its legal objections to the Brook Park move — had generated “antagonism” and “anger” among members.
At a committee meeting earlier in the day, Ward 13 Council Member Brian Kazy said his residents would “tear” him “apart” if he voted to give money to Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam.
“Sometimes I wish somebody had the cojones to stand up to that sports group and say, ‘Thank you for the work, but we ain’t paying you a dime. See you in court,’” Kazy said.
Bibb administration officials had argued the repairs were essential to health and safety. If the team hadn’t done the work, the stadium could have experienced frozen pipes and backed up sewage, said James DeRosa, director of the Mayor’s Office of Capital Repairs.
DeRosa said city staff inspected the proposed repairs to determine whether they were required under the lease. The $1.1 million approved Monday covers fixes for a failed sanitary pipe, broken sewer pump and weatherbeaten concrete, for instance.
Finance Director Paul Barrett told council members to consider the city’s credibility if it backed out of a contractual obligation.
“If we don’t adhere to our agreements, our willingness, really, to adhere to any of our agreements may be questioned,” he said.
An audit of the stadium condition found $117 million in repairs that the building could need between 2024 and 2034. But the Browns, who pay the city $250,000 a year in rent, have said they are asking only for essential repairs needed for fans’ safety.
An amendment to the lease also limits repairs to those necessary for health and safety or the building’s functioning, Law Director Mark Griffin said. The Browns will pay to demolish the lakefront stadium as part of the team’s $100 million settlement with the city.
Cleveland isn’t done being asked to pay for the stadium. The city owes almost $17.3 million and $1.3 million in principal and interest on the debt incurred to build the stadium in the late 1990s. It will also pay $4 million over the next couple of years — the final installments of what the city owes for a slate of 2014 upgrades.
