Cleveland Browns relocation controversy
Encyclopedia
The Cleveland Browns
relocation controversy was the decision by then Browns owner Art Modell
to move the National Football League
team from its longtime home of Cleveland, Ohio
to Baltimore
, Maryland
for the 1996 NFL season
. Subsequent legal actions saw a unique compromise that would later set a precedent
in professional sports
: Modell would be able to keep the Browns' existing player and staff contracts, but his team officially would be an entirely new franchise in Baltimore, later named the Baltimore Ravens
. Meanwhile, the Browns' name, history, and archives would stay in Cleveland, and a new Browns team would begin play in 1999 after a three-year period of "deactivation".
signed a 25-year lease to operate Cleveland Stadium
. Modell's newly-formed company, Stadium Corporation, assumed the expenses of operations from the city, freeing up tax
dollars for other expenses. Also, Modell would pay an annual rent of $150,000 for the first five years and $200,000 afterwards to the city. In exchange, Modell would receive all revenue generated by the stadium. Stadium Corp invested in improvements, including new electronic scoreboards and luxury suites. Renting the suites and the scoreboard advertising generated substantial revenue for Stadium Corp and Modell.
However, Modell refused to share the suite revenue with the Cleveland Indians
Major League Baseball
team (which also played at Cleveland Stadium), even though much of the revenues were generated during baseball games as well as football games.
Eventually, the Indians prevailed upon the local governments and voters and convinced them to build them their own facility where they controlled the suite revenue. Modell, mistakenly believing that his revenues were not endangered, refused to participate in the Gateway Project
that built Jacobs Field for the Indians and Gund Arena
for the NBA
's Cleveland Cavaliers
. Modell's assumptions proved incorrect, and Stadium Corp's suite revenues declined sharply when the Indians moved from the stadium to Jacobs Field in 1994.
On the field, the Browns, coached by Bill Belichick
, were coming off a playoff season in which the team finished 11-5 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs entering the 1995 season
. Sports Illustrated
even selected the Browns to represent the AFC
in Super Bowl XXX
at the end of the season. However, the team disappointed many fans by losing three straight games after starting the season 3-1.
On November 6, 1995, with the team sitting at 4-5, Modell announced in a press conference at Camden Yards that he had signed a deal to relocate the Browns to Baltimore
, Maryland
in 1996
– a move which would return the NFL to Baltimore for the first time since the Baltimore Colts
relocated
to Indianapolis
, Indiana
after the 1983 season
. The reason Modell chose to relocate to Baltimore was because he felt the city had the funding to build a first-class stadium. The very next day, on November 7, Cleveland voters overwhelmingly approved the aforementioned tax issue to remodel Cleveland Stadium.
Browns fans reacted angrily to the news, wearing hats and t-shirts that read "Muck Fodell". Cleveland filed an injunction to keep the Browns in the city until at least 1998, while several other lawsuits were filed by fans and ticket holders. Congress held hearings on the matter. Actor/comedian Drew Carey
returned to his hometown of Cleveland on November 26, 1995, to host "Fan Jam" in protest of the proposed move. A protest was held in Pittsburgh during the Browns' game there against the Pittsburgh Steelers
but ABC
, the network broadcasting the game (and also the home of Carey's new sitcom that just premiered
), declined to cover or mention the protest. It was one of the few instances that Steelers fans and Browns fans were supporting each other, as fans in Pittsburgh felt that Modell was robbing their team of their rivalry
with the Browns.
Virtually all of the team's sponsors immediately pulled their support, leaving Cleveland Stadium devoid of advertising during the team's final weeks.
As far as the on-field product was concerned, the Browns stumbled to finish 5-11 after the announcement, ahead of only the expansion
Jacksonville Jaguars
in the AFC Central. The last game the team played at Cleveland Municipal Stadium was a 26-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals
.
would be built for a new Browns team, as either an expansion team
or a team moved from another city, that would begin play in 1999. Modell would in turn be granted a new franchise (the 31st NFL franchise), for Baltimore, retaining the current contracts of players and personnel. There would be a reactivated team for Cleveland, where the Browns' name, colors, history, records, awards and archives would remain in Cleveland. The only other current NFL team to suspend operations without merging with another was Cleveland's previous NFL team, the Rams
, during the 1943 season at the height of World War II
.
One additional stipulation would be that in any future realignment plan, the Browns would automatically be placed in a division with the Pittsburgh Steelers
and Cincinnati Bengals
, due to longstanding rivalries with those two teams. The NFL ultimately realigned for the 2002 NFL season
, with the three teams and the Ravens in the AFC North
.
champion Baltimore Stallions
of the Canadian Football League
. Realizing he would be unable to compete with the NFL, Stallions owner Jim Speros moved the team to Montreal
for the 1996 season and sold it to Bob Wetenhall in 1997. The former Stallions ended up as the revived Montreal Alouettes
.
Focus groups, a telephone survey, and a fan contest were all held to help select a new name for Modell's relocated club. Starting with a list of over 100 possible names, the team's management reduced it to 17. From there, focus groups of a total of 200 Baltimore area residents reduced the list of names to six, and then a phone survey of 1000 people trimmed it down to three, Marauders, Americans, and Ravens. Finally, a fan contest drawing 33,288 voters picked "Ravens
", a name that alludes to the famous poem, "The Raven
", by Edgar Allan Poe
, who spent the latter part of his life in Baltimore, and is also buried there. The team also adopted purple
and black
as their team colors, a stark contrast of the brown
and orange
colors of the Browns. Ex-Baltimore Colts such as Art Donovan
and Johnny Unitas
disowned the Colts after their move to Indianapolis and are claimed in the Ravens' history. The former Colts Marching Band, which remained in Baltimore after the Colts moved, was subsequently renamed the Baltimore's Marching Ravens
. Along with the Buffalo Bills
and Washington Redskins
, the Ravens are one of only three NFL teams with an official marching band
.
Modell's move to Baltimore came at the height of NFL teams relocating
. The move also fueled a proliferation of 12 new stadiums throughout the NFL. Several NFL franchises used the threat of relocation to coerce their respective cities to build new stadiums with public funds. Such franchises include the Seahawks, Buccaneers, Bengals, Lions, Cardinals, and Bears. In the three-year period from 1995
-1997
, four NFL teams moved. In addition to Modell's move, Los Angeles
lost both of its teams
for the 1995 season as the Raiders
moved back to Oakland and the Rams
moved east to St. Louis. The fourth and final move saw the Houston Oilers
leave Texas to move to Memphis
in 1997 and become known as the Tennessee
Oilers; the team would move again to Nashville
in 1998 and would be renamed the Tennessee Titans in 1999.
After several NFL teams used Cleveland as a relocation threat to become the reactivated Browns (most notably the Denver Broncos
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
), the NFL decided in 1998 to make the reactivated Browns an expansion team
, which while it temporarily gave the league an odd number of teams (causing at least one team to be off in each of the 17 weeks of the NFL season from 1999–2001), it also eliminated any possibility of an existing franchise giving up its own identity for the Browns and thus prevented more lawsuit
s. In a somewhat ironic twist, Al Lerner
--who helped Modell move to Baltimore—was granted ownership of the reactivated Browns (his son Randy
took over ownership after Al's death in 2002). The Houston Texans
were created as the 32nd team to replace the Oilers
in Houston, Texas
for the 2002 NFL season
to give the league once again an even number of teams.
The reactivated Browns have had only two winning seasons since returning to the NFL in 1999: a 9-7 finish in 2002
which also saw the team clinch a wild card
spot in the playoffs, and a 10-6 finish in 2007
while barely missing the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Ravens have been more successful, reaching the playoffs six times since 2000
and winning Super Bowl XXXV
to the dismay of Browns fans. Longtime placekicker
Matt Stover
was the last remaining Raven that was with Modell's franchise during the move, having departed the team following the 2008 season
when the team chose not to re-sign him. General manager and former Browns tight end
Ozzie Newsome
(who was in a front-office role with Modell by the time of the move) remains with the Modell franchise.
Due to continual financial hardships, the NFL directed Modell to initiate the sale of his franchise. On March 27, 2000, NFL owners approved the sale of 49% of the Ravens to Steve Bisciotti
. In the deal, Bisciotti had an option to purchase the remaining 51% for $325 million in 2004 from Art Modell. On April 8, 2004 the NFL approved Steve Bisciotti's purchase of the majority stake in the club. Although Modell has since retired and had relinquished control of the Ravens, he is still hated in Cleveland, which had been angry at him long before the move when he fired legendary head coach Paul Brown
in 1963. In fact, he is still so hated in Northeast Ohio that he was unable to attend the funeral
of former Browns' kicker Lou Groza
due to the backlash Modell would get in Cleveland. One writer considered the Browns relocation and subsequent lawsuits costing Modell a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
, which is located in Canton, Ohio
just 60 miles south of Cleveland and is both part of the Cleveland television market and part of the Browns territorial rights.
The move would also have an effect in Pittsburgh as well. Steelers owner Dan Rooney
was one of two owners to oppose Modell's move to Baltimore due to a mutual respect for the team and the fans. Because of the move, the Browns–Steelers rivalry, arguably one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL, has somewhat cooled in Pittsburgh. The Steelers–Ravens rivalry is considered the spiritual successor by a small number of fans in Pittsburgh and is one of the most heated current rivalries in the NFL. Although the rivalry is not as intense in Pittsburgh, Browns fans still consider it their top rivalry despite the Browns' recent struggles against the Steelers. The Browns lost twelve straight games to the Steelers from 2003
until 2009
and have a 4-20 record against Pittsburgh since the return of the Browns in 1999.
with other sports teams. The Minnesota Twins
, when they signed their deal with Hennepin County, Minnesota
for Target Field
in 2006, agreed to a provision that was signed into law that allows the state of Minnesota the right of first refusal to buy the team if it is ever sold, and requires that the name, colors, World Series trophies and history of the team remain in Minnesota if the Twins are ever moved out of state, a deal similar to what Modell agreed to with the city of Cleveland during the move.
In December 2005, the San Jose Earthquakes
of Major League Soccer
moved to Houston, Texas
to become the Houston Dynamo
. At the time, it was announced by the league that while players and staff would move with the team, the team name, colors, logo, and records (including two championship trophies) would stay in San Jose for when a new expansion team arrives. In 2008, the Earthquakes returned under the ownership of Lew Wolff.
When the Seattle SuperSonics
moved to
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
in 2008, the owners agreed to leave the 'SuperSonics' name, logo, and colors in Seattle for a possible future NBA franchise; however the items would remain the property of the Oklahoma City team along with other "assets" including championship banners and trophies. The team was subsequently renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder
. Both the Thunder and any future Seattle
NBA team will also "share" the SuperSonics' history.
After the 1995-1996 season, the Winnipeg Jets
relocated to Phoenix, Arizona
in 1996
to become the now recently bankrupt, financially stabled
Phoenix Coyotes
where history, records, retired numbers, and stats continues to reside. 15 years later in May 2011, the Atlanta Thrashers
were relocated to Winnipeg, and took on the Jets moniker once again after the new owners announce the name in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
with fan support. Both incarnations will continue to be separate franchises.
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
relocation controversy was the decision by then Browns owner Art Modell
Art Modell
Arthur B. Modell is an American businessman, entrepreneur and former National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise from 1961–1995 and the Baltimore Ravens franchise from 1996–2004. Modell is the grandson of the late Morris Modell who founded the northeast...
to move the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
team from its longtime home of Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
for the 1996 NFL season
1996 NFL season
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
. Subsequent legal actions saw a unique compromise that would later set a precedent
Precedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
in professional sports
Professional sports
Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...
: Modell would be able to keep the Browns' existing player and staff contracts, but his team officially would be an entirely new franchise in Baltimore, later named the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
. Meanwhile, the Browns' name, history, and archives would stay in Cleveland, and a new Browns team would begin play in 1999 after a three-year period of "deactivation".
Early stages of the move
In 1973, then-Browns owner Art ModellArt Modell
Arthur B. Modell is an American businessman, entrepreneur and former National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise from 1961–1995 and the Baltimore Ravens franchise from 1996–2004. Modell is the grandson of the late Morris Modell who founded the northeast...
signed a 25-year lease to operate Cleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football...
. Modell's newly-formed company, Stadium Corporation, assumed the expenses of operations from the city, freeing up tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
dollars for other expenses. Also, Modell would pay an annual rent of $150,000 for the first five years and $200,000 afterwards to the city. In exchange, Modell would receive all revenue generated by the stadium. Stadium Corp invested in improvements, including new electronic scoreboards and luxury suites. Renting the suites and the scoreboard advertising generated substantial revenue for Stadium Corp and Modell.
However, Modell refused to share the suite revenue with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
team (which also played at Cleveland Stadium), even though much of the revenues were generated during baseball games as well as football games.
Eventually, the Indians prevailed upon the local governments and voters and convinced them to build them their own facility where they controlled the suite revenue. Modell, mistakenly believing that his revenues were not endangered, refused to participate in the Gateway Project
Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex
The Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex is a multipurpose campus located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It comprises two sports facilities, a transitional space known as Gateway Plaza, and two parking garages...
that built Jacobs Field for the Indians and Gund Arena
Quicken Loans Arena
Quicken Loans Arena , is a multi-purpose arena, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States....
for the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
. Modell's assumptions proved incorrect, and Stadium Corp's suite revenues declined sharply when the Indians moved from the stadium to Jacobs Field in 1994.
Announcing the move
After Modell realized how much revenue he lost from the Indians moving out of Cleveland Stadium, he requested an issue be placed on the ballot to provide $175 million in tax dollars to refurbish the outmoded and declining Cleveland Stadium.On the field, the Browns, coached by Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...
, were coming off a playoff season in which the team finished 11-5 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs entering the 1995 season
1995 NFL season
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
. Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
even selected the Browns to represent the AFC
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
in Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...
at the end of the season. However, the team disappointed many fans by losing three straight games after starting the season 3-1.
On November 6, 1995, with the team sitting at 4-5, Modell announced in a press conference at Camden Yards that he had signed a deal to relocate the Browns to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
in 1996
1996 NFL season
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
– a move which would return the NFL to Baltimore for the first time since the Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
relocated
Baltimore Colts relocation controversy
The Baltimore Colts relocation controversy was the decision by then-Colts owner Robert Irsay to move the National Football League team from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana completely unannounced and in the wee hours of March 29, 1984 after years of fighting over a new stadium to...
to Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
after the 1983 season
1983 NFL season
The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII when the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins.-Major rule changes:...
. The reason Modell chose to relocate to Baltimore was because he felt the city had the funding to build a first-class stadium. The very next day, on November 7, Cleveland voters overwhelmingly approved the aforementioned tax issue to remodel Cleveland Stadium.
Browns fans reacted angrily to the news, wearing hats and t-shirts that read "Muck Fodell". Cleveland filed an injunction to keep the Browns in the city until at least 1998, while several other lawsuits were filed by fans and ticket holders. Congress held hearings on the matter. Actor/comedian Drew Carey
Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...
returned to his hometown of Cleveland on November 26, 1995, to host "Fan Jam" in protest of the proposed move. A protest was held in Pittsburgh during the Browns' game there against the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
but ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, the network broadcasting the game (and also the home of Carey's new sitcom that just premiered
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
), declined to cover or mention the protest. It was one of the few instances that Steelers fans and Browns fans were supporting each other, as fans in Pittsburgh felt that Modell was robbing their team of their rivalry
Browns-Steelers rivalry
The Browns–Steelers rivalry is one of the most storied rivalries in the NFL. With 117 meetings and counting, it is the oldest rivalry and the most storied in the American Football Conference , surpassing any other rivalry in the conference by at least 5 contests. The two divisional foes have a...
with the Browns.
Virtually all of the team's sponsors immediately pulled their support, leaving Cleveland Stadium devoid of advertising during the team's final weeks.
As far as the on-field product was concerned, the Browns stumbled to finish 5-11 after the announcement, ahead of only the expansion
Expansion team
An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the AFC Central. The last game the team played at Cleveland Municipal Stadium was a 26-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
.
Settlement
After extensive talks between the NFL, the Browns and officials of the two cities, Cleveland accepted a legal settlement that would keep the Browns legacy in Cleveland. On February 9, 1996, the NFL announced that the Browns would be 'deactivated' for three years, and that a new stadiumCleveland Browns Stadium
-See also:* List of current National Football League stadiums* Chronology of home stadiums for current National Football League teams* List of American football stadiums by capacity* List of U.S. stadiums by capacity* List of North American stadiums by capacity...
would be built for a new Browns team, as either an expansion team
Expansion team
An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...
or a team moved from another city, that would begin play in 1999. Modell would in turn be granted a new franchise (the 31st NFL franchise), for Baltimore, retaining the current contracts of players and personnel. There would be a reactivated team for Cleveland, where the Browns' name, colors, history, records, awards and archives would remain in Cleveland. The only other current NFL team to suspend operations without merging with another was Cleveland's previous NFL team, the Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
, during the 1943 season at the height of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
One additional stipulation would be that in any future realignment plan, the Browns would automatically be placed in a division with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
and Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
, due to longstanding rivalries with those two teams. The NFL ultimately realigned for the 2002 NFL season
2002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...
, with the three teams and the Ravens in the AFC North
AFC North
The American Football Conference North Division, or AFC North, is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created prior to the 1967 season as the NFL Century Division when the NFL split into four divisions...
.
Aftermath
The return of the NFL to Baltimore effectively killed the professional football team already in Baltimore at the time, the Grey CupGrey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
champion Baltimore Stallions
Baltimore Stallions
The Baltimore Stallions were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, which played the 1994 and 1995 seasons. They were the most successful American team in the Canadian Football League, having two winning seasons and a division title. In 1995 they became the only American team...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
. Realizing he would be unable to compete with the NFL, Stallions owner Jim Speros moved the team to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
for the 1996 season and sold it to Bob Wetenhall in 1997. The former Stallions ended up as the revived Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
.
Focus groups, a telephone survey, and a fan contest were all held to help select a new name for Modell's relocated club. Starting with a list of over 100 possible names, the team's management reduced it to 17. From there, focus groups of a total of 200 Baltimore area residents reduced the list of names to six, and then a phone survey of 1000 people trimmed it down to three, Marauders, Americans, and Ravens. Finally, a fan contest drawing 33,288 voters picked "Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
", a name that alludes to the famous poem, "The Raven
The Raven
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
", by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
, who spent the latter part of his life in Baltimore, and is also buried there. The team also adopted purple
Purple
Purple is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue, and is classified as a secondary color as the colors are required to create the shade....
and black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
as their team colors, a stark contrast of the brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
and orange
Orange (colour)
The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 585–620 nm, and has a hue of 30° in HSV colour space. It is numerically halfway between red and yellow in a gamma-compressed RGB colour space, the expression of which is the RGB colour wheel. The...
colors of the Browns. Ex-Baltimore Colts such as Art Donovan
Art Donovan
Arthur Donovan, Jr. is a former American football defensive tackle, better known as Art 'How much does dat guy weigh?' Donovan, who played for three National Football League teams, most notably the Baltimore Colts...
and Johnny Unitas
Johnny Unitas
John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...
disowned the Colts after their move to Indianapolis and are claimed in the Ravens' history. The former Colts Marching Band, which remained in Baltimore after the Colts moved, was subsequently renamed the Baltimore's Marching Ravens
Baltimore's Marching Ravens
Baltimore's Marching Ravens are the official marching band of the Baltimore Ravens football team. They were founded as the Baltimore Colts' Marching Band on September 7, 1947 and have continuously operated ever since even though the original Colts disbanded in 1950, leaving Baltimore without a...
. Along with the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, the Ravens are one of only three NFL teams with an official marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
.
Modell's move to Baltimore came at the height of NFL teams relocating
Relocation of professional sports teams
Relocation of professional sports teams is a practice which involves a sporting franchise moving from one metropolitan area to another, although occasionally moves between municipalities in the same conurbation are also included...
. The move also fueled a proliferation of 12 new stadiums throughout the NFL. Several NFL franchises used the threat of relocation to coerce their respective cities to build new stadiums with public funds. Such franchises include the Seahawks, Buccaneers, Bengals, Lions, Cardinals, and Bears. In the three-year period from 1995
1995 NFL season
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
-1997
1997 NFL season
The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
, four NFL teams moved. In addition to Modell's move, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
lost both of its teams
NFL in Los Angeles
Professional American football, especially its established top level, the National Football League, has had a long history in Los Angeles, the center of the second-largest media market in the United States. Since 1995, Los Angeles has been by far the largest U.S. market without an NFL team...
for the 1995 season as the Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
moved back to Oakland and the Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
moved east to St. Louis. The fourth and final move saw the Houston Oilers
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
leave Texas to move to Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
in 1997 and become known as the Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
Oilers; the team would move again to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in 1998 and would be renamed the Tennessee Titans in 1999.
After several NFL teams used Cleveland as a relocation threat to become the reactivated Browns (most notably the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
), the NFL decided in 1998 to make the reactivated Browns an expansion team
Expansion team
An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...
, which while it temporarily gave the league an odd number of teams (causing at least one team to be off in each of the 17 weeks of the NFL season from 1999–2001), it also eliminated any possibility of an existing franchise giving up its own identity for the Browns and thus prevented more lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s. In a somewhat ironic twist, Al Lerner
Al Lerner
Alfred "Al" Lerner was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was best known as the Chairman of the Board of credit card giant MBNA and the owner of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League...
--who helped Modell move to Baltimore—was granted ownership of the reactivated Browns (his son Randy
Randy Lerner
Randolph D. Lerner is an American entrepreneur and sports team owner.Lerner has been the owner of the American football team, the Cleveland Browns, of the National Football League since October 2002, and the Chairman of Aston Villa Football Club of the English Premier League since 2006...
took over ownership after Al's death in 2002). The Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
were created as the 32nd team to replace the Oilers
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
for the 2002 NFL season
2002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...
to give the league once again an even number of teams.
The reactivated Browns have had only two winning seasons since returning to the NFL in 1999: a 9-7 finish in 2002
2002 Cleveland Browns season
The 2002 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 50th season with the National Football League.-Regular season:- Playoffs :-Standings:...
which also saw the team clinch a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
spot in the playoffs, and a 10-6 finish in 2007
2007 Cleveland Browns season
The 2007 Cleveland Browns season began with the Browns attempting to improve upon their 4–12 record from the 2006 season, in which the team finished in fourth place in the AFC North. The Browns also attempted to overcome the many injuries that plagued the team throughout the 2006 season...
while barely missing the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Ravens have been more successful, reaching the playoffs six times since 2000
2000 NFL season
The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000...
and winning Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 2000 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens defeated the National Football Conference champion New York...
to the dismay of Browns fans. Longtime placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
Matt Stover
Matt Stover
John Matthew "Matt" Stover is a former American Football placekicker. As of the start of the 2009 NFL season, he was the third most accurate kicker in the history of the National Football League. He is of Greek origin. He has played for the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns, and the Baltimore...
was the last remaining Raven that was with Modell's franchise during the move, having departed the team following the 2008 season
2008 NFL season
The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the...
when the team chose not to re-sign him. General manager and former Browns tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
Ozzie Newsome
Ozzie Newsome
Ozzie Newsome Jr. and a 1974 graduate of Colbert County High School in Leighton, Alabama, is a former American football tight end for the Cleveland Browns, an inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the current General Manager of the Baltimore Ravens.-College career:Before his NFL career,...
(who was in a front-office role with Modell by the time of the move) remains with the Modell franchise.
Due to continual financial hardships, the NFL directed Modell to initiate the sale of his franchise. On March 27, 2000, NFL owners approved the sale of 49% of the Ravens to Steve Bisciotti
Steve Bisciotti
Stephen J. Bisciotti is the current majority owner of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League.-Background:...
. In the deal, Bisciotti had an option to purchase the remaining 51% for $325 million in 2004 from Art Modell. On April 8, 2004 the NFL approved Steve Bisciotti's purchase of the majority stake in the club. Although Modell has since retired and had relinquished control of the Ravens, he is still hated in Cleveland, which had been angry at him long before the move when he fired legendary head coach Paul Brown
Paul Brown
Paul Eugene Brown was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development of the National Football League...
in 1963. In fact, he is still so hated in Northeast Ohio that he was unable to attend the funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
of former Browns' kicker Lou Groza
Lou Groza
Louis Roy Groza was an American football placekicker and offensive tackle who played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns....
due to the backlash Modell would get in Cleveland. One writer considered the Browns relocation and subsequent lawsuits costing Modell a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
, which is located in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
just 60 miles south of Cleveland and is both part of the Cleveland television market and part of the Browns territorial rights.
The move would also have an effect in Pittsburgh as well. Steelers owner Dan Rooney
Dan Rooney
Daniel Milton "Dan" Rooney is the United States Ambassador to Ireland. He is chairman emeritus of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in the National Football League , which was founded by his father, Art Rooney. Rooney was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000 for his contributions...
was one of two owners to oppose Modell's move to Baltimore due to a mutual respect for the team and the fans. Because of the move, the Browns–Steelers rivalry, arguably one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL, has somewhat cooled in Pittsburgh. The Steelers–Ravens rivalry is considered the spiritual successor by a small number of fans in Pittsburgh and is one of the most heated current rivalries in the NFL. Although the rivalry is not as intense in Pittsburgh, Browns fans still consider it their top rivalry despite the Browns' recent struggles against the Steelers. The Browns lost twelve straight games to the Steelers from 2003
2003 NFL season
-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...
until 2009
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
and have a 4-20 record against Pittsburgh since the return of the Browns in 1999.
Effect on teams in other sports leagues
The NFL's deal with Cleveland set a legal precedentPrecedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
with other sports teams. The Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, when they signed their deal with Hennepin County, Minnesota
Hennepin County, Minnesota
Hennepin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. As of 2010 the population was 1,152,425. Its county seat is Minneapolis. It is by far the most populous county in Minnesota; more than one in five Minnesotans live...
for Target Field
Target Field
Target Field is a baseball park located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the home ballpark of the Minnesota Twins, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It is the franchise's sixth ballpark and third in Minnesota. The Twins moved to Target Field for the 2010 Major League Baseball...
in 2006, agreed to a provision that was signed into law that allows the state of Minnesota the right of first refusal to buy the team if it is ever sold, and requires that the name, colors, World Series trophies and history of the team remain in Minnesota if the Twins are ever moved out of state, a deal similar to what Modell agreed to with the city of Cleveland during the move.
In December 2005, the San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team is located in the San Jose, California, United States suburb of Santa Clara, and participates in Major League Soccer , the top level soccer league in the United States and Canada....
of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
moved to Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
to become the Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...
. At the time, it was announced by the league that while players and staff would move with the team, the team name, colors, logo, and records (including two championship trophies) would stay in San Jose for when a new expansion team arrives. In 2008, the Earthquakes returned under the ownership of Lew Wolff.
When the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
moved to
Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City
The Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City was a successful effort by the ownership group of the Seattle SuperSonics to move the team to Oklahoma City...
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
in 2008, the owners agreed to leave the 'SuperSonics' name, logo, and colors in Seattle for a possible future NBA franchise; however the items would remain the property of the Oklahoma City team along with other "assets" including championship banners and trophies. The team was subsequently renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....
. Both the Thunder and any future Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
NBA team will also "share" the SuperSonics' history.
After the 1995-1996 season, the Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They began play in the World Hockey Association in 1972, moving to the National Hockey League in 1979 following the collapse of the WHA...
relocated to Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
in 1996
1995-96 NHL season
The 1995–96 NHL season was the 79th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanche, who, in their first year as the Avalanche, swept the Florida Panthers in four games.-League business:...
to become the now recently bankrupt, financially stabled
Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy
In addition to the bankruptcy of the Phoenix Coyotes, this article discusses the NHL's efforts to sell the club since purchasing it out of bankruptcy.----...
Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....
where history, records, retired numbers, and stats continues to reside. 15 years later in May 2011, the Atlanta Thrashers
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season...
were relocated to Winnipeg, and took on the Jets moniker once again after the new owners announce the name in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
2011 NHL Entry Draft
The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hosted the 1989 NHL Entry Draft.The top three picks consisted...
with fan support. Both incarnations will continue to be separate franchises.
See also
- Baltimore Colts relocation controversyBaltimore Colts relocation controversyThe Baltimore Colts relocation controversy was the decision by then-Colts owner Robert Irsay to move the National Football League team from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana completely unannounced and in the wee hours of March 29, 1984 after years of fighting over a new stadium to...
- History of the Cleveland BrownsHistory of the Cleveland BrownsThis article details the history of the Cleveland Browns American Football Club.-1946–1949: The AAFC years:The Cleveland Browns were founded in 1944 by owner Arthur 'Mickey' McBride and head coach Paul Brown and started play in 1946...
- History of the Baltimore RavensHistory of the Baltimore RavensThis article details the history of the Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football team which plays in the National Football League.-Origins:...
External links
- Inside the Browns deal. A Baltimore Sun article on the Cleveland Browns Relocation controversy.
- Cleveland Browns relocation on The NFL on NBC pregame showThe NFL on NBC Pregame ShowThe NBC television network's pregame/studio coverage for their National Football League coverage has had a rather inconsistent history in comparison to The NFL Today on CBS and Fox NFL Sunday on the Fox Broadcasting Company...
, on YoutubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.