CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Browns and FirstEnergy have mutually agreed to end their stadium naming rights agreement and the stadium will revert to its previous name – Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The announcement was made Thursday morning.
"We've had a great association with FirstEnergy for more than two decades, and we appreciate this partnership and what it has created for our team and the broader northeast Ohio community," Dave Jenkins, Haslam Sports Group COO, said. “We reached this amicable agreement that is consistent with the productive relationship we have always enjoyed, and we wish FirstEnergy success with their future initiatives. Our home stadium will return to its former name, Cleveland Browns Stadium.”
In 2013, FirstEnergy agreed to a naming rights deal worth around $107 million through the end of the current lease which expires in 2028 for the lakefront stadium that opened in 1999.
“Together with the Browns, we have worked to enrich our communities while increasing awareness of FirstEnergy as an energy leader. Since we signed this agreement ten years ago, our priorities have shifted as the company evolved from a competitive energy supplier to a regulated utility, and as a result, our corporate initiatives must also evolve,” John Somerhalder, interim president and CEO of FirstEnergy, said. “Like the rest of northern Ohio, we remain passionate Browns fans and will cheer them on in upcoming seasons. We also look forward to maintaining our deep relationships with civic, arts and other organizations to bring good energy to our communities.”
In recent years, the Akron-based utility company has been embroiled in a $60 million corruption and bribery scandal in which the utility admitted its attempts to influence legislation in the state of Ohio.
Last June Cleveland city council passed a resolution, proposed by Ward 16 councilman Brian Kazy, urging the Browns to drop FirstEnergy from the stadium name and also refused to use the corporate sponsored name in official legislation related to the stadium.
“I don’t believe that the municipally owned stadium that the Cleveland Browns play in should bear the name of this tainted company,” Kazy said at the time in a press release.
By mutually agreeing to end the naming rights agreement, the Browns can move forward with their massive stadium overhaul and lakefront development plans without the controversy over the stadium name hovering.
The team now has the ability to re-sell the naming rights, which could be valued much higher annually than their previous agreement with FirstEnergy.
