BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns revival has ownership excited, but also realistic.
Dee and Jimmy Haslam maintained the same level headed tone that has come from head coach Kevin Stefanski and executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry – there’s a lot of work to do and a long way to go until January.
“We’re realistic as to how hard it is to win in the NFL, so I think Dee and I, we’re realistic about the roles injuries play, breaks etcetera and just how hard it is to win in the NFL,” Jimmy Haslam said Saturday. “We’re excited that people are mentioning us the way they are but we’re also realistic about how much work we have to do and like I said, how hard it is to win in the NFL.”
Browns fever has hit Cleveland.
Season tickets are sold out. Barking from the bleachers has returned to training camp.
“We can’t thank our fans enough for just what outstanding fans we have here,” Jimmy Haslam said. “They are the best, no question about it.”
Every contributor on offense returns and the defense could have up to nine different starters.
The talent is noticeable and the potential exciting to think about but even the Haslams are pumping the brakes as to not get too carried away.
“Yeah, it’s fun,” Jimmy Haslam said. “I was talking to one of our senior talent evaluators and I always ask, what do you think, what are you worried about, what do you like, what you don’t like? He said, it’s clear we have talent on the field. But now that has to move into wins and that’s what we’ve got to see happen now. But it’s exciting. It’s fun to be at practice, exciting to see the athletes we have, exciting to see the staff we have.”
With the Browns on track and, questions about their desire to expand their new family business – the Haslam Sports Group – persist.
Although the Haslams confirmed they’ve “explored opportunities” in recent years to expand their portfolio, it doesn’t sound like the Haslam Sports Group, which also owns and operates the Columbus Crew of the MLS, is in a hurry to add to their holdings.
“I think we have our hands full right now,” Dee Haslam said. “I think that’s what we’re focused on right now is with the Crew and the Browns, that’s a lot right now. I think that’s our focus. I don’t know what’s down the road, but that’s definitely our focus.”
The Haslams have not had discussions with Indians owner Paul Dolan about acquiring the minority stake in the ballclub that is available.
“Paul’s a great friend, he’s done a tremendous job with the Indians, but we have not talked about that,” Jimmy Haslam said.
The Browns’ ownership group has been busy off the field.
The team recently signed Cleveland-based mortgage lender CrossCountry Mortgage as their naming rights partner for the Berea training and administrative complex which is now called CrossCountry Mortgage Campus.
The Browns also cleared the lots they recently acquired next to the facility and are drawing up plans for expansion.
“First goal is to make it even better for the players and the coaches and everybody that works here and second is to make it better for the fans and third is to help this community and I think we have a chance to do all that,” Jimmy Haslam said. “We do not have concrete plans right now but have a lot of exciting ideas and Dave Jenkins and his team are working on those every day. Obviously, we like this campus, it's going to be part of the Browns for a long, long time to come. We're excited about what this can be over the next several years.”
At the end of the decade the Browns lease at FirstEnergy Stadium is set to expire.
The Haslams are also backing a proposed land bridge project to connect Mall C downtown by the convention center to the lakefront. Recently ODOT gave a $2.5 million grant and the city of Cleveland has pledged to match the funds to continue engineering studies and work to determine the viability of the proposed $229.1 million project.
“First of all we’re real excited that the city is looking at how to connect downtown Cleveland to the waterfront,” Dee Haslam said. “It’s something that’s been talked about for way before we were here and so many different plans have been put forward. I think the city is really serious, obviously with the grant they’re really serious about getting something done now.”
The outcome of the project could influence the Browns’ future plans for FirstEnergy Stadium or desire to build a new facility.
“We’re obviously a big stakeholder on the lakefront, so having input there was really important,” Dee Haslam said. “We enjoy working with them and having input and look at it as we’re one of the pieces of the pie.
“Right now, we’re on the waterfront, we plan to be there, we love where our stadium is and we think once it gets connected it’s going to be a great experience for not just our fans but anyone that lives and works in Cleveland. It creates this neighborhood that is so important to the vitality of downtown. So that’s why we’re excited about it.”