Raising the roof

So, the Cleveland media and the local sports-talkers were all abuzz the last few days over an observation made by incoming Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III when he met with members of Cleveland's City Council.

Haslam spoke about making improvements to Cleveland Browns Stadium and making better use out of it than it is currently. One councilman asked if those improvements factor in a dome or retractable roof. Haslam did not answer it directly, but did say that he will have three well-known archtect firms take a look at the stadium to see what improvements can be done in the future.

Suddenly, everyone in this town got Dome-Fever all of a sudden. There was no happy medium -- you either are for a roof on the stadium, or you are against it.

Joe Cleveland can only chuckle about this latest prospect of a dome on Cleveland Browns Stadium.

I can remember growing up in the 1980s and seeing signs posted in Downtown Cleveland proclaiming it to be the "future home of a domed stadium" that would have housed both the Browns and Indians. As we all know, that plan never came to fruition.

Eventually, Cuyahoga County taxpayers approved the Sin Tax to help build the Gateway facilities -- Jacobs (now Progressive) Field and Gund (now Quicken Loans) Arena. They also voted for an extension in 1995 that helped build Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Neither of the two stadiums were built with a dome or roof of some kind.

Back when the NFL came to their settlement agreement with the cities of Cleveland and Baltimore that paved the way for the dead Judas to relocate his football franchise while forcing him to leave behind the name, tradition, history and colors of the Cleveland Browns, part of the agreement was that Cleveland build the new team -- one that would be relocated or an expansion team -- a new football stadium. The NFL kicked in some of the costs and controlled the courtship over which teams could potentially move to Cleveland or if there would wind up being an expansion team (which the latter happened).

When Cleveland set to build the new stadium, the subject of a dome came up. A good portion of the fan base who were very angry about the move were dead set against a roof of any kind being put over the stadium. Browns Football was about the elements, damnit! It's not Cleveland Browns football without games being played on grass, outdoors in December and January, with low temperatures and swirling snow coming in off Lake Erie.

This is the Browns Football our parents and grandparents remember.

But, Cleveland went to the NFL and asked if it was feasible to put a roof over the new stadium. And, if they did, would the NFL consider staging the Super Bowl at the domed facility in Cleveland?

The NFL, at the time, was reeling from a PR-nightmare that was a Super Bowl in Minneapolis. Players and league executives complained about the outside temperatures and how it prevented them from doing fun things away from the game itself. So, they told Cleveland officials that there was "no chance" that a Super Bowl would be staged in ANY cold weather city, much less Cleveland.

Cleveland officials, satisfied with that answer, went ahead with the plan to build an open-air stadium.

The Browns situation paved the way for new stadiums to be built in Tampa, Indianapolis, Chicago, New England, Detroit, Seattle, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Houston, and led to extended talks in both San Francisco and Minneapolis. The Bucs, Colts, Bengals, Lions, 49ers, Bears and Vikings all flirted with moving to Cleveland before an expansion team was awarded in 1998. Pittsburgh, seeing what happened to Cleveland and having it hit close to home, wouldn't let the Rooneys make a similar decision with the Steelers and built Heinz Field, which opened in 2001.

Shortly after the Browns began playing in 1999, Detroit built a domed stadium in Downtown near a new baseball park and a new casino. The NFL promised Detroit a Super Bowl if they built the new domed stadium, and they delievered on their promise. Since then, the NFL has awarded Super Bowls to other cities with cold-weather climates, such as Indianapolis and New Jersey.

Now, Cleveland and Browns fans were a little angry. If these cities can get a Super Bowl, why can't Cleveland? And, it harkens back to the dome.

Now, everyone wants be a revisionist. Now, everyone looks at the "Crystal Palace" (as Jim Donovan calls it) and sees a "Factory of Sadness" (as Mike Polk Jr. calls it) that is only used 10 Sundays a year with a handful of other dates sprinked in for high school football, Ohio State football and the annual Black College game, and wonders why this beautiful facilty is festering away on the lakefront.

People think putting a dome, or at the very least, a retractable roof, over the place would rectify these things.

Joe Cleveland is saying to slow down for just a second.

You may build it, but they still may not come.

If Cleveland can get the NFL to promise (IN WRITING) that they will bring a Super Bowl here if the city puts a roof over the stadium, than I may be on board. However, the NFL is not going to do that.

The main thing seperating Cleveland from Detroit and Indianapolis is hotel space. Cleveland has some nice hotels in town and in the suburbs. However, the lodging would be inadequate for a huge event like the Super Bowl.

OK, then, what about things like the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four, or the Big Ten Championship Game, or even the MAC Championship Game, or the Big Ten Basketball Tournament. Wouldn't a domed facility be attractive to hold those types of events?

Sure they would, but why would the NCAA and the Big Ten come to Cleveland? They can get a dome anywhere.

Once again, it comes down to hotels. Indianapolis, Chicago, San Antonio, Detroit and New Orleans have it. Cleveland does not.

Well, as a buddy of mine argued, don't you think that more hotels would come to town if a domed facility came to fruition?

Possibily, but let's point out one big giant fact here.

When the casino bill passed statewide, Cleveland was one of the locations. The plan was for a hotel and casino and restaurant to be built. However, all the other hotel and restaurant owners in Cleveland complained that it would hurt their businesses.

So, the city made Dan Gilbert build the casino without a hotel. He had to buy the neighboring Ritz-Carlton just to secure the hotel rooms for the Horseshoe Casino.

There was a golden opportunity to add to the hotel space in Cleveland, and Cleveland wouldn't do it. What makes you think that any other hotel operator would come here under these particular guidelines?

If Dan Gilbert, the golden goose of Cleveland, couldn't get a hotel built, what makes you think that anyone else would?

So, in the end, we'd be left with a giant albatross of a facility that would only bs used as much as it currently is.

And, who's going to pay for this upgrade, if it's even feasible? Do you think Haslam, after shelling out $1 billion to buy the franchise, would pony up for it?

Nope.

Will Cleveland pay for it? Hell no!

So, it would be on you and me, the taxpayers of Cuyahoga County, to furnish the money to build this roof that, quite honestly, we really don't need.

Ticket prices would skyrocket for Browns games to help fund this roof, retractable or not. You think fans would willingly shell out $120 for tickets that already cost $60? I doubt it, especially if the team doesn't start winning.

Honestly, it would be in Jimmy Haslam's best interest to try to get the Browns to PLAY in a Super Bowl and WIN a Super Bowl and not worry about HOSTING a Super Bowl.

You want more revenue? Schedule some summer concerts at the stadium. The old Cleveland Stadium played host to numerous memorable concerts -- Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, The Jacksons, The Who, the World Series of Rock, the Concert for the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, the list goes on and on and on.

This past summer, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw staged a concert at Cleveland Browns Stadium. I don't know how well it drew, but that should just be the tip of the iceberg.

If the "Big 4" of Metal (Metallica/Slayer/Megadeth/Anthrax) want to do a stadium tour, bring it to Cleveland Browns Stadium!

If Springsteen wants to play the stadium again, bring him back to Cleveland Browns Stadium!

The Who, the Rolling Stones, Van Halen, etc. Heck, go the country route again. Cleveland has a big country music fan base.

One thing the dead Judas did (and did well) was allow concert promoter Jules Belkin free reign to stage events around downtime that the Browns and Indians weren't playing. Cleveland Stadium truly rocked back in the 1970s, 80s and even the 90s before it got knocked down.

For whatever reason, the Lerner family never went that route.

You don't need a roof to stage a rock or country concert at the stadium!

Does Billy Graham want to stage a revival? Let him rent out the stadium! Does he need a roof over his head to do it? Isn't the whole point of a Christian revival to allow God in on the proceedings? Wouldn't an open-air stadium be perfect for that?

There's plenty of ways to use the facility without putting a roof over it, if it could even happen.

Joe Cleveland just isn't feeling the whole Dome-Hysteria, and it's not just because I'm a football purist at heart. Yes, I want my football played in the elements.

But, I think everyone believes that a domed facility would be the answer to all of our prayers and be able to stage all of these fantastic events, and I think those people are wrong.

It just reeks of Cleveland being late to the party and trying to cash in. If they really wanted a dome, they should have built one in the first place instead of trying to finagle some way to put one on the existing stadium.

In the end, I think Cleveland will lose more than they'll win. They'll lose without the additional revenue. They'll lose with higher taxes. They'll lose with higher ticket prices. And, if that's the case, they may end up losing their team ... again.

Stop worrying about the stadium and start worrying about the product that uses that stadium. If you build a winner, they will come.

Do you hear Pittsburgh, Baltimore or Cincinnati complaining that they didn't put a roof on their stadiums when they built them? I don't hear anything.

Do you hear New York and New Jersey complaining that they didn't put a roof on their brand-new stadium? I haven't heard anything.

Do you hear Boston and New England complaining that they didn't put a roof on Gilette Stadium? I can't say that I have.

Only in Cleveland do you hear these complaints.

To be honest, if the Browns were winning, you wouldn't hear any complaints. It would be like the good-ol' days of Paul Brown and the Kardiac Kids and Bernie Kosar all over again, games that were won and lost in the snow and freezing temperatures of old Cleveland Stadium while loons in the Dawg Pound barked without shirts on.

Winning cures everything. I'd rather have a winning team play on a parking lot than a losing team play under a dome.

If that means I "don't get it," than I guess I never will. But, you won't hear Joe Cleveland ever clamor for a domed stadium in Cleveland.

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!