by Roldo Bartimole

(Plain Press June 2025) Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne is trying to save Cleveland.

   He has put his foot down on rejecting a get-out-of-town demand from Browns owners – the Haslam family.

   They’re asking for a $600 million input from County residents. Borrowed, the cost will likely double for Cuyahoga County taxpayers.

NEWS ANALYSIS

   A price too high. A move that rejects plans of decades.

   The ask is more than the cost of the present lakeside stadium. Bonds are not fully paid.

   And in exchange, the Haslams will move the Browns OUT of the Cleveland.

   Such a bargain!

   Ronayne is the first political figure in at least the last 60 years to say “no” to a corporate demand for public cash.

   Cleveland between 1960 and 1980 lost 300,000 residents. It seems to have stabilized but faces serious population problems. Get out of town remains a strong urge.

   The population loss helped propel a public give-away period to bolster downtown with a flow of public subsidies.

Now that heavy public investment is jeopardized by the potential move of the Browns to a nearby suburb.

   The move would be an off ramp to downtown “investments” – read subsidies – by Cleveland and Cuyahoga County taxpayers.

   Let’s look at some of what corporate interests have urged upon the community.

   Cleveland, because of its high poverty level, was eligible for federal urban development action grants (UDAGs)

   The city bestowed, for example, a number to the Tower City complex: for the retail section, $10 million; for its building, then $2.7 million and then another $2 million; $9.2 million at the old Post Office building; and finishing off the gifts $7.9 million for the Ritz-Carlton hotel, which also received a tax abatement for 15 years.

   The UDAGS were given interest free for 20 years, as close as you get to free money!

   Free cash seemed to flow out of Cleveland’s City Hall.

Some others: • HALLE’S BLDG (UDAG), $7,000,000; • HALLE’S BLDG – OHIO LOAN, $6,000,000; • HALLE’S – OHIO INDUSTRIAL LOAN, $10,000,000; • HALLE’S – HISTORIC DESIGNATION, $5,000,000; • JACOB’S GALLERIA (UDAG), $3,500,000; • JACOB’S KEY CENTER (UDAG),$10,000,000; •JACOB’S MARRIOTT (UDAG) , $7,729,398;•MARRIOT hotel/KEY building abatements,  $120,000,000; • MALL A PARKING GARAGE (UDAG), $2,500,00, and so much more;• PLAYHOUSE SQUARE, $750,000 UDAG for renovation of Ohio Theater;• PLAYHOUSE SQUARE BUILDING, $500,000 to Prescott, Ball & Turben; •  PLAYHOUSE SQUARE GARAGE, $5,500,000 UDAG; •  PLAYHOUSE SQUARE HOTEL (WYNDHAM), $4,000,000 (Community Development Block Grant); • WYNDHAM:  STATE OF OHIO LOAN, $4,000,000; •  WYNDHAM,$3,100,000 TIF ABATEMENT;

• WYNDHAM, property tax abatement estimated at $13 million; •WOLSTEIN RENAISSANCE BLDG at PLAYHOUSE SQUARE, $7,700,000 tax abatement;• and the ELECTRONIC TICKER SIGN AT PLAYHOUSE SQ., $2,800,000.

   Subsidies were on the public agenda.

   Presently much of downtown is under a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) abatement, which sends normal property tax revenue to help developments, depriving it from its normal governmental uses, only schools will still get property tax revenue.

   These latest TIF abatements are for 30 to 45 years, a massive diversion from the normal tax uses. Home property owners make up the difference.

   These subsidies don’t include the massive public gifts for Gateway’s baseball and basketball facilities. These total hundreds of millions of public dollars. Gateway is also blessed with property tax exemptions. Now some 25 years old, this massive tax gift totals hundreds of millions of diverted public revenue.

   The Haslams, newcomers to Cleveland from Tennessee, desire to upset some 30 years of heavy public investment to move the Browns to a newly and heavily subsidized site outside of Cleveland. Jimmy Haslam’s personal net worth is $8.5 billion, and the Haslam family overall is valued at $14.4 billion.

   No public official should support such a privileged move.