August 12, 2024

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The Browns proposed a $2.4 billion suburban stadium, with half of the money being publicly financed. County pushback could stand in its way—and potentially keep the team in downtown Cleveland. Also, can Los Angeles use the 2028 Olympics to become less reliant on cars?

— David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Browns Already Getting Major Pushback on $2.4B Dome Plan [[link removed]]

Cleveland Browns/HKS

The Browns have made it clear they want to move out of their current downtown Cleveland stadium when that lease expires in 2028, and move into a new $2.4 billion dome about 15 miles away in suburban Brook Park. But the effort is already facing significant regional opposition.

Last week, the Browns unveiled [[link removed]] renderings (above) and details of their vision for a new stadium. But on Sunday, two Cuyahoga County leaders released a letter [[link removed]] pushing back on the NFL team’s plan, claiming it “does not make fiscal sense” for residents and taxpayers. The Browns are asking for a 50-50 partnership, meaning public funding would amount to $1.2 billion.

“We are writing to affirm our united commitment to keep the Browns in downtown Cleveland for generations to come,” the letter from Cuyahoga County executive Chris Ronayne and council president Pernel Jones Jr. read. The team has been considering a $461 million offer from Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb to help renovate Cleveland Browns Stadium downtown. This came despite the Brook Park City Council passing a resolution encouraging the Browns to strongly consider building a stadium there.

In a response to the Cuyahoga County letter, Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam wrote [[link removed]], “It would be short-sighted for Northeast Ohio to rule out any options at this point for a long-term decision of this magnitude.”

On Monday night, potential renovations to the Browns’ downtown stadium is on the agenda of a Cleveland City Council meeting.

Seen This Before?

The stadium developments surrounding the Browns in some ways mirror one of the franchise’s midwest NFL neighbors.

Earlier this year, the Bears and Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson released [[link removed]] plans for a $4.7 billion domed lakefront stadium that would replace Soldier Field downtown. However, the office of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker eventually branded [[link removed]] the Bears’ effort, as currently constructed, a “nonstarter.” That led to Chicago suburbs Aurora and Arlington Heights both renewing [[link removed]] their public pursuit of building a new stadium for the Bears.

Moon Shot or Masterstroke? L.A. Sets Bold Vision for a ‘No-Car’ Olympics [[link removed]]

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Now officially on the clock [[link removed]] for the next Summer Olympics, Los Angeles 2028 organizers and local politicians want to use the Games as a moon shot of sorts for the region.

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass (above, left) was on hand in Paris on Sunday for the formal Olympics handoff from her Paris counterpart, Anne Hidalgo, marking a historic ceremony involving [[link removed]] the first female mayors in both cities. As Los Angeles now moves from an Olympics planning phase to a delivery stage, Bass is envisioning a “no-car Games”—a massive shift for one of the most notoriously car-oriented and traffic-clogged [[link removed]] cities in the world.

“That’s a feat in Los Angeles. We’ve always been in love with our cars,” Bass said. “[But] a no-car Games means that you will have to take public transportation to get to all the venues.”

The bold goal from Bass and other local leaders—somewhat mirroring the effort [[link removed]] in Paris to clean up the Seine river—involves several key facets:

Buses: Los Angeles intends to use more than 3,000 buses to transport people around the region for the Olympics, with many of those vehicles borrowed from other parts of the U.S. Workforce shifts: Area businesses, particularly large-scale employers, will be approached to consider work-from-home modifications, staggered schedules, and other shifts for staff to help mitigate the potential for traffic jams. Similar approaches were used during the 1984 Olympics, also held in Los Angeles, and now have the benefit of the internet and further learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic. Public transportation upgrades: The Paris Olympics succeeded in part by leaning heavily on a well-established Metro system that tapped into local cultural norms of using public transportation. Los Angeles will seek to establish a flavor of that with upgrades to the city’s more limited rail system, the downtown convention center, and Los Angeles International Airport, while also setting up temporary satellite parking venues to help expand the bus network.

“As we’ve seen here in Paris, the Olympics are an opportunity to make transformative change,” Bass said. “It’s our top priority to ensure that the Olympic preparations benefit Angelenos for decades to come.”

Historic Precedent

While many prior Olympic hosts, including Paris, have used the event to seek local enhancements, there is a prior track record of Los Angeles using the Games to its advantage. The 1932 Olympics proved influential [[link removed]] in elevating an arguably sleepy Western U.S. town to the global stage, and helped fuel a population and development boom that ultimately led Los Angeles to become the No. 2 metro area in the country behind New York—while also marking a major turning point [[link removed]] for the Olympic movement.

The 1984 Games, meanwhile, again helped revive [[link removed]] the Olympics amid rising global conflict, turned a profit without state funding, and prompted upgrades to many of the existing sports venues in Los Angeles.

“Angelenos were terrified that we were going to have terrible, terrible traffic [during the 1984 Games], and we were shocked we didn’t,” Bass said. “But I will tell you, in 1984, we didn’t have any of the technology we do today.”

Ticket Ambitions

The LA28 organizing committee aims to surpass the record total of more than 9.5 million tickets that Paris sold, boosted in part by the addition of flag football, squash, lacrosse, baseball, softball, and cricket to the run of competitions in four years.

“We have the opportunity to sell significantly more tickets than Paris did,” said Casey Wasserman, LA28 chairman. “We don’t have an Eiffel Tower, but we’ve got a Hollywood sign, [and] we’ve got incredible venues.”

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ONE BIG FIG Wings Take Flight

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

$208 million

The valuation for the Dallas Wings after two businessmen purchased [[link removed]] a minority stake in the club, according to Sports Business Journal [[link removed]]. The valuation is the highest for a WNBA franchise—the Las Vegas Aces were valued [[link removed]] at $140 million by Sportico in June—though the two buyers purchased only 0.5% each of the Wings at $1.04 million.

The Wings were previously valued at $75 million, 11th of the 12 WNBA franchises, ahead of only the Atlanta Dream, valued at $55 million. But a potential move [[link removed]] to downtown Dallas by 2026, coupled with the league-wide growth expected from the $2.2 billion media-rights deal [[link removed]], signals a positive horizon for the team.

On the court, the Wings are struggling. The team is tied for last in the league this season with a 6–19 record, and it has advanced past the first round only once since moving from Tulsa to Arlington in 2016.

STATUS REPORT One Up, Two Down, One Push

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

49ers ⬇ The team announced the cancellation of two joint practices with the Saints scheduled for Thursday and Friday of this week. According to ESPN [[link removed]], a slew of injuries to the 49ers drove the decision. There were 23 players who missed practice Thursday for last season’s Super Bowl runner-ups due to varying injuries, and that is on top of the contract issues involving star left tackle Trent Williams and receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

Jarren Duran ⬇ The Red Sox outfielder shouted an anti-LGBTQ slur at a fan during a game Sunday that was caught on the telecast [[link removed]]. The fan was heckling Duran, and he responded by saying, “Shut up, you f***ing f*****.” After the game, the 2024 All-Star apologized to the Red Sox and LGBTQ community for using a “truly horrific word.” Duran has been suspended two games, and he’ll begin with Monday’s game against the Rangers.

Sifan Hassan ⬆ The Dutch runner (above) set an Olympic record in the marathon just days after she had won bronze in the 5K and 10K runs, becoming the first woman to medal in the Olympic triple. Hassan, who won the 2023 Chicago and London marathons, was the first woman to even attempt to race all three competitions in one Olympics. Her win was also a boost for Nike, which has faced stiff competition [[link removed]] in the running space, as she wore [[link removed]] the Nike Alphafly 3 to beat out several competitors wearing other brands. Four of the top 10 finishers wore Nike.

Noah Lyles ⬆⬇ An excerpt from a Time [[link removed]] story published in June about the sprinter has made the rounds on social media. Lyles—who declared [[link removed]] his desire for a signature shoe after winning the 100-meter sprint in Paris—did not attend a shoe-release event for fellow Adidas athlete Anthony Edwards. The sprinter questioned why Edwards, who has never made the NBA Finals, deserves a signature shoe while Lyles does not. The track star clarified on social media Monday that he thinks Edwards “deserves his shoes” and the reason he missed the event was because he had “prior engagements.”

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Conversation Starters The Paris Games have wrapped up, but the next five Olympics hosts have already been named. Check it out [[link removed]]. With L.A. set to host the Games in 2028, Sunday’s closing ceremony in Paris featured the famous Hollywood sign tweaked to feature the Olympic rings. Take a look [[link removed]]. At 39 years old, LeBron James had an Olympics to remember [[link removed]]. He started as Team USA’s flag bearer in the opening ceremony and capped it off with a gold medal and MVP Award. Editors’ Picks Trio of Athlete Objections Filed Against House v. NCAA Settlement Proposal [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]Objections argued a range of grievances, from gender equity to antitrust issues. Equinox’s Blink Fitness Latest Gym Chain to File for Bankruptcy [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Blink plans to keep operating before an eventual sale. LIV Golfer Loses $250K for Positive Drug Test, Chirps PGA Policy [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]McDowell took a shot at the PGA Tour as he accepted his suspension. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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