footballstadiumdigest.com

For six decades, they played football on the edge of Lake Erie. When Art Modell moved his football team to Baltimore after the 1995 season, the league promised to work with the city to bring the NFL back a few years later. They did just that – and now the games are played on the same spot where the old Rams and Browns held forth.

But that is about the only thing Cleveland Browns Stadium has in common with its predecessor, Municipal Stadium.

It’s a bit smaller and a little airier than its predecessor. Unlike Municipal, which rose dramatically almost straight up in the air, Browns Stadium is in the classic college football mode – three levels stretched back almost as far as you can go. The majority of the seats are between the goal lines. This left room for a pair of large scoreboards to be constructed behind each end zone.

Whereas Municipal was tight from the outside, you can see parts of the playing field from the street. As a result, the stadium has an airy feel that seems very nice in the summer and fall. December, however, is a different issue. These gaps and the upper level bridges connecting the sideline and end zone seating also allow ticket holders to see the downtown skyline.

In addition, lighting has been specially designed to highlight the columns and beams supporting the upper deck topped by a halo of light glowing from the sideline canopies. The old place had dark and forbidding corners. The Browns don’t play a lot of night games. But when they do, the place occasionally has the feel of a very large flashlight.

HOK built the place in conjunction of Cleveland. One tribute to the past remains: The Dawg Pound, where some of the city’s most diehard grid fans sit, is alive and well here. It is still in the east end of the stadium but it has moved closer (and considerably lower) to the field. One of the surprises of the place is to discover the field is made of Kentucky Bluegrass. This idea didn’t work very well in Cincinnati but CBS included an underground heating system to keep the field from freezing over before the football season ends. So far, at least, there have been few complaints.

It may surprise a few folks to know there was little controversy when the city chose not to go looking for a corporate sponsor to buy naming rights for the stadium. Instead, the city sold the rights to the four areas where fans enter. The money taken in was roughly what was anticipated for naming rights to the entire place and several purists remained happy.

Fans attending games here have one big advantage over Municipal’s days. In 1996, the city’s Rapid Transit Authority opened the Waterfront Line, an extension of the old Blue and Green Line. As a result, fans can now take a train and get off outside the door of CBS. Before this addition was built, the closest transit riders could get was Tower City, two miles away. As a result, parking was frequently a major hassle for games with big crowds at the old stadium.

Although it can be used as a concert locale, this is mainly a football venue. In addition to the Browns’ games, there has been a series of college football tilts played there. In 2008, Boston College and Kent State will open their seasons there. In 2009, Ohio State is scheduled to play Toledo there.

And that leads to the only major controversy involving the place. Since CBS is only guaranteed use for 10 games a year, some local leaders felt the price tag over a quarter of a billion dollars was too much. For roughly $100 million, a retractable roof could be added. With that, the city would be in position to push for events like a bowl game, the NCAA basketball playoffs and even a northern-based Super Bowl. In 2006, a proposal was made to the City Council on the subject. But no action was taken at the time and the issue seems to have died down.

For now, fans are just happy to have the NFL back and seem quite satisfied with the venue where the games are played.

CLEVELAND BROWNS STADIUM, CLEVELAND, OH