CLEVELAND — While there has been plenty of speculation regarding a new home for the Cleveland Browns, the team's stadium is now getting a new — or rather old — name.
On Thursday, the team announced that it has reached a mutual agreement to end its stadium naming rights deal with FirstEnergy, effective immediately. As a result, the team's stadium will once again be known as "Cleveland Browns Stadium," as it was from 1999-2012.
Terms of the agreement have not been announced. FirstEnergy's naming rights to the stadium had been scheduled to run through the 2029 season, when the club's lease at the facility expires.
"We've had a great association with FirstEnergy for more than two decades, and we appreciate this partnership and what it has created for our team and the broader northeast Ohio community," Dave Jenkins, Haslam Sports Group COO, said. "We reached this amicable agreement that is consistent with the productive relationship we have always enjoyed, and we wish FirstEnergy success with their future initiatives. Our home stadium will return to its former name, Cleveland Browns Stadium."
The Browns' naming rights deal with the Akron-based electric utility company first began in 2013 and has been the subject of controversy in recent years as a result of the company's involvement in the House Bill 6 bribery scandal, which notably led to criminal convictions for former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and ex-state Republican Party Chair Matt Borges. Last June, Cleveland City Council passed a resolution urging FirstEnergy to relinquish its naming rights to the stadium — something Browns fans had already been calling for on social media since news of the scandal was first made public in 2020.
After news of the Browns and FirstEnergy ending their partnership was first made public, Cleveland City Council released the following statement:
"Today, the Cleveland Browns announced they plan to remove the First Energy name from our municipal stadium for the upcoming season. Cleveland City Council has supported a name change for the stadium for nearly a year. Councilman Brian Kazy (Ward 16) introduced Resolution 541-2022 in May 2022, urging the Cleveland Browns to remove the name. Council overwhelmingly approved the resolution in June 2022. Council is pleased to hear of the name change and that the Cleveland Browns are restoring the original name of Cleveland Browns Stadium for the upcoming season. Clevelanders own the stadium, and it is only fitting to call it by a name of which we can all be proud."
Whether the Browns will continue to keep its own name on the stadium or sell the rights to another company in the near future remains unclear. The news comes as the franchise considers its options for updating the facility that opened in 1999, with potential options including a renovation or a new stadium altogether.
At any rate, Signal Cleveland's Mark Naymik believes the team's willingness to end its partnership with FirstEnergy marks an "important first step" in negotiations with the city over the stadium. Watch more of Naymik's interview with 3News' Christi Paul below: