Johnny Manziel. Hue Jackson. Deshaun Watson.
Since becoming the owners of the Cleveland Browns in 2012, Jimmy and Dee Haslam have made a litany of bad football decisions. Now, with ‘Brownstown,’ it appears he’s decided to alienate fans in a different way by giving us something that the majority of us didn’t want: a dome.
Football was not meant to be played indoors. It is a sport that is won and lost by toughness – and that toughness includes playing rain, snow, or shine. Some of the sport’s most entertaining games are snow games: look at Lesean McCoy’s 200-yard rushing game against the Lions in 2013, the Tuck Rule game, or even Jameis Winston’s first-ever snow game just last season. A dome takes away a major aspect of the sport that we love, and it hurts to see more and more owners prioritizing profits over the game itself.
For those of you who want to be more comfortable, I understand you – but you might be in the wrong city. That being said, I’m not opposed to a new stadium that makes the gameday experience more enjoyable for the fans. It does sometimes get a bit rough sitting in the Dawg Pound on a random Sunday in the middle of December, and driving to the stadium each gameday is often a nightmare. What I am opposed to, though, is taking the weather out of the game.
The Buffalo Bills’ new stadium is my ideal design and something I believe that the majority of Browns fans would enjoy more than an indoor stadium. It consists of a canopy over the stands and walls designed to reduce wind speeds throughout the stadium, but leaves the area over the field uncovered. Snow and rain will still fall on the field and players while spectators stay dry and comfortable for the full game. The best part is that it costs $300 million less than the dome Jimmy Haslam is building.
Of course, the Haslams’ main selling point for the dome was the opportunity for more events to take place year-round, which could explain why he preferred full-field coverage. But in that case, why not build a stadium with a retractable roof? They could have easily gone with a design that allows the stadium to close its roof for any event that isn’t a Browns game. It would also still give us the opportunity to host the Super Bowl, since it’s obvious that’s what our owners want most of all.
Either one of these options would provide fans more comfort – while also maintaining their ability to watch football being played the way it’s supposed to be played. Not every aspect of the game should be controllable, and in my opinion, any attempt to control those aspects harm the sport.
But seriously? ‘Brownstown,’ when ‘Dawg Park’ was right there? The Haslams never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
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