As Chicago’s local government finds itself at war with its own beloved NFL team — a community symbol of Chicagoan grit, unity and endurance (especially in winter) — the Midwest is following suit.
The Cleveland Browns franchise has a similar relationship to their city. Another major city in the heartlands, Cleveland houses generations of industrial and manufacturing workers, proud of their history and sports despite decades of disappointment.
Just over a year ago, I was in Cleveland for a Browns vs. Bears Sunday game. The stadium, now Huntington Bank Field, rests on the city’s edge along Lake Erie, just like Soldier Field rests on Lake Michigan.
The difference? One long, seemingly endless East 9th Street that connects the city to the stadium, lined with thousands of tailgaters. You can walk from a hotel in the heart of downtown to the stadium in just 20 minutes, and on game days, without a dull moment. It’s hard to picture a time when the Browns weren’t around.
But in 1995, this strip was abruptly abandoned. Browns owner Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore to the dismay of the die-hard fan base that stuck with the team through thick and thin, through sunshine and blizzard.
Even after the team’s brand was revitalized in 1999, this massive weekly festival of fandom may be coming to an end again. This season, the Browns have made it clear they want out — in favor of Brook Park, which is half an hour outside of the city near the airport.
In August, Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb sent a letter to Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, pleading for them to keep the team in Cleveland and renovate the stadium rather than ditching downtown altogether.
“The Browns’ presence at its current site is crucial to many downtown businesses and jobs,” the letter read. “The Browns leaving Cleveland would be detrimental to businesses within Cleveland and throughout Cuyahoga County, and the magnitude of the project would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars more when our region has so many other critical needs. A strong Cleveland is a strong Northeast Ohio.”
With the Haslams remaining unflinching in their choice of Brook Park, the city turned to Ohio’s Modell Law. Because the Browns’ stadium in 1995 was partially taxpayer-funded, the move to Baltimore felt like money wasted to Cleveland natives. So the state introduced this law stipulating that the owner of a professional sports team in Ohio, playing in a publicly funded stadium, cannot relocate the team without an agreement with the city where it is based or providing the city with six months’ advance notice and an opportunity to purchase the team.
Of course, Chicago has no such law keeping the Bears from leaving the taxpayer-funded Soldier Field, and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign to keep the team in Chicago appears increasingly futile. It seems only a matter of time until the Browns and Bears will ditch their cities, ironically cities with more passionate fan bases than most others.
The Haslams maintain the new stadium will drive economic activity and hold larger events. The McCaskeys, who own the Bears, say their new stadium in Arlington Heights will be “much more than a stadium project,” more in the vein of an entire neighborhood.
For the Bears, there is certainly a stronger argument for moving out of the city than in Cleveland. Soldier Field is the smallest NFL stadium, with little room for growth and renovation. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played in 11 U.S. cities, but Chicago will not host, in large part due to the stadium’s capacity.
Then there’s the traffic. Because it is much more of a hike from downtown Chicago to Soldier Field, compared to Huntington Bank Field’s proximity to Cleveland, there is much more reliance on the nearby highways and parking lots.
One of Soldier Field’s biggest strengths is its central location, a symbol of unity between the North and South sides, typically divided by White Sox and Cubs fandoms. Arlington Heights is roughly 20 miles north of the center of the loop.
Economic benefits aside, Midwestern NFL teams, and perhaps beyond, may soon be fully suburban with their own economic microcosms, leaving their endlessly loyal homes behind — but for better or for worse? Like most issues in the sports world, that is for the collective body of hot-tempered fans, pitchforks in hand, to decide.
