Browns, sponsor end stadium deal after decade

The Cleveland Browns and FirstEnergy Corp. have agreed to end their stadium naming rights agreement, leaving the team’s home field to be called Cleveland Browns Stadium for now.

“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,” said Dave Jenkins, the CEO of the Haslam Sports Group; Jimmy and Dee Haslam own the Browns. “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.”

Cleveland’s stadium has been called FirstEnergy Stadium since 2013. After the company admitted its role in bribing Larry Householder, the former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, two years ago, local officials called on FirstEnergy to relinquish its stadium naming rights.

The Haslams have said they are “committed” to pursuing a renovation of the stadium, which would open the door to a new naming rights deal. The stadium was built when the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999. The Haslams have said it will be a “substantial remodel” that could begin in the upcoming years.

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