In 1995, Art Modell, owner of the Cleveland Browns professional football team, suddenly moved the team to the city of Baltimore, Maryland. To settle legal claims made in the wake of the relocation, the Modell and the National Football League (NFL) agreed to allow the Browns name, trademarks, and other indicia to remain in Cleveland if the city agreed to build a new football stadium. The city agreed to do so. With FirstEnergy Stadium due to open in the fall of 1999, a bidding war to see who would own the new team erupted in 1997.
