when did the cleveland browns move to baltimore
Cleveland Browns relocation controversy The Cleveland Browns relocation controversy, sometimes referred to by fans as "The Move",[1][2] was the decision by then-Browns owner Art Modell to relocate the National Football League (NFL)'s Cleveland Browns from its long-time home of Cleveland to Baltimore during the 1995 NFL season. Subsequent legal actions by the city of Cleveland and Browns season ticket holders led the NFL to broker a compromise that saw the Browns history, records, and intellectual property remain in Cleveland. In return, Modell was permitted to move his football organization to Baltimore where he established the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are officially regarded by the NFL as an expansion team that began play in 1996. The city of Cleveland agreed to demolish Cleveland Stadium and build a new stadium on the same site, and the NFL agreed to reactivate the Browns by the 1999 season through either an expansion draft or a relocated franchise. The Browns were officially reactivated in 1998 through the expansion process and resumed play in 1999.
Carroll Rosenbloom However, while Rosenbloom loved the Colts, due to issues with the Baltimore Memorial Stadium and the city's officials, Rosenbloom wanted to leave Baltimore.[2] In the next offseason in 1972, Rosenbloom completed a historic tax-free swapping of teams with new Los Angeles Rams owner Robert Irsay.[13] When Rosenbloom left, he received recognition from his players. Colts linebacker Mike Curtis said, "I hate to see Carroll go. He was a damn good owner. It wasn't the coaches who made Baltimore a winner for 14 years."[2]
History of the Cleveland Browns The name of the team was at first left up to Brown, who rejected calls for it to be christened the Browns.[12] McBride then held a contest to name the team in May 1945; "Cleveland Panthers" was the most popular choice, but Brown rejected it because it was the name of an earlier failed football team. "That old Panthers team failed", Brown said. "I want no part of that name."[13] In August, McBride gave in to popular demand and named the team the Browns, despite Paul Brown's objections.[14]
Baltimore By the beginning of the 1970s, Baltimore's downtown area known as the Inner Harbor had been neglected and was occupied by a collection of abandoned warehouses. The nickname "Charm City" came from a 1975 meeting of advertisers seeking to improve the city's reputation.[69][70] Efforts to redevelop the area started with the construction of the Maryland Science Center, which opened in 1976, the Baltimore World Trade Center (1977), and the Baltimore Convention Center (1979). Harborplace, an urban retail and restaurant complex, opened on the waterfront in 1980, followed by the National Aquarium, Maryland's largest tourist destination, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry in 1981. During the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the United States, Baltimore City Health Department official Robert Mehl persuaded the city's mayor to form a committee to address food problems; the Baltimore-based charity Moveable Feast grew out of this initiative in 1990.[71][72][73] By 2010, the organization's region of service had expanded from merely Baltimore to include all of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.[74] In 1992, the Baltimore Orioles baseball team moved from Memorial Stadium to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, located downtown near the harbor. Pope John Paul II held an open-air mass at Camden Yards during his papal visit to the United States in October 1995. Three years later the Baltimore Ravens football team moved into M&T Bank Stadium next to Camden Yards.[75]