CLEVELAND– Reports to Fox 8 News Monday afternoon state the Cleveland Browns have sold the naming rights to Browns Stadium.
Akron based utility company First Energy is believed to have contracted to place their name on the stadium.
FirstEnergy released the following statement Monday afternoon:
“FirstEnergy has been a proud supporter of civic, arts and professional
sports organizations throughout the company’s service area, which extends
across Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey. In Ohio,
we’ve long championed Cleveland teams with prominent sponsorships at Browns
Stadium, Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena.
While we remain committed to partnering with local community leaders and
businesses to make our communities attractive places to live and work, we
have no new announcements regarding any major sponsorships at this time “
Fox 8 reached out to the Browns for comment. Spokesman Neal Gulkis said the team would have no comment.
That this is in the works, should come as no surprise as team owner Jimmy Haslam intimated as much when he first came on the scene, in August, that the team would “probably” explore selling naming rights.
A report in Bloomberg Businessweek from 2011 revealed the rights contracts for two teams in the Browns division. Pittsburgh Steelers get 57 million over 20 years from J.J. Heinz Co., and 75 million over 15 years for the Baltimore Ravens from M & T Bank.
Keep it here to Fox 8 News and fox8.com for the latest on this developing story.
