Ohio Republicans debate over subsidizing Browns’ stadium

While football fans might see the Cleveland Browns as a charity case, the team is actually a for-profit enterprise. Since Dee and Jimmy Haslam bought the team in August 2012, the franchise has increased in value fivefold from less than $1 billion to more than $5 billion, outpacing the stock market by about 50%.

The Browns’ product, football games, is fairly easy to monetize: Charge television stations for the right to broadcast games, and charge fans for the right to enter the stadium to watch home games live. Plus, get a cut of the action anytime someone buys Browns merchandise.

This profitable company wants to move out of the stadium owned by the City of Cleveland once the current lease is up in 2028. So far, this all

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