Cleveland Browns

            Impact of PR on Browns Move to Baltimore.
             When Art Modell made a secret deal to move his Cleveland Browns, he had no idea what the uproar would be like. To their fans, the Browns are Cleveland and having them in any other city is unthinkable. The event displayed many of the components of Public Relations, as well as the consequences of a breakdown in the organization and public relationship.
             On November 6, 1995 Modell announced that he would be moving his team to Baltimore Maryland for the 1996 season. Model was in a battle with the city of Cleveland over a new stadium proposal when the decision was announced (Ridenour). Cleveland fans would never be happy with the idea of losing their team, but the way Modell communicated the facts made the situation worse. When rumors of the move first surfaced, Modell told Cleveland officials that he didn't want to discuss the team's future until the end of the season. However, at the same time he was making secret negotiations with Baltimore (Ridenour).
             This is and example of how Modell used the media to mislead the public. The most harmful part of the situation was that Modell was not honest. He strung city and County officials along when he knew he was going to pull out of Cleveland with a substantial profit (Affleck).
             Not only did fans have to deal with feelings of betrayal, they also had a tough time figuring out the logic of the move. An owner should have the right to move his team if it is obvious that the club is and would be financially strained in a particular city, but Cleveland did not appear to fit that mold. Cleveland has always been and outstanding football town, supporting the team through good and bad times. Crowds of 70,000 were routine, so it was curious to see Modell move to Baltimore, where the stadium would only seat 55,000 (Rovell). Modell claimed that it was hard to leave Cleveland, but he simply had no choice. However, Sam Rutigliano, an old friend of Modell, felt that if Art wanted a new stadium he could have put his cards on the table and got it.