Ohio village says bring Cleveland Browns to Columbus or Crew can leave

One small-town Ohio village administer is trying to leverage their Columbus Crew practice facility into a training camp stop from the Cleveland Browns.

The Cleveland Browns get back to business this week on the practice field as Training Camp commences, but ownership may be looking at some off-the-field opposition.

Jimmy and Dee Haslam were part of a group that recently purchased the Columbus Crew, a move that keeps the MLS team in Columbus. But in doing so, ownership will now have to navigate the political waters of Columbus.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that the village administrator from a village south of Columbus, named Obetz, is threatening to evict the Crew from their practice facility if the Haslams don’t bring the Browns to town for significant events.

Such an event could include a “mini-training camp or other type of team excursion,” according to Dispatch writer Bill Bush.

If no agreement is reached by December, the Crew will be asked to leave the facility they’ve  practiced at for 22 years.

"“What we are asking of them is to make sure that Obetz, which has been the longtime home of the Crew, has an opportunity to participate with the facilities that we’ve already developed and invested here, to be part of the Browns/Crew group, and to be able to bring events to southern Franklin County,” Rod Davisson said, via Dispatch.com."

Davisson continued:

"“Those events need to be substantial,” he said. “It’s got to be something meaningful, something people want to see, like a (Browns) training camp, like a (Browns) skills competition.”"

The Browns, under the Haslam’s ownership, have long been dancing with the idea of taking hold of the Columbus market, evidenced by the team’s decision to conduct the annual preseason Orange and Brown scrimmage at Ohio Stadium a few years back.

There was also talk of the Browns seeking $5 million to build a practice facility in the state capital as recently as 2016.

However, talk has cooled regarding the team’s willingness to be more active in the Columbus market. If the Haslam’s are still looking at it, nothing new has been reported.

You’ve got to appreciate the village administrator trying to make something happen for his community, but it’s a long shot.

The Crew, now committed to the Columbus area thanks to the Haslam’s decision to purchase the club, are looking at building a new facility near the Arena District, where the Tribe’s Class AAA team, the Columbus Clippers play.

If this happens, a training facility may be built where the Crew’s current home, Mapfre Stadium is located. A 20-person commission was just formed to study the best use for the land.

The Crew passed on its option last year to extend its lease with Obetz according to Bush, and that’s hardly a surprise to those following the Crew storyline.. The team’s previous owner was trying to move to Austin and not exactly to deepen the team’s roots in C-Bus.

The Crew and Obetz and been operating on a month-to-month lease.

The Browns have offered to conduct youth camps In Obetz, which usually feature players and alumni, but no “training excursion.”