October 13, 2019
FirstEnergy Stadium (Capacity: 67,895)
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Browns vs Seattle Seahawks
Final Score: 28 – 32
* The stadium was renamed Cleveland Browns Stadium
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A football weekend in Northeast Ohio was capped by a visit to an unrealistically-hyped, underachieving Cleveland Browns team. This city along the shores of Lake Erie is the 52nd largest in the country with a population of 383,000 and it is a role model for other Rust Belt cities. Cleveland started as a transportation hub, then a manufacturing center and when faced with economic decline in the late 20th century, they emerged with robust development in other sectors. Downtown became a clean and welcoming place, making it great to visit and live. Football has always been the lifeblood of the city and the Browns were founded in 1946. They joined the NFL in 1950 and were quite successful with many league titles in their early years. After the merger with the AFL, the Browns could never reach a Super Bowl, coming painstakingly close in the 1980s. After the ’95 season, owner Art Modell betrayed the city, moving the team to Baltimore, however the NFL stepped in and promised an expansion team. Just four years later, they were back with Browns history and records intact. Since the hiatus, the last 20 years have been a big struggle as Cleveland has had just two winning seasons and they held the league’s longest playoff drought (2002) at the time of our game. FirstEnergy Stadium has been the team’s home since 1998 and it’s a nice modern building that can become a barking cauldron of noise.
Prestige Ranking: 4.5 out of 5
Location
FirstEnergy Stadium is wedged between Lake Erie and Downtown in a section called the North Coast Harbor. This has been part of Cleveland’s success as it consists of enjoyable tourist attractions that include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Great Lakes Science Center and a boat museum. Outside of that cluster, at least half of the area (west of the stadium) is undeveloped and features a blah mix of former industrial site and gravel lots. While downtown is a 10-minute walk away, the stadium area feels secluded because it is separated by lower-level railroad tracks. To reach a cluster of restaurants and hang-out spots, it is a good 15-minute walk down to East 6th Street, while further beyond that is a section called The Flats.
Location Ranking: 7 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Plenty of interstates converge into Cleveland and the four-lane highway of Route 2 goes right by the stadium. Unfortunately, there are several road closures around the stadium on game day and you need to look at the Browns website for finding the best route. Since the lots around the stadium are reserved for season-pass holders, most coming in for a single game need to find parking downtown. The majority of these lots are a long distance away (15-25 minutes). At least there are many options and incoming traffic isn’t terrible through most of the city. Most popular is the Municipal lot, though information lacks on it and it sounds chaotic as it fills up fast. It’s popular because that is where most of the tailgating happens (and it gets rowdy). Walking back after the game was not pleasant as I couldn’t believe how jammed the walk was down Erieside Ave to 9th Street. I felt like a sardine and walked like a duck. Leaving in our car wasn’t any better as it took us 30 minutes to exit the AECOM garage downtown and reach nearby I-90. There is another transportation option as Cleveland has a light rail known as The Rapid. The Waterfront line has a stop right outside the stadium on West 3rd Street. It’s cheaper ($5 round trip) and some stations have free parking, however there are not many great options for park-n-ride when coming from the east side.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 4.5 out of 8
Exterior
The rounded rectangular exterior design features a mix of many materials with the most defining being a silver, metallic one. There is also plenty of glass (mainly from windows). All of this combines for a stadium introduction that is much more “New Cleveland” as opposed to the rugged, “Mistake-by-the-Lake” days that are well in the city’s rearview mirror. There are a few spots where brown/orange banners provide some team colors. Stone accents can be found at the base, while at the top, the concrete underside of the upper-deck is seen. Each sideline features large “FirstEnergy Stadium” signage.
Exterior Ranking: 7 out of 10
Concourse
Entry is at ground-level and each corner gate has some outdoor space before reaching the covered concourse that provides access to the 100 level. Space isn’t grand in this concourse and things get tighter the closer one gets to game-time. There is an attempt to counter the exposed ugly piping above with some orange/brown/white team striping on some of the side walls. The Dawg Pound signage near that seating area was a nice touch. Getting to the upper deck consists of using a long-winding ramp or taking one of two escalators. The escalators are nice, but each corner just has one, meaning only one direction option. This 500-level outdoor concourse is covered at points and it is more congested than the concourse below. Halftime was difficult to maneuver. Another downfall is that you can’t cross sides, so make sure to go up where your section is.
Concourse Ranking: 3 out of 5
Food
Food options are annoyingly similar across the board and the only thing that stands out is local chef Michael Symon’s “B Spot”. It’s hard to argue that the 20-minute line on the upper level was worth it as my Chick Magnet sandwich lacked chicken and had too much bread. Great Lakes Cheesesteaks had a pair of interesting varieties, while Jonathon Sawyer’s had a good-looking Kielbasa. Otherwise, all the other stands offered run of the mill things and I was disappointed not to see a Polish Boy, which is a concoction unique to Cleveland and perfect for sporting events. At least there was a lot of local beer as Great Lakes, Masthead and the Platform Beer Company were well-represented.
Food Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Interior
The all-orange seating bowl certainly makes the stadium pop with color and the chairs themselves are engrained with Cleveland’s helmet. They are comfortable and spacious enough, though the skinny armrest makes you feel quite close to the person next to you. Leg space is adequate and the sightlines are solid all around as only a couple seats have a glass partition obstruction. The upper-deck is certainly steeper than the lower one and it looks like there are more rows up here, making the stadium appear very tall. As for the design, it is very similar to other NFL facilities built in the late 90s / early 2000s, though I rate it slightly better than M&T Bank Stadium and the Linc. A rounded rectangle design is for the lower level, then a tucked-in rung of suites, followed by a club-level. That 300 section has a lot of seats (10,000) and it goes mostly around the stadium, except at the east end, which is where the Dawg Pound is located. This version is the rowdiest part of the stadium, but tamer than the version in the old stadium. It is the only area that features bleachers. Another hidden area of suites is found above at the 400-level before reaching the upper-deck 500s that complete the sides. FirstEnergy Stadium’s scenic location is only offered in glimpses as corner openings allow for Lake Erie to be seen to the north. Cleveland’s skyscrapers poke up over the bowl when looking from the other side. Each level has a small overhang (including the upper-deck), covering maybe 5% of the stadium’s seats.
Interior Ranking: 11 out of 14
Scoreboard
Each endzone scoreboard is above the seating structure and the quality is up to the standards you would expect from a major-league video screen. Replays are very clear and easy to act like the referee when seeing a review. The shape of the video board is funky as it looks like someone took scissors and cut out the southwest corner, then unevenly cut to the top. It doesn’t look so weird during the game when you see that area is used for an advertisement. A few other video boards in the area mainly feature text and are used for out-of-town scores or other stats.
Scoreboard Ranking: 4 out of 4
Displays
On one of the outside stadium walls are plaques that honor Cleveland Browns “Legends”. These are simply done and each year, a couple of inductees are featured. Much more impactful are the life-size bronze statues of Otto Graham and Jim Brown, found at a pair of corner entrances. On the inside, Mayor Michael White gets a nice plaque and thank you for helping get the team to the return with the new stadium. When you think about the Browns’ history, there is a lot there for this long-running, proud franchise. The stadium fails to honor that. Inside, the façade on the 400 level honors the number and name for several players. There are also the years for each championship. Neither of these letterings are particularly large.
Displays Ranking: 2.5 out of 6
Cost
Limited single-game tickets were quickly gone after becoming available. Finding prices for these were impossible. From the secondary market, the average ticket cost skyrocketed with all of the team hype and they became some of the most expensive in the league. Even after a disappointing 2-3 start, the cheapest seat was $125. That is a steep hit to the wallet just for a nosebleed. Other years, the Browns would rank in the middle of the league. Parking is in the $20 – $30 range if using a downtown lot. Transportation can be as little as $5 with the light rail. There are no programs, while concessions are steep. It cost $6.75 for a hot dog, $8.75 for a burger and $10.50 for a beer.
Cost Ranking: 4 out of 8
Fan Support
Cleveland has always had a very passionate fanbase and with the team coming out of the doldrums, even a step up to mediocrity shows the fan support being better than the league average. Both last and this season have seen the Browns in the Top 5 for local TV ratings. While they do not have a nationwide following, they do have strong local one. 99% of the fans in attendance for this game had team apparel on and the stadium was mostly full. However, it wasn’t completely full and I was actually surprised at seeing many open orange seats in the upper level (1000 – 2000?) during the entire first quarter. There were also a lot of fans that got up and left with four minutes left in the game and the team down by four.
Fan Support Ranking: 7 out of 8
Atmosphere
The spattering of empty seats did not detract from the atmosphere in any way. It was phenomenal as a long return on the opening kickoff created a roar that I’ve only heard in a few other places. In addition, the upper deck, was literally bouncing and I even felt a little unsteady on my feet. By the end of the game, my ears were ringing (though part of that was the ridiculously loud speakers) as fans cranked things up frequently on 3rd downs and big plays. Setting Cleveland apart from other cities is the frequent barking done by most in the crowd. That originates from the Dawg Pound, a group of rowdy fans that used to occupy the centerfield bleachers behind the old Memorial Stadium end zone. This stadium still has a Dawg Pound, though it is tamer, more sterile and sans all the dog masks. A popular chant is “Here we go Brownies, Here we go, Woof-Woof”. Even while a Browns game isn’t as crazy as the old days, I did find it to be one of the most vulgar games that I’ve attended as swear words flew without any regard and twice I saw full beers get thrown in the air after a bad call.
Atmosphere Ranking: 14 out of 14
Other Stuff
Before the game, a small street is closed off (and called “Dawg Pound Drive”) on the south side of the entrance and it becomes home to a fanfest. There is a DJ and a few sponsored games/swag bags, otherwise it is not really anything to go out of your way to see…..In this area, fans can also meet and pet the team’s popular mascot, Swagger. This actually was his last game as his son, SJ, will be taking up mascot duties……FirstEnergy Stadium is located on the same site as the Browns’ former home, Municipal Stadium…..The “Browns” nickname comes from original owner and coach, Paul Brown……Cleveland has no logo, which is extremely rare. Often an image of the orange helmet is used as the logo, though recently they have revived their odd “Brownie Elf” mascot image that has appeared lately in a few places…..All AFC North games can be considered rivalries, though Pittsburgh is Cleveland’s biggest rival.
Game
The 2-3 Browns had a great start to this one as they returned the opening kickoff 74 yards, which quickly led to a touchdown three plays later. They were off and running as they built a 20-6 lead. That didn’t last long as Seattle (4-1) picked apart the Cleveland D and four consecutive scores gave Seattle the lead, 25-20. The Browns were able to come back and they shrugged off a bad call to score a touchdown with 9 minutes to go in the game. You know what’s coming next…Russell Wilson led the Hawks 79 yards in 9 plays for the game-winning score with 3:30 left. Wilson was spectacular, going 23/33 for 295 yards. He added 3 touchdowns and has not been intercepted in 6 games this year. Baker Mayfield was picked three times for the Browns, while Nick Chubb ran for 122 yards.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
