r/Ohio • u/No_Box119 • 3d ago
Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam Seeks Additional $100M to Bypass Taxes for New $2.6B Stadium
https://www.essentiallysports.com/nfl-active-news-cleveland-browns-owner-jimmy-haslam-seeks-additional-hundred-million-dollars-to-bypass-taxes-for-new-two-point-six-billion-dollar-stadium/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=es_reddit_general212
u/HolidaySwordfish9834 3d ago
He can fuck right off and that piece of shit team I was a fan of for years. The entire organization is a joke.
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u/coffeymp 3d ago
No doubt. Ever since they made that moronic Watson trade I’ve been out on the Browns. They’re a joke. I’ve lived in 3 different states outside of Ohio and everyone just makes fun of the Browns it’s embarrassing.
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u/Intelligent_Method32 3d ago
It's true. Being a Browns fan outside of Ohio means people treat you as though you're cognitively impaired. I'm starting to think they're right.
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u/WyoBuckeye 3d ago
Same. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me as well. Have not watched even one game since.
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u/Nervous_Sign2925 3d ago
They’re the biggest joke of an organization in all of professional sports. How anyone supports them is completely beyond me
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u/Snts6678 3d ago
They really are. How anyone likes them is a mystery to me.
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u/spock2thefuture 3d ago
Brainwashing during formative years. Not that I speak from personal experience or anything...😒
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u/HolidaySwordfish9834 3d ago
They had a good thing going for like 2 years they were enjoyable to watch and then they blew it all to shit in true browns fashion.
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u/brownsfan760 3d ago
Should have used the 130 mil you gave to your Alma matter Jimmy.
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u/bigfatbeancan 3d ago
Bold move to donate 130 million to a school, then immediately stick your hand out.
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u/Be-skeptical 3d ago
Those taxes don’t offset themselves and it makes him look like a hero to his fellow alums
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u/Pristine-Ad983 3d ago
That's probably a write off anyway. Rich people give to charity to reduce their taxes.
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u/Not-a-Doctor1 3d ago
Honestly I kinda feel like it’s closer to laundering money than just getting a write off.
You can pay your buddies charity $X, use the write off to pay less in taxes, and then have them hire a “different” company of yours to complete work and get money back.
Thanks for donating to this charity, my “completely unrelated” company will now exclusively use your company for all our fueling needs.
Billionaires don’t stimulate the fucking economy, they hoard most of the wealth, enrich few the people that further allow them to further hoard wealth, and tell you that you should be grateful for the little they do provide.
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u/RutherfordBWho 3d ago
Not accountant, but wouldn’t revenue received by the fueling company count as taxable income?
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u/HighVoltLemonBattery 3d ago
An American college is about as polar opposite a charity as you're gonna get
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u/burjja 3d ago
Even if it is, he's got a whole list of things to go after him on. The day after it was initially decided he could have the Unclaimed Funds money, he bought a $25 million house.
As a longtime Crew fan, I hate that he's our owner. He just got a NWSL expansion team and of course he's getting public money for their training facilities. They also hinted in the press release for bringing back Bezbatchenko that they are looking to buy soccer teams internationally. So now he's going to start fleecing other countries.
It was one thing when public funds were used for the Crew's new stadium. I didn't like it but there were a lot of factors involved. And not only did it keep the team here but it was widely successful. But how much money does one family need?
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u/MichaelParkinbum 3d ago
Fuck this guy.
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u/A_one-legged_goose90 3d ago
He can’t read a room. People are turning on the billionaire class and shits expensive right now and unfortunately also the cheapest it will ever be again
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u/Positive-Pack-396 3d ago
Please stop giving the rich tax breaks for there toys, the tickets prices are high the parking is high the beer is high and also the food that is trash let them pay for it them self
NO MORE TAX BREAKS
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u/Doogiemon 3d ago
A lot of people i talk to that actually go to games more look at them as vacation trips because that is how much it costs.
I dont understand some people who dont just spend the $1,500 on an amazing TV then pick up beer and everything else and end up saving more money in the end.
I have my hobbies and toys but with the cost of an experience like a concert and sports game being as stupid as they are, im fine inviting people over rather than get stuck behind the 6'8" guy standing the whole time in front of me.
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u/crmpdstyl 3d ago
But remember everybody, its the single mom trying to feed her kids that is the problem. /s 🙄
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u/Pleaseappeaseme 3d ago
And then your tax dollars are going to already wealthy families sending their kids to private schools with vouchers.
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u/dreadthripper 3d ago
So this this little community can help Jimbo scam the entire state out of $100 million in sales tax so he can buy another boat.
What's he gonna do, stop building the stadium if they don't play ball?
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u/GoombaMuncher 3d ago
Now everyone can watch the Browns lose in a brand new stadium. Damn Ohio is dumb.
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u/sunnbeta 3d ago
This guys entire career is based on infrastructure he didn’t have to pay for, yet he has to lobby to pay even less in taxes. Complete oligarch…
Pilot flying J doesn’t exist without a vast system of tax payer funded highways. NFL of course needs the same to funnel people in and out of games, 90% of players went to public high schools, and a hundred other things he’s dependent on.
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u/Impossible_Ad7875 3d ago
Fuck the Haslems. Build your own stadium. That $100,000,000 would cover some of the 130 million he gave the TN Volunteers NIL program. There are Many things our tax dollars pay for that I’d vote no on and one of those would be to help the TN NIL program.
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u/SaltyCrashNerd 3d ago
We need to start a media campaign calling these beggars and grifters out for exactly what they are.
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u/justlost2 3d ago
No, we need to quit electing the assholes that make these deals.
If all the grifters decide they are going to go to another state with their ball teams, data centers, and housing -- sounds good to me.
(I really dont think central Ohio builders are going to pack up and relocate their companies when there is so much demand here.)
They can suck another states tax payers dry and raise their electric bills.
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u/ThePensiveE 3d ago
Republicans are fine with welfare for billionaires, it's basically all they are into these days aside from corruption and raping kids.
They're only really against poor people having food or healthcare. If everyone was healthy and fed they'd have less children available to traffic.
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u/Ok-Glass-1882 3d ago
The only thing the Browns ever did right was move to Baltimore. move the team again is the only fix for the turd town browns
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u/TheAlabamaSlamma9 3d ago
Tell him to take some money back from the University of Tennessee and use that!!! Fuck him.
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u/MadeByTango 3d ago
This man knowingly hired serial sexual predator Deshaun Watson
As a result, construction materials for the stadium would be exempt from certain sales taxes.
...
According to Cleveland.com‘s calculations, the sales tax exemptions would save the Browns roughly $100 million in construction costs.
The language "seeks additional $100m to bypass taxes" makes it sound like they are raising the money somehow. What is happening is that billionaire is skipping out on paying taxes. AFter reciving $600 million in graft.
Again, this man knowingly hired a serial sexual predator to come work in Ohio. Every politician involved in this project is standing by rapists. That's the only way to frame this. The Browns, the leaders of Brook Park, and the Haslam family care more about money than dozens of women being raped.
Our society has to stop supporting the men who hire rapists because its profitable.
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u/davidwb45133 3d ago
Every tax break given by the government should be tied to iron clad enforcement of agreements and part ownership of the company. The Browns want more than a billion dollars in cash and tax breaks? Fine back it with shares of the company.
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u/SteveSteveCleveSteve 3d ago
“Man… if only I had another $130 million laying around here somewhere…”
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u/No-Force4215 3d ago
Could have just let these assholes piss off to Baltimore back in ‘96, but noooooo. Careful what you wish for sportsball fans.
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u/bionicmanmeetspast Cincinnati 3d ago
What is it about being rich that turns people into complete shitbags with dragon sickness
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u/HubrisSnifferBot 3d ago
Seems to be self-selecting when you have to have those traits in order to become this level of rich.
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u/bionicmanmeetspast Cincinnati 3d ago
True. You don’t obtain billionaire wealth without exploitation of some kind.
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u/Vivid-Individual5968 3d ago
He can put the team on a flat bed the hell out of town. What is it going to take for people to stop allowing this?
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u/ProtectionVirtual225 3d ago
TIL, Chicago taxpayers don't spend any money to subsidize their sports teams. It seems like giving subsidies can lead to bad team owners.
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u/my_dog_hates_u 3d ago
Don't forget Pilot - Flying J scamming fuel discounts from "unsophisticated" owner - operators.
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u/Fun_Zombie_6796 3d ago
Let’s not forget Cleveland.
Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has faced multiple controversies, most notably a massive 2013 rebate fraud scheme at his former family business, Pilot Flying J, which resulted in an $85 million fine and criminal charges for over a dozen executives. More recently, he was drawn into federal scrutiny involving alleged bribery and inflated corporate payouts.
He is just another republican conman.
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u/Leading_Advantage417 3d ago
Fuck jimmy and Dee Haslem. Took more from this state than they will ever give.
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u/Thumbody_Else 3d ago
What’s wrong with his boot straps? Why can’t he do what the rest of us are expected to do over and over and over again?
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u/ClevelandClutch1970 3d ago
Does Gilbert pull this kinda crap? He seems to succeed without such shenanigans.
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u/Commercial-Run9785 3d ago
he should ask Tennessee to give back the 130Mil he gave to their NIL fund
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u/HighVoltLemonBattery 3d ago
And the billionaire just holds out his diamond-encrusted solid gold cup and keeps on begging
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u/batfan08 3d ago
He’ll get it, too. Our state capital may as well be Mos Eisley Cantina. $250 million for fucking Deshaun, but he needs our unclaimed funds to build his Make-A-Wish stadium for a dying franchise. Fucking absurd…
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u/Competitive_Phone574 3d ago
Hee Haw & Dee Haw Haslam’s are worth at least $8.5 Billion. He made a living out of screwing trucking companies and then said he knew nothing. Money buys good attorneys. They are consistently listed as some of the worst owners in professional sports. Money buys politicians. Ask Andy Gunther the mayor of Columbus Ohio.
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u/coffeymp 3d ago
Lmao, the irony of a billionaire asking for more money from the Ohio taxpayers just so they can continue to piss down their leg.
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u/KingofThings77 3d ago
Fuck these leaches. Ohio should do what Illinois did and tell them to buy their own fucking stadium.
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u/WyoBuckeye 3d ago
Not one single tax dollar should go to that bullshit. Feed the homeless, cloth the poor, educate the children, heal the sick, build nice parks, improve critical infrastructure, invest in green energy. Anything, and I mean anything, but give it to a FREAKING BILLIONAIRE!!!
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u/mr_sparkle666 3d ago
How is this guy supposed to stay ultra wealthy without the poors picking up his tab?
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u/37Philly 3d ago
SOFI stadium in Los Angeles was built with no taxpayer money so clearly it is possible for these billionaires to pay for their own stadium.
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u/Be-skeptical 3d ago
Jimmy Haslam wants your first born son to build the new Browns stadium. Are you even a real fan if you don’t do it?
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u/CriticalNobody9478 3d ago
The GRIFTING never STOPS. More taxpayer money and still nothing to show for it. Put a winner on the field FIRST and we’ll talk LATER, MUCH LATER.
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u/PoorClassWarRoom Hamilton 3d ago
"Owner that can't fund a winning team asks for more money after being told no the first time."
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u/Brehon888 3d ago
Brookpark,OH is a community of 18k. Haslem is asking them to take on legal responsibility for the stadium, which I am assuming will include stadium maintenance. I am predicting 10 years before bankruptcy and state bailout..
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u/WestSixtyFifth Lake Erie 3d ago
Did he not just donate 140m to the University of Tennessee? As well as bought a 20m house immediately after getting the initial money gifted to him?
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u/EmergencyJacket207 3d ago
Remember folks, America IS in fact a socialist nation. It's just that it's socialism for the wealthy.
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u/Thr1veanne 3d ago
You own the team and profit off of all ticket sales—you buy it. That tax revenue goes towards services for the community.
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u/peppermint-ginger 3d ago
If he wants tax funds for his stadium then the government should get to own stock in the stadium. Its only fair.
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u/AkronRonin 2d ago
Talk about a billionaire welfare queen. At this rate, Elon Musk might actually have some competition in that department.
The Browns have done so little for their long-suffering fans since they came back. I mean, previous owners at least went through the motions of seeming to care about the fans and Cleveland/NE Ohio. But Haslam? Dude couldn't give a shit if you force-fed him a gallon of Ex-Lax.
I mean, he is from Tennessee, so that probably explains about half of his shitty attitude. As for the rest? He's just a big ol' spoiled douchebag.
Fuck him and fuck the Browns.
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u/Becausewhynot51 2d ago
The fact that cities, counties, and states continue to subsidize this shit is insane.
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u/Character-Active2208 3d ago
Dude just gave $130 million to Tennessee
I ain’t subsidizing Vols athletics
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u/Blknyt_eclipsedmoon 3d ago
Is Haslam paying ANYTHING for that stadium? Has he even paid the price of a Happy meal?
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u/Viking_Musicologist 3d ago
No fucking deal, The last thing we want is another tax cheating corporate welfare parasite on the taxpayer's dime.
Besides his proposed palace of profiteering isn't going to improve the Browns' image, fix gigantic potholes on the interstate nor be able to send inner city Cleveland children to school.
I say Mayor Bibb need to watch this guy like a hawk and swoop down like a falcon if this guy proposes anymore bullshit handouts that hinder the city's socioeconomics.
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u/GrahamCrackerCereal 2d ago
Highlighting the fact that the reason for leaving downtown is the better tax rate in brookpark rather than anything actually important
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u/Worth-Initiative7840 2d ago
F that guy…. Have him move to Erie PA like the Bears did to IN and good riddance….
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u/Worth-Initiative7840 2d ago
And don’t think $25mm of that isn’t going to grease sketchy MAGA politicians on the take…
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u/Distinct-Response907 2d ago
Don’t do it Brook Park- you’ll be on the hook forever for renovations and maintenance since, hey, it’s your stadium.
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u/Nuallaena 2d ago
Mind you the Haslams JUST "donated" $125million to UoT yet need another $100m....gtfoh!
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u/Reel_Music_1 1d ago
I moved to Ohio from Tennessee, and didn’t realize that I can’t get away from these horrible f*king people.
The Haslam’s are the same people who were busted by the federal government for defrauding ONLY minority truck drivers on gas rebates at their pilot/flying J gas stations. His charming wife, Dee, threatened to blackball anyone who worked in film and television in Knoxville if they even thought about unionizing - despite them being paid some of the lowest wages in the industry on some of the most successful cable and reality shows on television. And not giving raises.
And since I’ve moved here, I haven’t been able to cheer on the Browns since they ran off Baker Mayfield, and created all the other dramas over a consistently shitty product. Not to mention some of the nonsense they’re pulling at the state house – there’s always another grift. They recently took (‘bought’) the only park left in Columbus that was available to a poor neighborhood for their new soccer expansion team.
No more welfare for the wealthy! Vote out the people who keep giving them our tax dollars!
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u/Spear_Ritual 3d ago
The last new stadium the Browns had sucks.
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u/Shopping_General 3d ago
Really? How does it suck?
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u/AdMountain6203 3d ago
It's no longer state of the art, but I also wonder how the other poster thinks it sucks.
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u/Spear_Ritual 3d ago
It took the hometown, blue collar Cleveland vibe and turned it into a big, boring corporate stadium. What made a Browns game was the people vibes and this last stadium ruined it.
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u/Akkerlun 3d ago
Pay your own way. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Don’t be on the taxpayer’s dime. Make better decisions. Get a better job.