Roger Goodell Outlines Cleveland’s Massive Super Bowl Hurdle

0:00time I could come in at studio eight o'clock yesterday we had the groundbreaking ceremony for the new browns stadium high into bank field and Darrell Lyme or Lyme Darrell was with me and Darrell is brought to you by Shive of Jewelers Clevans from here jewelry store this so here we are the commissioner for the second time in station history commissioner Rodger Gidell on the make it right call cow right hotline tent and click the hit all right so what did you think of the browns draft I only get to worry about 32 dress I don't have to worry about anybody in particular but it sounds like listen there was a lot of great talent and hopefully everybody did well exciting day here in North East Ohio long time coming to get this stadium built you were part of the return of the browns and how getting that put together just your role in this whole process with the Hasm Sports Group in the state of Ohio to get this project off the ground you know working closely with Jimmy and

1:05the team we've been here a couple of times talk to the business community and to get feedback from the public sector and work with the public sector also been down to Columbus once or twice been up to the site a couple of times these projects are complex they're difficult to put together and I think the Hasm family one has made an enormous commitment to this this region but also I think it's got tremendous potential here I think this site is a tremendous site and will attract other investment which I think will be good for the community as well as this project you're seeing some of that state money is tied up in a lawsuit right now the six hundred million dollars are you seeing more scrutiny do you think overall on some of these stadium projects or pushback in terms of the public funding I it's not unusual and it's public money always and listen I'm a taxpayer too so I want people to make sure that the project is looked at through the

2:07lens of taxpayers and to the lens of fans in general ultimately and I think they did a very good job of that here and we're very responsible in a way they participated in the project but public private partnerships ultimately the things that make these work and actually make these projects beneficial to the community the economics of the game have changed since the 90s when the Browns relocated and there were a couple other games that moved around as far as you know the public money right the league revenues are up team revenues are up it is is there ever going to come a day where there won't have to be as much leaning on the public sector or as as there is these days now I know the hazards are put in 1.7 plus billion into the stadium alone they say so listen I think they're always the equation of the investment and the return right ultimately both from the private sector and the public sector they're both important and I think that's why you have to be very careful and selective and make sure that it fits

3:11the project in the community every time so there's no cookie cutter here it changes and it evolves but I always think that public participation because I think there's a tremendous amount of value for the community too getting $4 billion of investment in this region I don't know if that happens very often around here that's a significant commitment. Browns president Dave Jenkins we had him on this morning he had said that you had mentioned this was a super bowl caliber facility that will be built can we get that super bowl here in Cleveland? The real question on the super bowl this this stadium is certainly super bowl quality the question is that the community and the facility surrounded I mean just as an example hotel rooms the smallest we have is the community has 50,000 hotels I think this community has far less than that and so that's a huge part right it has to work for the fans coming in because we now have not just the people that are going to the game we probably have well over 100,000 people that come in

4:14for the for the events during the week. Well you go back to COVID kind of had an abbreviated ceremony with the draft is there any possibilities we can get the draft back here after the stadium? Yeah I do think so I you know I think the the reality is you guys did a remarkable job under very difficult and challenging circumstances and I I think that is warranted yes. You go a little bit south the Hall of Fame Village projects stalled for a while there they have some momentum some private investment you talk about the progress there and if that's encouraging for the league. Well as you know we're not participating in that in any way we obviously work with the Hall of Fame not the village that's the for-profit entity we haven't participated in that but we want it to be successful of course hopefully they made some progress to get some focus on that because it does surround in part of the campus so we want that to be successful. There's a building boom around the NFL right now with enclosed stadiums Tennessee Nashville is going to open one here in a couple years I know Buffalo's open air open this fall

5:18but Washington Philadelphia is exploring it Kansas City is exploring it yeah I mean is is that the direction that you are anxious to see the league go with indoor football there are segment of fans that do wish that it could be outdoors and still in the elements but obviously when you have a roof on the building you can do more with that building. I think that's part of the equation that every community and team has to evaluate ultimately because it can drive additional events that can bring additional economics that can help pay off the debts and on the stadium whether it's public debt or private debt and so you have to you have to balance and look at that yes I'm a I'm a big football fan who loves the outdoors I love seeing Buffalo's going to have that so that's great but I also understand the realities of you have to balance those things as you look at these projects individually I think every current close and closed their dome stadium is

6:18hosted a Super Bowl from the NFL City's perspective is that making more difficult when you guys are sorting through which stadiums to award that just when you have more options we're not just awarding to a stadium we're awarding to a community that's the issue ultimately right the stadium is a stage it's critically important because you want that to be the best but it's really it's a community asset ultimately and it has to be used in that fashion we just saw that with the draft last week in Pittsburgh that the number of people that came in from out of town it's 805,000 people attended I think the population of Pittsburgh is about 300 at the most so the reality is that's what they're draws for big events to bring people in and we have to accommodate those people and that's hotel that's transportation getting in and out of the airports those are big factors when you look at Super Bowls have why he's grown so much in popularity and why less and less communities can do it Commissioner of the NFL Roger Goodell and make a right call call right

7:21hotline all right tone what you think of the answers by the commissioner I think he's throwing the gauntlet down to the northeast Ohio the community obviously real estate hotels all that stuff infrastructure you know that's the only way you're getting a Super Bowl so I think a lot of people left yesterday thinking you're probably not getting a Super Bowl well I would have to say as of right now no I don't even know if it's a gauntlet I just think he's being realistic about you know hotels and things like that like are you really going to I mean we have to be honest with each other here are like we do events very well here but are you going to invest these things just because a commissioner makes a mention about Super Bowl rooms needed to host one I don't I don't know if you are I mean it's a business for crying out loud here so there might be a possibility is he including Canton like I got to ask those questions later on but you know you don't get so much time so when that question is asked yeah I think it comes down as a bit of a

8:22downer I think that you are forced to present because of the expense of the facility you're you're forced to make a public play to try to get a Super Bowl as as you know the the the partnerships are concerned when it comes to the county the city of Brook Park the Browns I think that you kind of owe it to make a pitch for the Super Bowl and be told you don't have X Y and Z to get a Super Bowl because of the expense of the facility when it comes to the draft I am encouraged to get a draft back I mean again I thought in if that was Nick's idea then I think it's a great idea by Nick if if there is a rotation the Super Bowl's great if there's just a rotation of drafts great as well because I don't think that every city needs a Super Bowl to be honest with you and I don't think that every city needs a draft Miami's had a ton of Super Bowls New Orleans has had a ton of Super Bowls Los Angeles one ended up having a ton of them Las Vegas one ended up having a ton of them I don't think those cities really need drafts I think that Cleveland Pittsburgh did a lot of complain and maybe I don't know that's all I read but you know I'm just over here on the internet

9:25I wasn't actually in the city hopefully it was a lot different last weekend but Cleveland Chicago Detroit Indianapolis you know those type of things Buffalo you want to give him a draft given draft I think that these are these are good solid football cities good solid football fans and I think that absolutely the draft could work in these places well I know it worked here and it worked in Chicago I don't know why I wouldn't work again about the hotel room part of this and it's something we've been talking about for a long time and I don't know it seemed to me like yesterday get else like I don't have to really worry about shoe horning another city into the Super Bowl rotation that would anger all the other cities that are ready made and ready to go obviously in warmer weather areas or just domes in general because he's basically saying you're what 20 30 thousand rooms shy and I look downtown Hilton has 600 rooms the Marriott has 400 so those two together two of our biggest hotels that's a thousand you need 20 times that guys like just do the math it just doesn't seem very promising and you know I talked to this new CEO of bedrock who's

10:31helping out with the cash plans they've got a couple of hotels in the mix down here again but they're not going to be the high rise they're just going to be nice either boutique hotels boutique hotels yeah we're talking a fraction of the rooms so I don't know how you get there I just don't see it I'm I'm all for I'm all for being ambitious and we're an industrious you know community that wants to be optimistic about these things but that's just that number seems staggeringly low where you're at right now well it seems like a staggering high number as well and I got to tell you kind of throws me off a little bit just because I didn't realize how many I knew they needed more I didn't realize how many more they actually needed compared to what they already have like I knew that they didn't do they would need more but I didn't know they was going to go to Atlanta man Atlanta it seems like there are 20 of those high rises that all have you know 800 rooms roughly like they have so many of those because they've had that infrastructure built over a long period of time and obviously Indy we've talked about you know everything being intertwined and connected to

11:37their their conference hall like just they're all of it all of it is just all connected you don't even have to go outside it's incredible we're going to do it later I'm sure if you notice the differences in the questions I did I did I found that interesting that that'll be discussed later 216474 to the load 92 I think I got set up for but I actually like that idea Todd Munking going to join us in studio a little bit later on he said he's jumping into that dog pound their first win 20 said Todd Munk I want to ask him about that and I want to ask him one well we're going to have to ask him about another thing here because so one sided war words when it comes to Brown's quarterbacks can come and add to the Lyma and an unexpected fiasco yesterday in the QB room on the fan