Lol - Earl, I was thinking the same thing! The one thing I've continued to hear is that there would be other challenges with winning a Super Bowl Bid. Mainly, the lack of Hotel space downtown. If only they could get Burke Lakefront airport out of there and build some restaurants/hotels right there on the lake.

Hmmmm...
the first comment makes as much sense as the last comment...
"browns fans want anyTHing but a good team" .. Name me one who is hoping for a BAD team....
AND "there has not been a touchdown at the stadium for decades" Right.....

Its this kind of "fan" who see's and reads what is printed and comes up with this kind of "logical thinking" that keeps our city a "mistake on the lake". How about a positive attitude? Come on.... If Mr. Haslem is spending the dollars to improve the team (I think we have to wait until he actually takes control of the team to expect that) it seems to me that the cost and funding of a dome is a very seperate issue.
Lets try and look to a brighter future than whats being done here....

Justin, your exactly right... hence my statment, that the cost and funding of a dome is a seperate issue. Seperate from....folks that are admitted non Browns fans that tries to be funny by whining about a "non winning" team. The good that could come of "roofing the stadium" could be huge. But its the public outcry and the opinions of "I am positive we will never win the superbowl" that dampens any forward movement. It seems you must win it all and only then do you have a reason to do capitol improvments to your facility.
And to Jim, my comment is not to belittle you, just to say I am as frustrated as ANY Cleveland sports fan, but I will not be one that you see with a Steelers sticker on my car, or a Yankees jersy on my back. Its called Loyality.... and hope.

Playhouse Square is awesome! I do think that domes are also proven revenue generators.. Look at Indianapolis. Look at Detroit. Both have hosted Super Bowls and many other events like the Big Ten Championship, and NCAA final 4. That kind of stuff fills up hotels and restaurants. Unfortunately, for Cleveland, we currently lack the latter. (Hotel Space)

Debbie, absolutely!!! you are 100% correct. A roof on that stadium would not make the list of 10 things Cleveland needs.

Jim - I'll bite. Top 10 list of things that Cleveland needs. GO!

Hey Myron! Radiohead could fill Cleveland Browns stadium 2 times over. (you only asked for 1 so I won't go on) Additionally, a music festival (bringing several bands together) would helps solve for 'the half dome'. As for college basketball looking at non-dome facilities... I don't doubt it. They KNOW they could fill up a football stadium. That said, my questions to you is... how attractive is the weather in Cleveland during March Madness? It's hard to play basketball on an ice rink. Agreed?

Radiohead? The fifth highest grossing tour last year is going to fill the stadium twice? Only if it's the only two shows in the continental US. Are they good? I guess....But they are no U2 or anything like that. And the Stones aren't getting any younger. They only beat Van Halen by 300K....Van Halen!! We could go on about who could fill what...

Could it happen. Sure. 5 to 6 times a year. What are ya gonna do with the other 340 or so open dates?

Music festivals are great. In Europe... Isle of Whyte, Donnington, Wacken, I could go on. Ironically all held outside. Coachella, outside I believe, is not going to be moving to Cleveland. Numerous so called festivals that go on in the US play at places like Blossom. Why? Because Ozzfest is not going to pull 60K+ in Cleveland.

The domes that the final four play in ARE football stadiums. They are played, it's over. And if you could peruse the link they are looking at the east and west coasts because the domes are not near where they want to "be." You think they'll make an exception for Cleveland?

Look I just don't dig the "build it and they will come," type of thinking. That's what we were told when they rebuilt the High school stadium and I have still not seen the numerous band festivals, soccer tournaments, and so forth that were promised. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

Jim - (your response is extremely well thought out!) agreed the COST is the key factor here. Until you can understand the ROI model, it doesn't make sense to do anything. However, if the return is greater than the investment, it becomes hard to say no to. (even if you and I pay for it) You bring up excellent point about crime, schools, foreclosures etc... I think it's a stretch to say putting a roof on the stadium won't do 1 good thing for most of Cleveland though. Think about it this way... Cleveland locks down a bid for the Super Bowl. (I think the NFL would do it given the history of the city and the fact the Hall of Fame is an hour away) The event fills up ALL the hotels in Cleveland for the entire week. Restaurants have to turn people away, bars are packed, concert tours follow the flow and book big shows that weekend etc... Everyone who works at those places makes out, spends that money with your business and my business. New jobs are created in the tourism sector of the city and tax revenue is established with ongoing events. Increase in tax revenue allows the city to put Police back to work, re-invest in the school system, sell foreclosed homes and so on and so on. That said, I can't say that it would all happen over night and I can't say it would be easy. What I can say is that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Forward thinking is the only thing that can save Cleveland.

What about the Red Right 88 game? A team from Sunny California comes into Cleveland Stadium in sub zero temperatures and executes almost perfectly the entire game.