“In a lot of ways having the stadium on the lake is great. Jimmy Haslam hopes for further development of the area around the stadium. “Just opening that whole area to the entire community and to the city, it’s beautiful… showcasing Lake Erie and having events there is going to provide some opportunity for other people and we’re excited about that,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a tremendous time in Cleveland and lots of fun.”ĭee Haslam hopes Cleveland might be able to host another draft without COVID-19 protocols and was also optimistic about it drawing other events to the lakefront. There’s a lot of people I know that are planning on tailgating and coming downtown and experiencing the draft like they would normally experience a game. “I do think it’s going to give people some excitement to get out. “We feel very confident that we can pull off the event safely,” she said. With Cleveland set to host the NFL Draft Thursday through Saturday on the Lake Erie shore near FirstEnergy Stadium, Dee Haslam called the national exposure for the city “tremendous.” I feel confident we’ll work through whatever we need to work through this spring to set us up to have another great NFL season, which I think is what everybody in America wants to see.” Excitement for 2021 NFL Draft Made up the rules, and changed the rules. If you think about it, we played 256 games, didn’t miss a game, worked in a very fluid situation. “I think it’s a partnership that has worked really well. “I don’t want to speak for all the owners or all the players, but we’re partners in this,” Jimmy Haslam said. NFL Players Association president JC Tretter of the Browns and executive director DeMaurice Smith hope to scrap that as well, but Jimmy Haslam is not ready to sign off on that yet.Īsked about holding the mandatory minicamp, Jimmy Haslam said, “We’re hopeful.” Very excited about Kevin and what he’s doing.” Hopeful for mandatory minicampīrowns players elected as a group not to participate in voluntary in-person offseason workouts, but the mandatory June minicamp is part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. “We could not be more excited about last year and this year. His characteristics are just perfect for Cleveland and as a head coach,” Dee Haslam said. “He’s extremely organized, he’s smart, he’s unflappable. To do it in a season where you’re battling COVID is really remarkable and I think that speaks to the person Kevin is and the kind of makeup he has.”ĭee Haslam said Stefanski was not calm watching the playoff victory at home, but praised the coach for his intelligence and demeanor.
To do that in a normal NFL season is really tough. “Even the week, the first time we’ve been in the playoffs in years and he didn’t get to participate, he was the same even-keeled self the whole time.
“Being an NFL coach I think is one of the hardest management jobs I think there is in the country and to do it during COVID, it’s almost unimaginable how difficult it is and he was the same even-keeled steady person,” Jimmy Haslam said.