Browns President Alec Scheiner said the team for the sixth straight season will not raise ticket prices after a 3-13 campaign last year. Scheiner, appearing on WKRK-FM's "Bull & Fox" show, said, "After the season we had, and some of the changes, we huddled up as a group and we just looked at it. We understood that with the (stadium) renovation and where everyone else in the league was, we could raise the prices. But we just thought that it would be better this year not to. It was kind of a message to our fans that we understand last year didn’t go as planned.” He said the renovations are "right on target" despite a harsher-than-usual winter. He noted the upgrades that should be ready for the '14 season include new videoboards, an updated audio system and several of the planned escalators. Scheiner: "Our group is doing a great job getting this in before the preseason." Meanwhile, he noted the Browns will have new "cutting-edge uniforms that link back to our history” for the '15 season. Scheiner: “We’ve been working with the NFL and Nike for almost a year now. ... I’d be very surprised if our fans don’t love our new-look uniforms. I think we’re headed down a really cool path.”
GETTING THROUGH AN "INCREDIBLE" YEAR: Scheiner said he "could not have imagined" the number of organizational changes that have been made during the offseason, including Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi leaving the team and Ray Farmer being promoted to GM. He said, "It’s been an incredible year. But these are the years where you learn more than any other years.” Scheiner: “I’ve learned a lot here, and I also think that because I’m in the building, I can’t say that I’m totally surprised. I think Jimmy (Haslam) made a decision that was consistent with how other NFL teams are run. If you look at the successful NFL teams right now, they have a very similar structure to the one we have." He said his current role with the team is to "run the business side of the organization." Scheiner: "I like to think that at times, just in terms of structure and the parameters of what we do, I might be able to add some value. But I don’t think we’re any different than some of these really successful organizations that have people in business roles who can sit in the room and might add value at some point.”
HASLAM NOT CHANGING HIS INVOLVEMENT: Haslam is entering his third season as owner of the Browns, but Scheiner does not think Haslam will increase his day-to-day involvement. Scheiner said, "Jimmy has been really clear with what kind of owner he is going to be. He’s going to ask the right questions. He’s going to hold us accountable. He’s going to put people in jobs where they can do those jobs. So I look at him as somewhere in-between. If you look at the spectrum of NFL owners ... I think Jimmy is right in-between someone like Bob Kraft or Bob McNair, where he’s asking the right questions, he’s holding us accountable, but he doesn’t go beyond that” ("Bull & Fox," WKRK-FM, 3/4).
