Browns President Alec Scheiner said little has changed for the business side of the club following the surprising front-office changes unveiled this week. Scheiner was hired 16 months ago by team CEO Joe Banner, who Owner Jimmy Haslam retained when he purchased the club in '11. Banner and his handpicked GM, Michael Lombardi, were dismissed this week, but Banner will stay on through May. “Joe really focused on the football side for the most part,” Scheiner said. “We keep going and not much changes for us.” No business partner has contacted Scheiner concerned about the direction of the club in the wake of the personnel changes, he said.
The team’s key offseason business initiative is the first phase of the $120M stadium renovation, which is scheduled to be ready by opening day. The renovation will change the look and feel of the stadium, Scheiner said. Because of that renovation, he said the team is unlikely to use variable ticket pricing because ticket buyers already were getting a lot of new information about the stadium changes. So far this offseason, three teams -- the Dolphins, Patriots and Lions -- have announced they will be the first in the league to use variable pricing starting in '14.
