by Lauren Eller

The Cleveland Browns will, in fact, not be coming to town. The Browns decided not to move their training camp this summer, though Kenyon was one of the final contenders for a temporary location change.

“They host their training at their own facility in Cleveland, and they decided to stay there,” Kenyon’s Chief Business Officer Mark Kohlman said.

“We bid on it and we got into the top two,” Kenyon’s Manager of Sales, Marketing and Summer Programs Barbara Kakiris said. “It’s a three-week training camp.”

The College kept its desire to host the Browns fairly quiet.

“A number of colleges around the state of Ohio made very public pitches for it,” Mark Ellis, director of public affairs, said. “University of Akron was one, Ohio Wesleyan made a pitch, [and] Hiram, so we were fairly discrete.”

However, in the end the Browns decided against the move, some administrators found it encouraging that Kenyon made it so far in the bidding process.. “We really were among the finalists and [our] facilities are terrific,” Ellis said.

The College’s finances will not be significantly harmed by the Browns’ decision because Kenyon has never hosted an event like this before, according to Kakiris.

“I think it would’ve been a great location for fans [since] our facilities are stellar,” Kakiris said. “I think that is why when they said that they had decided not to do it, they still respect us and think that we’re in the running for future years.”