BROWNS TO STAY IN NAME ONLY.

Byline: Dave Goldberg Associated Press 

The NFL and the city of Cleveland agreed Thursday night on terms that will allow Art Modell to move his franchise to Baltimore but allow Cleveland to keep the name "Browns" and the team's traditional colors.

Owners will vote today to ratify the agreement, which also provides up to $48 million to the city to build a new stadium for a new team.

"There are a few teams in this country that are special - the Green Bay Packers, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Chicago Bears and the Cleveland Browns," said Cleveland mayor Michael White, who announced the agreement. "We get to keep the Cleveland Browns."

They will not, however, get a team until the 1999 season, when a new 72,000-seat stadium is built on the site of Cleveland Stadium and either an expansion team or existing franchise moves in.

White said the stadium will be constructed with $175 million from a "sin tax" passed last November; $28 million to $48 million to be provided by the league and a payment of 15 percent from the state of Ohio.

White said the league payment was "not a loan," but NFL spokesman Joe Browne said the league would be repaid by the team that moves into the city.

John Moag, chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority, also said he was pleased. Asked about the concept of reimbursing Cleveland for its loss, he replied, "I wish that policy had been around a dozen years ago." That was when the Colts left Baltimore for Indianapolis.

The Browns have been in Cleveland since 1950, and the NFL's promise to restore a team to the city wasn't enough to satisfy the leaders of fan groups fighting the relocation.

"I feel, as a Browns fan, like my heart has been ripped out. We have been completely and utterly wronged," said Seth Task, who quit as the Browns' mascot in November and formed the American Sports Fan Association.

The approval of the Browns' move to Baltimore comes three days before a trial scheduled to begin Monday in Cleveland on a suit the city filed against Modell seeking to keep the team in town. White said the city would drop the suit if the owners give the agreement final approval.

In addition to the payment for the stadium, the league agreed to pay Cleveland's cost in the court battle and $9.3 million in damages from Modell.

Approval is likely with the agreement, in part because Cleveland says it is satisfied and in part because the league believed there was no way it could stop the move in court.

Most of the day was spent on the collective-bargaining agreement, which has been approved by the NFL Players Association but stalled by the owners because of concerns over revenue sharing. The new agreement extends the current one three years until 2002.

The owners' meeting comes amid growing concern among fans about the stability of the NFL in light of franchise moves. In the past year, five of the 30 teams have either relocated or announced plans to relocate.

Seattle's proposed move to Los Angeles is expected to be discussed, but no action will be taken until the meetings next month in Palm Beach, Fla.