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President Ronald Reagan tells a football joke to members of the Cleveland Browns during a Nov. 2, 1988, campaign visit to the Browns' Baldwin Wallace facility, which recently was renovated by the school. From left are Coach Marty Schottenheimer, Owner Art Modell, Herman Fontenot, Carl Hairston, Reagan, then-Cleveland Mayor George Voinovich, and quarterback Bernie Kosar. The man second from the right is unidentified.
(Richard Conway, The Plain Dealer)
BEREA, Ohio – President Ronald Reagan stopped by to visit Browns practice one day.
As a reminder of the ultimate goal, Marty Schottenheimer placed a large photo of the Super Bowl trophy just inside the players' entrance.
Ever humble, Clay Matthews drove his dilapidated 1975 Mercury Capri there every day.
The Drive and The Fumble were mourned throughout the two-story facility, and the parking lot was ground zero for a heated NFL players strike.
But in recent years, football was nothing more than a distant memory at the modest red-brick building the Browns once called home, hidden behind Finnie Stadium and Fawick Art Gallery on the Baldwin Wallace University campus.
That has changed dramatically this fall. Football is back, and the place has never looked better.
A $3 million renovation to the former Cleveland Browns practice facility has converted the building from a dorm to a football and lacrosse facility for Baldwin Wallace athletes. It will be dedicated at 11 a.m. Saturday before Baldwin Wallace's homecoming game.
The renamed Packard Center, which will be dedicated 11 a.m. Saturday before BW's homecoming game, has come a long way since its days as the Browns' practice home and, more recently, a short life as a dorm called Bagley Hall.
A $3 million renovation has returned the building to its roots as the new home of BW football and lacrosse teams. Football coach John Snell said he hopes the facility gives BW a leg up on recruiting, and it's easy to see why. School officials believe the facility rivals that of any NCAA Division III school.
BW football players and coaches walk and work in the footsteps of the old Browns, who, if they were to visit today, might shake their heads in envy.
Named for late football coach Bob Packard, who won 156 games at BW, the renovation highlight is a new locker room in the same footprint of the old Browns facility. BW's locker room is larger than what the Browns had, and with 175 wood locker stalls, there is less walking-around room, but puffy couches and brown carpet lend a comfortable feel.
“It's a good feeling to see the building is now being used again for football,'' said BW facilities manager Chad Ritchie, who was a Browns ballboy in the 1980s and 1990s, and was an intern on staff when the Browns returned in 1999.
“If some of the old Browns players came back, they'd be blown away. They could say, 'Yeah, my locker was here, but this is a lot better than what we had.'”
Baldwin Wallace's new football locker room in the Packard Center is in the same footprint as the old Browns locker room, but is larger and has 175 stalls.
Art Modell's former racquetball court on the southeast corner has been converted into a freshman locker room and storage area. Instead of the antiquated workout room jammed into an atrium during the Browns' era, BW constructed a roomy, state-of-the-art weight training area that covers 3,500 square feet and is available to all sports.
The building also has a 1,500-square foot, theater-style classroom downstairs and coaches offices upstairs. Modell's upstairs corner office, where he would watch practice behind a large window, is a coaches meeting room and still has the same view of the practice field.
A dramatic new entrance facing Bagley Road features BW football images painted on high walls and new trophy cases that house, among other things, the 1978 NCAA championship trophy.
The grass field behind the building remains in place as a practice area for football, lacrosse and soccer. This is where the Browns practiced on grass, and when they needed to prepare on artificial turf, they took a short walk to Finnie Stadium.
On that grass field in 1988, President Reagan entertained players during a practice, throwing a 10-yard spiral to Newsome and telling the team to, yes, "win one for the Gipper.'' Reagan had just given a speech across the street while campaigning for then-Vice President George H.W. Bush.
The 3,500-square foot weight room at the renovated Packard Center is open to all Baldwin Wallace athletes.
Longtime Browns beat reporter Tony Grossi called it his most memorable day at the BW facility.
"One other event that stood out was the onset of the 1987 players strike,'' Grossi said in an email. "I and an AP reporter were standing in the driveway leading to the entrance to that area. One of the replacement players, QB Jeff Christensen, drove in slowly. Ray Ellis, a safety who was on strike, stopped the car and had a few words with Christensen. After Christensen proceeded, Ellis placed a plastic garbage bag filled with garbage on the hood as the car slowly moved deeper in the area.''
The Browns moved to a new facility on the north end of Berea in 1991.
The building at BW was converted into a co-ed dorm, but the words "Cleveland Browns" remained bolted to the south wall. The letters finally came down last year. Ritchie said seeing old interior walls painted brown and orange uncovered during the renovation brought back a flood of memories. He often played ping pong between training camp workouts with tackle Cody Risien and running back Kevin Mack.
Ritchie likes to connect that era with current BW when he can.
“When you look back and reflect, it's really cool for these players,'' he said. “I try to get across a sense of appreciation for how good they do have it. Twenty years ago, this was good enough for a locker room for an NFL team, and now what we have is better.''