(ONN) – Cleveland’s city council is invoking a law passed in 1996 to keep the Cleveland Browns from moving out of the downtown area.

As the Browns possibly look toward building a new stadium in Brook Park, city council is making moves that could make that a bit more difficult.

It has approved an ordinance that directs the city to enforce what’s called the Art Modell law and that would make it so the Browns would have to stay in Cleveland proper unless the team owners get permission to leave or give the city or a group of residents the chance to buy the team.

The “Modell Law” was derisively named after former Browns owner Art Modell months after he moved the team to Baltimore.