So they’re going to tear down the Pontiac Silverdome next year?
 
It has already pretty much been torn down by Mother Nature and vandals, with the roof disappeared long ago, making it an open-air facility, just like where the Detroit Lions used to play when they were at old Tiger Stadium.
 
But, per Thursday’s announcement, the demolition process is going to be professionally finished in 2016, paving the way for the 127-acre site to be redeveloped.
 
The Lions called the Silverdome home from 1975 until 2002.
 
The Browns played there five times in the regular season, winning just once. No matter what stadium the games were held in, the Browns have never had much luck against the Lions, especially in Detroit – and that goes all the way back to the Paul Brown days.
 
Let’s look at those five meetings:
 
*Dec. 9, 1975 – Lions 21, Browns 10 – The Browns were looking for a quarterback, what with the Mike Phipps experiment on its last legs. So it was Will Cureton’s turn to audition for the job, and he was not impressive, hitting just 10 of 32 attempts for 95 yards and a touchdown on a 12-yarder to rookie tight end Oscar Roan, with one interception. Greg Pruitt rushed for 72 yards but had a pass go off his hands and into those of former Browns cornerback Ben Davis, who returned the interception 67 yards for a TD to seal the deal as Cleveland continued its worst start ever by falling to 0-8.
 
*Sept. 11, 1983 – Browns 31, Lions 26 – The Browns (1-1) got their only victory ever in Detroit – still – on the strength of Brian Sipe’s four TD passes to wide receivers Ricky Feacher (42 yards) and Dave Logan (22), tight end Ozzie Newsome (15) and running back Mike Pruitt (six). The Browns watched a 28-17 lead dwindle to 28-26 before Matt Bahr hit a 25-yard field goal near the two-minute warning. Sipe completed 18 of 29 passes for 234 yards and was not intercepted. Pruitt rushed for 137 yards. Some quarterback on the Lions named Gary Danielson threw for 126 yards and a TD with one pick.
 
*Nov. 23, 1989 – Lions 13, Browns 10 – The Lions were just 2-9 and headed nowhere. The Browns were 7-3-1 and headed to their fifth straight playoff appearance, their fourth Central Division title in five years and to the AFC Championship Game for the third time in four seasons. But the Browns lost this Thanksgiving Day game because they couldn’t tackle Barry Sanders, who ran over, through and past them to the tune of 145 yards in 28 carries. Bernie Kosar completed 28 of 38 passes for 296 yards, but he had no TDs and was intercepted once. Blocking fullback Barry Redden ran 38 yards for Cleveland’s TD.
 
*Dec. 13, 1992 – Lions 24, Browns 14 – Same type of game, just three years later, as the 7-6 Browns, who had worked like crazy to get into the playoff race, lost to the 3-10 Lions, who were again headed into the abyss. The highlight was Kosar’s 69-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Michael Jackson. But it was too little, too late for Cleveland, which trailed 21-0 after three quarters.
 
*Oct. 8, 1995 – Lions 38, Browns 20 – The Browns, heading into their bye week and about a month away from the announcement that the franchise was going to move to Baltimore at the end of the season, fell to 3-3 after being once again victimized by Barry Sanders. He rushed for 157 yards and three TDs, including two in the first quarter, once of which covered 75 yards. Vinny Testaverde and Eric Zeier each threw a scoring pass for the Browns. Scott Mitchell, whose career took off – for a brief time, anyway – when, as a member of the Miami Dolphins in 1993, he came on and led them to a victory in Cleveland after Dan Marino suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, passed for 273 yards and two TDs for Detroit.
 
So after all that, there are a number of former Browns players and coaches, as well as longtime fans, who will certainly be glad to see the Silverdome crumble into nothing next year.