CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns are making an economic-development play, attempting to lure the private sector to the edge of Lake Erie.

Leaders of the football franchise said Tuesday that they envision a mixed-use project, including athletic fields and a potential sports-medicine or wellness facility, on more than 20 acres north of Cleveland Browns Stadium.

A sketch of the possible lakefront district also shows a 1,000-car parking garage to the south, connected to the stadium by an enclosed pedestrian walkway over the Shoreway.

It's clear the concept is just that -- a vision subject to change and to the whims of a challenging real estate market.

But the Browns believe they can use their local clout and widespread name recognition to attract developers and dollars to an extremely valuable, yet long-neglected, piece of downtown Cleveland.

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"We would like to be known as a catalyst," Browns President Mike Holmgren said during a meeting at The Plain Dealer on Tuesday. "We're not developers. We're in the football business ... but we have a wonderful stadium down there and a great piece of property."

The Browns have hired Hammes Co., a company well-versed in sports-centered development, to study the potential of a lakefront site largely owned by the city of Cleveland. Holmgren and the city expect to unveil their plans -- and a bid to bring the Cleveland Clinic to the project -- during a news conference today.

Politicians and planners have floated a procession of lakefront plans over the years. Yet much of Cleveland's downtown waterfront remains undeveloped and inaccessible to people who live and work in the city. The Browns aren't getting into the real estate business, but team leaders want to shepherd private investment, bridging a gulf that local governments and foundations aren't flush enough to fill.

"This is really a commitment to mobilize investors to actually take on development in the area," said Chris Warren, chief of regional development for Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson. "It's really the shift from planning to development."

The Browns' proposal builds on billions of dollars in downtown investment, including a medical mart, a new convention center, a casino and the Flats East Bank project; takes advantage of city-owned property; and focuses attention on a much-needed private-sector commitment to reinventing the waterfront, said Joe Roman, chief executive officer of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the region's chamber of commerce.

"The brands that get people's attention are the Cleveland Clinic and our health care institutions, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (and Museum) and our sports teams," he said. "So the branding power, the ability to get private investors' attention by leading with private brand interest, is a game changer."

The Browns have asked the Cleveland Clinic, the team's health care provider, to consider a lakefront site for a sports-medicine or wellness facility. Attorney Fred Nance, who represents the Browns, said the Clinic has made no commitment.

In an emailed statement Tuesday, Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove did not address the hospital system's level of interest.

"We commend the Browns on their dedication to the city of Cleveland and the development of its lakefront," Cosgrove said. "We are very pleased to have been invited to participate in this exciting project."

Nance said the Browns see spurring development as a way to give back to the community, which financed the $300 million Browns Stadium project in the 1990s. A more vibrant lakefront surely would help the Browns, too, attracting more visitors and enabling the franchise to explore football-related opportunities like a hall of fame at the stadium.

Team officials did not shut the door Tuesday on putting money into projects -- at least, those associated with football -- but they stressed that the Browns are not developers.

The team has talked to at least one developer, and Nance said several "business entities" that operate facilities around the country are eyeing Cleveland. He would not identify potential investors or anchors for the waterfront district.

The Browns have approached the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority about extending the hours and reach of a free trolley service, which runs two downtown routes on weekdays but does not reach the waterfront. Adding evening and weekend hours would cost $610,000 a year -- a tab the business community must pick up, said Joe Calabrese, the transit agency's chief executive.

As the Browns flesh out their concept, they will reckon with maritime uses to the west and potential development sites to the east. City officials consider the first phase of the Flats East Bank, a $275 million project that broke ground last year, a proving ground for waterfront growth.

Since then, the city has announced plans for a short-stay marina in North Coast Harbor. And officials are looking at development prospects to the east, including land around Burke Lakefront Airport.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority is considering the best ways to use its 100-plus-acre footprint. The port leases some city land north of Browns Stadium, where the Browns' proposal shows mixed-use buildings, youth sports fields and public spaces.

The port is willing to cede land east of the 50-yard line for development, but CEO Will Friedman said property to the west -- known as Dock 28 -- should be preserved for a long-discussed ferry landing or other maritime uses.

"I think it is entirely possible, and even desirable, for the port and mixed-use redevelopment to coexist," Friedman said. "I've seen it done successfully in a lot of other port cities."