Obituary: Art Modell, 87, NFL Owner and Baltimore Arts Patron

Art Modell, who became a major backer of cultural institutions in Baltimore after moving his football team there from Cleveland in 1995, died Thursday of natural causes at age 87, The Baltimore Sun writes.

Mr. Modell was vilified in Cleveland for departing with the original Browns but embraced by Baltimore, which had lost its own franchise 11 years earlier. He sold his majority interest in the Baltimore Ravens in 2004, three years after the team won the Super Bowl.

As they had in Cleveland, Mr. Modell and his wife, Patricia, who passed away last year, became significant arts benefactors in their new home, donating millions of dollars to the Lyric Opera House, the Walters Art Museum, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the Baltimore Museum of Art, The Sun also reports.

Mr. Modell also chaired a $100-million campaign for a new cardiovascular center at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he died.