Cleveland Browns to build stadium in Brook Park, team owners confirm

BEREA — The Browns are focusing their stadium efforts on a new domed stadium in Brook Park .

Owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam had previously only said they were weighing their options between renovating the current lakefront stadium or building a new one near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. However, it's been clear for months the Brook Park site has been the preferred option for the Haslams.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said Thursday in a news conference at City Hall he met with the Haslams on Wednesday night, at which time they informed him of their intention to move to Brook Park.

"Our vision for redeveloping the lakefront is becoming a reality, and more and more businesses are choosing to invest in our great city," Bibb said. "The Haslams' choice to move the team away from this progress is frustrating and profoundly disheartening. Over the past two years, this administration made relentless efforts to craft solutions that advance both [Haslams Sports Group's] objectives and long-term interest of our residents and the broader community."

Bibb's press conference came two hours before the Haslams officially announced they were looking at the Brook Park site.

In their statement, the Haslams said after years of planning and discussions, they realized "without a dome, we will not attract the type of large-scale events and year-round activity to justify the magnitude of this public-private partnership.

"The transformative economic opportunities created by a dome far outweigh what a renovated stadium could produce with around 10 events per year," the Haslams said.

The city of Cleveland's latest proposal to build a stadium on the Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport property "is cost prohibitive and not feasible, especially with no certainty regarding potential timing of closure of the airport," the Haslams said.

"With the funding mechanisms we continue to work on, this stadium will not use existing taxpayer-funded streams that would divert resources from other more pressing needs," the statement reads. "Instead, the over $2 billion private investment, together with the public investment, will create a major economic development project that will drive the activity necessary to pay the public bond debt service through future project-generated and Browns -generated revenue."

Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne issued a statement after Bibb's news conference. In it, he tried to focus the attention on the Guardians' American League Championship Series Game 3 showdown against the New York Yankees Thursday afternoon in Cleveland.

"Executive Ronayne has made his position clear: the Browns stadium should remain Downtown," the statement said. "Today he is focused on the business of Cuyahoga County and cheering for a Guardians win tonight."

The new domed stadium would be built on a 176-acre plot of land in Brook Park the Haslams have indicated would be part of a much larger development project. That site is situated in an area bordered on three sides by state Route 237 to the west, Snow Road to the south and Interstate 71 to the east.

The Browns' lease with the city expires at the end of 2028. Cleveland City Council has made it clear it intends to hold the Browns not only to their lease, but also to the Ohio law that has come to be known as the "Modell Law," which passed in the state legislature in 1996 after the original Browns franchise was moved by owner Art Modell to Baltimore.

The law prevents professional teams that use a “tax-supported facility for most of its home games” and that “receive financial assistance” from playing home games elsewhere. In order to do so, they must obtain government consent and satisfy a six-month notice period during which the team must be offered for sale to local buyers.

Bibb said "Modell Law" would be something the City Council would have to handle. He said Thursday an economic feasibility study commissioned by the city indicated a move by the Browns outside of the city limits would cost Cleveland more than $30 million annually.

"I wouldn't say we were misled," Bibb said. "I will say we may have lost some critical time. If that was the original intent, we could have looked at other sites in the city of Cleveland in 2022. Now it's 2024 and we've lost two years. My initial priority was, No. 1, work with the county executive and state leaders to get to a 50/50 split on a $1.2 billion renovation. They changed their vision about what they wanted, and in the last four to six weeks we explored what it would take to potentially close Burke [Lakefront Airport] and build a dome stadium down there.

"But it wasn't good enough for them at this moment. And if things don't work out in Brook Park, as I said before, I stand ready with open arms to get back to the negotiation table."

Watch Browns press conference on stadium negotiations

The Browns have played at the current lakefront location in some form since the original franchise was founded in 1946. The current stadium was originally opened in 1999 when the expansion franchise began play.

The cost for the new domed stadium is projected to be about $2.4 billion. The cost to renovate the current one was around half that price, with the city of Cleveland having pledged $461 million to that plan in early August .

"I think we said the last time we talked to you all, this is a big project, OK," Jimmy Haslam said during a training camp news conference on July 25 at The Greenbrier in West Virginia. "No matter which direction we go into, it's complicated. Anytime you have a public-private partnership, it's not easy. We're continuing to work through the process and we hope sooner rather than later we'll have a solution. But I can assure you, we were on the phone for an hour this morning talking about various things that have to be solved, and one solution or the other. We'll continue to do so until we get to what we think the right answer."

Bibb contended that the city tried to counter the idea of building a new stadium in Brook Park with one of their own on the lakefront.

"We put forth a fiscally responsible yet aggressive financial package, larger than any other financial package offered for sports facility and Cleveland to renovate the existing stadium," Bibb said. "When they shifted course and abandoned the renovation plans, we pivoted to explore options for a new stadium and offered to make a portion of Burke Lakefront Airport available to the team for redevelopment to include a new dome stadium and adjacent development comparable, arguably better than, the vision the Haman Sports Group has proposed for Brook Park."

The timing of the announcement is not ideal in terms of the on-the-field product. The Browns are off to a 1-5 start, they are in the midst of a four-game losing streak and they traded away their No. 1 wide receiver, Amari Cooper, on Tuesday to the Buffalo Bills .

Fans react to Browns' plans to move to Brook Park

Here's what some fans in downtown Cleveland had to say Thursday afternoon about the move:

• "The further the Browns get away the better. I prefer them moving to London but if they want to go to Brook Park, that's fine. It gives me one less reason to go to Cleveland," said Mark Stegmeier, 45, of Akron.
• "I used to live downtown, but I think the new stadium is going to be really cool. I'm excited to look forward to it," said Joseph Ramey, 32, of Cleveland.
• "Wherever the Browns play, I will be there, unfortunately," said Joey Bogden, 31, of Cleveland.
• "If Cleveland doesn't know how to play ball, build the dome until we ready," said Zach Trieves, 33, of Cleveland.
• "Hopefully the moving will generate more buzz. Moving out of downtown isn't great because we have the Guardians and Cavaliers," said Abby Beck, 19, of Cleveland.
• "We might as well be Lions fans at this point. Go Blue," said Kyle Fowler, 24, of Mantua.

The Browns' intentions ramped up on Aug. 7, when Browns Chief Operating Officer Dave Jenkins sent season ticket holders a letter addressing the team's stadium future. Although the letter did not say a final decision was made, it was the most clear explanation from the team regarding the vision it holds for the Brook Park site.

The letter to season ticket holders said the team started the process in 2017. However, it goes on, it has "intensified as we approach the end of our current lease after the 2028 season."

Jenkins' letter said the team explored options within the city of Cleveland's limits, including the Burke Lakefront Airport site. However, it deemed that not "feasible" because of "economic constraints and FAA restrictions."

"The Brook Park site is the most compelling option for a dome for several reasons: its central location for our regional fan base, its proximity to downtown, the RTA and the airport, and its strong existing infrastructure," the letter said. "The large footprint is also ripe for major economic development and supports ample parking and optimized ingress/egress for our visitors. Our diligence of the site is ongoing, but our work to date has shown positive results on the FAA, environmental and traffic/infrastructure fronts."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ . Alisson Toro-Lagos can be reached at atorolagos@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns to build stadium in Brook Park, team owners confirm