Brownie Bites: Haslams still weighing stadium options for Browns

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, West Virginia (92.3 The Fan) – As the Browns prepare for the upcoming season, ownership is preparing for where they will play come 2029.

Jimmy and Dee Haslam held their annual camp Q & A with reporters following practice that saw tight end David Njoku return.

Here’s the top Brownie Bites from Day 2 at The Greenbrier for training camp.

Pick a plan – The Haslams continue to weigh two stadium options – a $1.2 billion overhaul of Cleveland Browns Stadium and a $3.8 billion dome and development in Brook Park with the dome costing $2.4 billion of that. “No matter which direction we go into, it's complicated,” Jimmy Haslam said. “Anytime you have a public private partnership, it's not easy. We're continuing to work through the process. We hope sooner rather than later we'll have a solution.” The Haslams contend their decision will come down to what is best for the fans. “That is driving 90% of the decision making, what's best for our fans,” Jimmy Haslam said. “These are long, long-term decisions. This isn't a five-year decision, a 10-year decision, it's at least a 20-year decision, maybe more. So what is best for our fans will ultimately drive what we do.” The Browns have proposed a 50-50 public-private split for both stadium proposals. “[Brook Park] would be the third or fourth largest construction project ever done in Ohio,” Jimmy Haslam said. “If we remodel our existing stadium and spend a billion dollars, that's more than Sherwin Williams is spending on their downtown office building. So just the complexity of these, getting the design right, the cost right, making sure you can finance it, how much equity it's going to take. Working with city, county and state just takes time and everybody is working hard.” The Haslams can’t, and won’t say it publicly, but they really believe the dome is the best option for them as well as the region. “We just came off the MLS All-Star week down in Columbus at the Lower.com Stadium and we can see what a new facility again can do for the vibrancy of the city,” Dee Haslam said. “I mean it was an incredible three or four days in Columbus.”

Building in Berea – The stadium isn’t the only massive project the Haslams are working on. Browns ownership has completed acquisition of 16 acres of land next to CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea where they plan to build a $200 million mixed use development. Despite Berea not receiving state money for a new rec center and community field, the Haslams plan to move forward with the project. “We still hope to have a rec hall for everybody to use, student housing for Baldwin Wallace Apartments, a hotel which that area badly needs, some restaurants and then a 7,500 seat stadium that we'd activate for football, lacrosse, soccer, high school games, Baldwin Wallace games, et cetera,” Jimmy Haslam said. “That I think it'll be a really neat project…We're excited. It's not near the magnitude of Brook Park and what a remodel of Cleveland Brown Stadium would be, but it's a neat little project.” This fall underground utility and infrastructure work is set to begin and an actual groundbreaking will take place next spring.

Stability – For the first time since they purchased the team in 2012, the Haslams were able to extend executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski this offseason. “I guess we'd say it's a relief that they performed well and Dee said it well, I mean they're not only a good GM and a good coach, but they're really good people,” Jimmy Haslam said. “They're very young. I think oftentimes we forget how young they're, and I think potentially very high ceiling for both of them. So it's de said they're good at their job and they're good people to work with.” Stefanski already ranks fifth in franchise history with 37 wins in his first four years.

Strategy for DePodesta – Chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta has not signed another contract extension with the organization, but that doesn’t mean a shakeup there is in the offing. “We're working through the situation with Paul,” Jimmy Haslam said. “It's a little bit different. He lives in San Diego, but we're comfortable with Paul will remain with us in some very important fashion for the long term.”

Chief slammin’ – After working on the side the first two sessions in West Virginia, Njoku took the field and was a full participant in Saturday’s workout, including catching a touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson in a 7-on-7 red zone series.

Roll Call – RB Nyheim Hines (NFI-knee), CB Greg Newsome II (NFI-hamstring), S D’Anthony Bell (PUP-shin), RB Nick Chubb (PUP-knee), T Jack Conklin (PUP-knee), DT Dalvin Tomlinson (PUP-knee), T Jedrick Wills Jr. (PUP-knee), RB Jerome Ford (personal-excused), CB Cameron Mitchell (right leg), OG Wyatt Davis (undisclosed), and WR Jerry Jeudy (undisclosed) did not practice. Chubb, Hines, Jeudy, Mitchell, Bell, Wills and Davis worked on the side.