Brook Park residents weigh in on Browns stadium news

BROOK PARK , Ohio (WJW) — The announcement by the Cleveland Browns that the team will build a new domed stadium in Brook Park is creating a buzz in this normally quiet city of 18,000 people.

“I think it’s fantastic. I live right up the way, so I think it would be a great thing for our city. I think it’s great for Brook Park,” Browns fan Tina Marie Plesca told FOX 8 News.

Construction of the $2.4 billion stadium, and all that goes with it, will completely transform a vacant plot of land near Interstate 71 into a football mecca, beginning in the 2029 season.

“Oh, it’s awesome. It’s great. It’ll help Brook Park’s economy. It’s what is needed,” said Brook Park Resident Kim Kort.

Owners of small businesses like Iron Horse Cycles, who have weathered tough economic times in recent years, said the new stadium will be a major boost for Brook Park, which is known as “A City on the Move.”

“I think it’s good for the city. You know, ever since Ford went out, you know, the city has been struggling a little bit. So bringing the Browns here will help out a lot for the city,” Iron Horse owner Jimmy Messina told us.

Supporters of the plan to build the domed stadium said it will give Northeast Ohio a chance to compete for major events like the Super Bowl.

“It’s going to be a dome stadium and there’s going to be a lot of other things they can do here in Brook Park. They can have all kind of events,” said Brook Park resident Mitch Buehner.

But some fans are indifferent to the move by the Browns and others worry about issues like congestion in and around the I-71 corridor once the stadium complex is completed.

“Mixed reaction to be honest, simply because traffic. It’s good for the economy, but traffic-wise, just too much going on at one time,” said Browns fan Doris Sawyer.

One fan called the decision by Jimmy Haslam to build a new stadium in Brook Park “a solution to billionaire problems.”

Joseph Pyles told FOX 8 News, “It’s about money of course, it’s always about money. That’s what it breaks down to. But the Browns are still going to be in Ohio. They’re still going to be called the Cleveland Browns. So I don’t think too much is going to change.”

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