Browns get green light to build indoor stadium as state budget gets approved

New York Times

26-06-2025

The Ohio legislature has cleared the way for the Cleveland Browns to build the team's long-planned indoor stadium in suburban Brook Park.
On Wednesday, the state Senate and House of Representatives separately approved a budget that includes $600 million for the new indoor Browns stadium. The team announced last year its full intention to build in Brook Park, which is not far from the training facility in Berea and about 15 minutes southwest of the current stadium in downtown Cleveland.
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The budget includes a new Sports and Culture Facility Fund, which will take $1.7 billion from the state's $4.8 billion in unclaimed funds. The Browns will get $600 million and pay it back via tax revenues from the Brook Park project. The remaining $1.1 billion will be devoted to future facility projects and upgrades, including a likely renovation of the Cincinnati Bengals' home stadium.
The Browns and the city of Cleveland had been battling over the proposed move, and both the city and the franchise had filed suits regarding the application of the 'Modell Law,' a 1990s law meant to keep teams from leaving the state. But a late addition to the newly passed state budget was an updated version of the Modell Law that should effectively end the city's lawsuit against the Browns because they're remaining in Cuyahoga County.
The Browns and Haslam Sports Group, headed by team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, had been adamant that there was no suitable location within city limits and had been confident they'd eventually be cleared to move. Wednesday evening, WKRK 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland reported that the Browns planned to close on the 176 acres of land adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins Airport for their new stadium and entertainment complex by the end of the week.
That would indicate the Browns are confident they're headed for Brook Park. The Haslam Sports Group had pledged $1.2 billion in private funding plus potential overruns. The estimated cost of the new facility is $2.4 billion.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine can veto any piece of the budget before it has to be finalized on June 30. DeWine had originally proposed doubling the state tax on sports betting to raise money for new stadiums instead of pledging $600 million in state bonds or going with the unclaimed funds plan.
Northeast Ohio attorneys Jeff Crossman and Marc Dann announced Tuesday that they would file a class action suit on behalf of owners of the state's unclaimed funds if the new budget passed. Crossman and Dann said in a news conference Wednesday that the plan to take private property without permission amounts to theft and is unconstitutional.
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Assuming full clearance, the new stadium will open for the 2029 season — just after the expiration of the lease on the current stadium. The Haslams previously said they planned to begin construction in early 2026 if the state budget included the $600 million for the new stadium and what the Haslam Sports Group has called 'a sports and entertainment district.'
In January, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb called the Brook Park project 'the Haslam scheme' and said it was a 'ploy' that would 'raise your taxes, make it more expensive for you to attend games and steal events away from downtown.'
The city wanted to renovate the current stadium, which opened in 1999 on the site of the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Browns have consistently called the renovation plan 'a short-term fix' and an irresponsible approach to finding a solution.