Browns: Could the domed stadium plan fall apart?

The Haslams continue to take a PR hit over the proposed stadium in Brook Park. But gaining the appropriate funding is all that matters at this point.

In February 2024, news first broke that the Cleveland Browns were interested in relocating from downtown Cleveland to build a domed stadium and a surrounding entertainment complex in the suburb of Brook Park.

The announcement was probably a bit overdue, given the current landscape of the NFL, as new stadiums have opened in Minnesota, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles over the past nine years. Additionally, stadiums are currently under construction in Buffalo and Nashville.

By comparison, Huntington Bank Field, which has been home to the Browns since 1999, started to look worse. Never a great venue after hastily being built on the site of Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the lack of amenities for fans and, most importantly, the corporate audience doesn’t work in the modern NFL.

What once seemed like an exciting opportunity has continued to receive pushback from various corners of the community as the PR pendulum continues to swing between fans and the corporate business community ready for a new experience, and politicians and small business owners who rely on the gameday experience, advocating for the Browns to remain downtown.

The PR noise may have hit its peak last week when the Ohio House Senate proposed funding the $600 million the Browns need from the state for the project with money from the state’s Unclaimed Property Fund. That led Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne, who has consistently voiced his opposition to the Browns moving, to refer to the plan as a “boondoggle.”

In this instance, words are just words, and the reality is that the project is likely going forward as long as the funding comes through from the following sources, as laid out by Haslam Sports Group:

• $1.2 billion in private funding that would also cover any cost overruns
• $422 million from Brook Park, which would come from financed bonds
• $178 million from Cuyahoga County, which would come from county-issued bonds that would be paid back by revenues from the site, and two potential new sources - raising the current bed tax on hotels from 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent, and a $6 surcharge on rental cars, both of which would presumably hit the wallets of visitors rather than residents.
• $600 million from the state of Ohio. State legislators and Gov. Mike DeWine are still haggling over how to fund that amount, but everyone appears to be on board, so the Haslams can probably count on the state coming through.

But what if the funding plan fell apart? Could that lead to the Haslams forgoing Brook Park and staying downtown?

Even if Ronayne somehow convinces his fellow county executives not to fund the stadium, even though it is in Cuyahoga County, the Haslams should be able to find a way to cover that line item. They would not like it, but it would not be enough...