Dawgs By Nature
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with state officials on Tuesday to express his support for the project.
The Cleveland Browns received a big-name boost on Tuesday in their quest for a domed stadium and entertainment center in Brook Park.
That came in the form of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who joined owner Jimmy Haslam for a meeting with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and other state leaders to express his support for the $2.4 billion stadium project.
There has been pushback to the Browns leaving downtown Cleveland, their home since the franchise played its first season in 1946, primarily from Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb.
But Goodell is not of a like mind, as he sees the project as a benefit for Northeast Ohio, including downtown Cleveland, as he told cleveland.com:
“We think this is a benefit not just to Brook Park. This is a benefit to the entire area, including downtown. People coming here for events will be staying downtown. They will be eating downtown.
“There’s very strong leadership on the state level and a focus, determination to get this done, which I think is an extraordinary opportunity for the state, for the community of Brook Park, and I think the NFL and the Browns.”
While it has felt like a done deal for months, the project still needs state legislators to approve $600 million in funding in the state budget, which has to be finalized by June 30.
Even though there was some early talk about renovating Huntington Bank Field, the Browns have set their focus on a new home in Brook Park near Cleveland Hopkins Airport. In addition to the domed stadium, the surrounding area will be developed to include retail space, two hotels, apartments, and office space.
None of that is possible in the area around the downtown stadium, which is bordered on the north by Lake Erie, on the east by the Great Lakes Science Center and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and on the south by the freeway.
The stadium is also not up to current NFL standards, according to Goodell:
“I would tell you that it (the existing stadium) doesn’t match the standards or the qualities that current stadiums are matching. More importantly, I think our projects are changing from pure stadiums, but to really significant developments and mixed-use, type of developments beyond the stadium that can generate significant economic impact to the local communities.”
There are still some pesky details to iron out, but with each passing day, it seems more and more likely that the Browns will be kicking off the 2029 season in a shiny new domed stadium.
