The Cleveland Browns are officially leaving its downtown stadium
By Bryn Dippold
The Cleveland Browns have officially decided to move out of downtown and into Brook Park, a city of around 18,000 people about 17 miles southwest of the current stadium. Dee and Jimmy Haslam, the owners of the Cleveland Browns, shared that the stadium planning process started in 2017.
“We pursued many possibilities, with our initial focus on renovating the current stadium and engaged design, construction and engineering experts to develop a plan to do so,” the Haslams said in a joint statement.
Though the Haslams explored building a new stadium on multiple sites within and outside of Cleveland, they learned that renovating the current Cleveland Browns stadium would “simply not solve many operational issues and would be a short-term approach.”
One of the most important needs of a new stadium, the Haslams learned, was a dome. “Without a dome, we will not attract the type of large-scale events and year-round activity to justify the magnitude of this public-private partnership,” they said. “The transformational economic opportunities created by a dome far outweigh what a renovated stadium could produce with around ten events per year.”
In a statement from Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, he expressed disappointment in the decision to move. “The Haslam Sports Group’s proposal to build a new domed stadium in Brook Park will undoubtedly damage the city, county and region in a multitude of ways,” he said.
These ways include economic harm to downtown businesses, an undermining of public investments, negative impact on downtown recovery and a need for money from state taxpayers without clear benefits.
Bibb and County Executive Chris Ronayne have expressed these concerns to not only the Haslam Sports Group, but also to Governor Mike DeWine and other state leaders.
“I will always choose the residents and businesses of the city of Cleveland, and I will fight for our partners to do the same,” Bibb said.
The Haslams reiterated that the plan to move to Brook Park was “transparent and collaborative throughout” with the city.
“We are confident that the Brook Park project will significantly benefit the Northeast Ohio region for generations to come,” they said.
The decision to move has raised concerns throughout the city, both from citizens and local officials.
After a number of City Council members expresses concerns with the Haslams’ decision, they plan to use the Art Modell Law to fight the move. The 1996 Ohio law puts relocation restrictions on owners of professional sports teams that use a tax-supported facility, which applies since the Browns’ stadium is owned by the city of Cleveland.
No matter the outcome, Mayor Bibb is not defeated.
“The Cleveland psyche is a tested and enduring one—time and again, we’ve risen stronger from every challenge,” he said. “As we step into the global spotlight…we stand proud and ready to shape the next chapter of Cleveland’s story.”