CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns may be looking for a site to build a new stadium once the current lease is up, according to NEOtrans' Ken Prendergast.
Prendergast cites two sources close to the Haslam ownership group that state the Browns owner is "leaning toward building a new stadium versus renovating the existing FirstEnergy Stadium." Those sources Prendergast cites also say that the Haslams are not happy with the condition of the current stadium and how the structure is "aging poorly."
FirstEnergy Stadium is currently under a lease agreement that will keep the Cleveland Browns playing in its confines through at least 2028.
Senior Vice President of Communications for the Browns Peter John-Baptiste did not comment on the validity of the claims by NEOtrans, but did say that the Haslams are continuing to look into the viability of developing land on the lakeside.
Where are these two sites those sources speculate the Haslams are looking at? One would be where the Main Post Office is currently located at 2400 Orange Avenue.
Another would be a stretch of land along Lakeside Avenue including the current location of the 3News studios. 3News can confirm that nobody from the Browns organization or Haslam ownership group have reached out regarding this information at this time.
FirstEnergy Stadium is currently the 10th oldest stadium in the league and has only seen one major renovation in 2014 for $120 million. Current estimates based on other renovation projects and new stadium costs estimate that a new stadium would cost over $1 billion.
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