CLEVELAND — Before the Cleveland Browns announced that they were looking at "additional sites" for a new stadium beyond the downtown area, the team reportedly pitched a $1 billion stadium renovation plan to City Council last fall.
Two Cleveland City Councilmembers told Signal Cleveland's Nick Castele that the Browns proposed a 50-50 split on a billion-dollar stadium renovation project, with state and local governments picking up upwards of $500 million, during a round of meetings last October.
Browns officials also showed off a video rendering of a refurbished stadium reachable by a land bridge that connected the grassy malls to the lakefront, one councilmember told Castele.
Renovate or build new?
Following a report last week from Ken Prendergast of NEOTrans blog that team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam had purchased 176 acres of land in Brook Park, roughly 1,000 feet from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the Browns put out a statement on social media regarding "future stadium planning."
"We've been clear on how complex future stadium planning can be. One certainty is our commitment to greatly improving our fan experience while also creating a transformative and lasting impact to benefit all of Northeast Ohio. We understand the magnitude of opportunity with a stadium project intent on driving more large-scale events to our region and are methodically looking at every possibility. We appreciate the collaborative process with the City of Cleveland and the leadership of Mayor Bibb in analyzing the landbridge and renovating the current stadium. At the same time, as part of our comprehensive planning efforts, we are also studying other potential stadium options in Northeast Ohio at various additional sites. There is still plenty of work to do and diligence to process before a long term stadium solution is determined and will share further updates at the appropriate time."
The current lease for Cleveland Browns Stadium expires in 2028.
Cuyahoga County sources told 3News Investigates' Lynna Lai that the Haslams began floating the idea of a new stadium outside of downtown Cleveland last summer.
The going cost? Around $2 billion.
Those same sources told Lai that the Haslams would be willing to put up half of the money and would look to cobble together regional, state, and private funding for the rest.
So why this piece of land by the airport? County insiders tell 3News Investigates the Haslams like the ready-made infrastructure, with the I-X Center nearby along with easy interstate access.
Earlier this week, 3News' Neil Fischer spoke to Brook Park Mayor Edward Orcutt about a possible stadium being built in his city.
"There's nothing imminent about the Browns coming to the city of Brook Park," Orcutt declared.
3News asked Orcutt if he had spoken with anyone from the Browns.
"I don't comment on private conversations that I have with future economic development here in the city of Brook Park," he responded.
Orcutt also said the city won't get too excited because of the size of the project.
"When you think about a stadium, you'd have to get people into the stadium, get them out of there, so you think traffic and safety," he explained.
At what cost?
Castele notes that the billion-dollar renovation figure is higher than the estimated replacement cost that the city uses for insurance purposes. At a Council committee meeting last week, city officials said the stadium was insured up to $800 million.
Meanwhile, Castele points out that the Browns Stadium project would be the most costly Cleveland sports facility overhaul in the last decade. Cuyahoga County, with help from the city, picked up half of the $140 million revamp of the Cavaliers arena in 2017. The city, county and state took on two-thirds of the $202.5 million Progressive Field renovation in 2022.
City officials haven’t said how they would pay for a stadium revamp. Currently, Cleveland pays for repairs with revenue from a countywide sin tax on alcohol and cigarettes. The sin tax is set to expire in 2035 and is running out of money. Castele says that as of last year, the city had roughly $54 million in estimated sin tax proceeds left for Browns Stadium, according to figures provided by the Gateway Economic Development Corporation.
Does a billion sound like a lot? Or $2 billion if the Browns end up building a new stadium? Consider, as Castele writes, that it’s estimated that the new Tennessee Titans stadium will cost a total of $2.1 billion. The price tag for Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the host of Super Bowl LVIII, was just shy of $2 billion. The Buffalo Bills’ new stadium will cost $1.5 billion, with taxpayers picking up $850 million.
SignalCleveland Managing Editor Mark Naymik spoke with Jay Crawford and Christi Paul about the stadium issues earlier this week. You can watch below:
Previous Reporting:
- JIMMY'S TAKE: A new stadium for Cleveland Browns would be 'thrilling'
- Brook Park mayor, residents speak to 3News about Cleveland Browns' rumored move to city
- Mike Polk Jr. has some thoughts on the Cleveland Browns' latest stadium drama
- Cleveland Browns looking at 'additional sites' in Northeast Ohio for new stadium
- Cleveland businesses react to Browns' potential move out of downtown