Blow to Cleveland: Browns Move Forward With $2.4B Suburban Plan

Cleveland’s hopes of preventing the Browns from moving out of their downtown stadium and building a dome in the suburbs have been dealt yet another blow.

On Thursday afternoon, the NFL franchise announced it would focus its efforts on a proposed $2.4 billion plan to build a dome in suburban Brook Park. The city of Cleveland was offering to provide nearly $500 million in funding for renovations to the newly renamed Huntington Bank Field.

“Our most impactful investment for our region is to focus on making a dome stadium and adjacent development in Brook Park a reality,” Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam said in a statement on the team’s website. Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb called the decision “frustrating and profoundly disheartening.” 

The Browns’ downtown lease expires in 2028, and the team is seeking up to $1.2 billion in public funding support for its dome project. Should building the dome be too difficult, Bibb said he and his staff would be ready to reengage talks with the Haslams about stadium options downtown. “Our door is not closed,” he said. 

How We Got Here

In August, the owners of the Browns released renderings of their dome proposal, indicating it was their preferred option. “The more we have explored the Brook Park option, the more attractive it has become,” they said in a letter to fans.

But it didn’t take long for the pushback from local officials to pop up. Two county executives said they remained committed to helping keep the Browns downtown.

Despite this latest development, the Browns building a dome is far from a done deal. As evidenced by other stadium projects around the league—like Chicago or Kansas City—NFL franchise owners getting public money for new stadiums is often a long and arduous process.