The Cleveland Browns took another step last week toward winning support for an alternative to renovating the team’s current lakefront home.
Representatives of the Cleveland Browns last Wednesday showed state lawmakers the team’s proposal for a new multipurpose stadium in Brook Park near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The plans included a major entertainment and redevelopment of the area, according to people familiar with the proposal.
The team sat down with a bipartisan gaggle of lawmakers, which was organized by state Reps. Bride Rose Sweeney and Tom Patton.
It’s not hard to imagine why the Browns would want Columbus on their side. The team, which is owned by Dee and Jimmy Haslam, will need help from the state – plus others – to build a domed stadium costing multiple billions of dollars.
Sweeney told Signal Cleveland she had to leave the meeting before the conversation turned to the numbers. But it was “clear Brook Park would be substantial,” she said – meaning substantially expensive.
Cleveland may not be out of the game just yet. Earlier this month, Sweeney and other lawmakers got the lowdown on Mayor Justin Bibb’s lakefront offer to the Browns. Sweeney said City Hall had what it believed was a competitive proposal that still protected Cleveland’s budget.
So what do the Brook Park plans look like? The public may find out soon. The team is expected to start circulating the plans more widely in the near future, sources told Signal Cleveland. Drawings shown to lawmakers depicted a multipurpose stadium that appeared built deep into the ground and with room for development around it, people knowledgeable about the pitch said.
The project was sold as an unprecedented economic development effort that includes a domed stadium and entertainment and lifestyle district that would be mostly privately funded – but would likely cost taxpayers significantly, too. The public portion of the stadium was pitched as drawing on revenue generated by the project. (The renovation of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, for instance, relied in part on admission and sales tax from the arena.)
Sweeney indicated that she is reserving judgment on the plans for now. A new Browns deal will cost a lot of taxpayer money, and those expenses need to be justified, she said.
“Sometimes that gets lost in the discussion,” she said.
For one example of stadium sticker prices these days, look to Chicago. The Bears recently unveiled plans for a multipurpose stadium replacing their longtime Soldier Field home. The stadium is expected to cost $3.2 billion, plus another $1.5 billion in infrastructure. The Bears ownership said it will contribute $2 billion toward the project.
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In October, the Browns proposed a 50-50 split on a billion-dollar stadium project, with state and local governments picking up upwards of $500 million, council members tell Signal Cleveland.