Ohio Governor Mark Dewine (R) signed a law on July 1, which allowed Cleveland Browns from the National Football League to get $ 600 million in state funds towards building a $ 2.4 million stadium at the Brook Park Suburban. K, Ohio, about 14 kilometers from the current location of the team in the city center.
The money would come from the non -claimed fund division of the State, an unlawable or abandoned money and other assets owned by the residents.
But not everyone is on board the plan to use funds not claimed for the New Stadium, which, like the outdoor center stadium where the team has played since 1999, would be called Huntington Bank Field.
The architect of the stadium with a dome of 65,000 to 70,000 places is HKS. The main contractor is Ma Mortenson. Mixed use development is also expected around the stadium that had hotels, apartments, retail sales and offices.
Browns spokesman Peter John-Baptiste confirmed that just before Dewine signed the law, the team finished a $ 76 million purchase from a 176 hectares in Brook Park for the New Stadium. The property was previously a Ford Motor Co. plant. And it is on the Snow Road road near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
The owners of Browns, Dee and Jimmy Haslam, published a statement that he loved Dewine and the state legislature for “his collaborative work to find a responsible way to support such a transformative project.”
“My goal was to ensure that we no longer use general taxpayers’ dollars to support stadiums in Ohio,” Dewine said at a press conference.
According to supporters, the non -claimed background pool would be filled with the money generated by the development tax, tickets, concessions, hotels and other economic activities.
Noting that the fund could also be used for other companies, such as theaters or concert venues, Dewine said that his goal was also to “take a comprehensive approach, to look not only a team, this budget does.”
Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne decreed the potential movement of the Browns of the center of Cleveland and the way the project can be financed.
“The predominant feeling is that this is a bad idea,” he said. “It’s a boondoggle and fans don’t want to see them.”
The former Attorney General of Ohio, Marc Dann and the state representative, Jeffrey Crossman, both Democrats, have pledged to file a lawsuit to stop the use of non -claimed funds for the New Stadium.
“I’m not anti-stadium,” says Crossman. “I am anti -robber. The proposed funding is to steal private property from the peoples to benefit a stage.”
“If this funding plan explodes, this will send the project to the drawing board and delay the project,” adds Crossman.
The Brook Park Planning Commission is expected to hold a special meeting on July 8 to start reviewing the zoning modifications necessary for the project to advance.
Browns expect construction to begin by the beginning of 2026, says John-Baptiste.
