The Browns are considering a $1 billion renovation to their current stadium or a new, $2.4 billion domed stadium in Brook Park. However it goes, they want the taxpayers to pay half.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, via Sports Business Journal, the Browns want public money for 50 percent of either solution.
Per the report, team officials recently met with state lawmakers to discuss plans, and to review renderings of a new stadium.
A Brook Park facility would open before the 2029 season. A local law named for former Browns owner Art Modell could complicate a move out of Cleveland proper.
Nearly 30 years ago, Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore after he was unable to get a new stadium. Negotiations between Cleveland, the league, and the Browns resulted in the city keeping the name, colors, and records — and getting an expansion team that assumed the franchise’s identity and legacy.
The Haslams bought the Browns in 2012. They’ve given no indication that they’d consider moving the team. They also have yet to hear “no way” in response to their effort to get free money for an upgraded or new stadium.
