In a letter to Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam on Sunday, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne and County Council President Pernel Jones Jr. say they will not support a stadium proposal for Brook Park and will focus on renovating the existing lakefront stadium.
“The proposal to build a new stadium in Brook Park does not make fiscal sense for Cuyahoga County residents and taxpayers,” the letter says. “We believe it is our responsibility and in the best interest of our community to prioritize investment in existing public assets.”
In sending the letter, Ronayne and Jones join Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb in opposing the Brook Park plan. Ronayne and Jones plan a press conference Monday to discuss their position.
The Haslams have said they are exploring parallel tracks for the home for their team. One involves spending $1 billion to upgrade the existing stadium, which opened in 1999, although no details have emerged on why that upgrade would be so costly. The other option is a new, domed $2.4 billion stadium on the site of a former auto plant in Brook Park, with $1.2 billion coming from taxpayers.
The debate over the stadium has intensified in recent weeks, with Bibb releasing a letter to the Browns with his proposed financing for the lakefront stadium. That plan would provide $461 million over 30 years as the city’s contribution, largely based on taxes long used for stadium construction or renovation. The Browns last week responded by sending new artist’s renderings of their vision for a dome in Brook Park. The Browns declined at the time to provide their latest renderings for the lakefront stadium or any details of their financing plan.
Also on Sunday, the Editorial Board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer called on everyone involved to abandon the Brook Park idea and work together on upgrading the existing stadium.
The letter from Ronayne and Jones presents a new challenge for the Haslams in their quest for public financing in Brook Park. The Haslams have not released a formal proposal, but the vague outlines of what they seek include $600 million from the state and $600 million in local support. With Ronayne and Jones saying they will invest in the lakefront stadium, the local support is lacking. And the state has never provided such a large sum for a sports stadium.
Nevertheless, the Browns, in releasing their renderings to fans, said the Browns are “working on innovative funding mechanisms with local, county, and state officials that would leverage the fiscal impact of the project and the unprecedented private contribution to support the public investment and generate a substantial return for Brook Park, Cuyahoga County, and the State of Ohio.” With both Cleveland and county leaders opposing the Brook Park plan, not clear is which local and county officials the Browns refer to in their letter.
Indeed, Bibb, in his letter last week, said it would be irresponsible for anyone to offer public subsidies for a stadium outside Cleveland, a statement supported by Ken Silliman, who has been involved in most stadium deals over the past 30 years.
“The principal flaw with the Brook Park scheme is its reliance on any kind of public funding,” Silliman said in an interview, “because I see no public purpose to justify public investment there.”
That is the sentiment in the letter from Ronayne and Jones, as well:
“Over the last decade, we have seen billions of dollars of investment into Downtown Cleveland and it is our belief that a strong, vibrant downtown core is critical to our region... A renovation of the downtown stadium will build on those investments and anchor future development on the lake front.”
Ronayne and Jones said they know the project is about more than money.
“The team represents the heart and soul of Northeast Ohio and reinforces out community’s identity and price. Browns fans have a deep-rooted emotional connection to the team’s rich history in Downtown Cleveland.”
If the Browns respond to the letter, their comments will be added to this story.
Cleveland officials believe stadium negotiations are now urgent, as the stadium is a big piece of a massive lakefront development plan long in the works. Delays in planning could jeopardize federal funding, officials have said. Ironically, the Haslams sparked the lakefront planning when Frank Jackson was mayor, saying at the time that the stadium would be a big part of it. With the lakefront planning well under way, the Haslams announced earlier this year they would explore abandoning the lakefront for Brook Park.
The Browns lease for the lakefront stadium expires following the 2028 season.
Here is a copy of the county’s letter to the Haslams.
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