Cuyahoga County says no to a Browns stadium in Brook Park (2024)

Cuyahoga County leaders on Sunday indicated that they won’t commit county money toward a new Browns stadium in Brook Park.

County Executive Chris Ronayne and Council President Pernel Jones Jr. sent a letter to Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam on Sunday encouraging them to keep the team’s stadium in downtown Cleveland.

The county commands significant financial resources that could have been used toward the public’s half of the proposed $2.4 billion cost of a roofed Brook Park stadium. In the past, the county has used sin tax, sales tax and hotel bed tax proceeds in stadium projects.

But by writing their letter, Ronayne and Jones appeared to close the door on the possibility of taking on debt for the suburban project.

“The proposal to build a new stadium in Brook Park does not make fiscal sense for Cuyahoga County residents and taxpayers,” Ronayne and Jones wrote. “Moreover, any proposal that would create an unacceptable risk to the County’s general fund cannot be considered.”

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb is offering $461 million for a $1 billion renovation of the current stadium on the lakefront. The Browns last week signaled that the team would rather go to Brook Park, calling City Hall’s renovation plan a “complex and challenging proposition.”

The Haslams released a statement of their own on Sunday evening encouraging Northeast Ohio leaders not to cross out any stadium options just yet:

A stadium project that could be a transformational opportunity for this region will take deep thought, objectivity, innovation, and patience. The process of renovating or building a new stadium is incredibly complex. We have been reminded many times that the issues with the current stadium resulted from a rushed process that was not thorough and don’t want that repeated. We have received the county’s response and are still in the process of gathering information and doing diligence on both paths. It would be short-sighted for Northeast Ohio to rule out any options at this point for a long-term decision of this magnitude. We look forward to the City of Cleveland’s responses to our detailed questions regarding their proposal from last week and we remain committed to collaborating and communicating with all parties involved. Workingtogether and keeping an open mind while thoroughly vetting this project is critical to achieving the goalof finding and executing the best long-term, sustainable stadium solution for this region.

State leaders are at least considering the idea of selling $600 million in bonds to assist with a new stadium. State Sen. Matt Dolan, whose family owns the Guardians, said the idea could be a “win-win” in an interview last month with the Statehouse News Bureau’s Karen Kasler.

Ronayne and Jones wrote that the Browns should capitalize on the downtown investments already made at the arena and ballpark, convention center and hotel, new Sherwin Williams headquarters and other projects.

“The team represents the heart and soul of Northeast Ohio and reinforces our community’s identity and pride,” Ronayne and Jones wrote. “Browns fans have a deep-rooted emotional connection to the team’s rich history in Downtown Cleveland.”

Although it went unmentioned in the letter, county leaders already have their hands full with the dual megaprojects of a new courthouse complex and jail. Plus, the city and county face ongoing renovation costs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and Progressive Field.

Selling bonds is only one part of the equation. Someone has to pay that debt back, plus interest. The Browns said they’re considering “innovative funding mechanisms” that “leverage the fiscal impact of the project,” but haven’t publicly laid out how the financing would work.

For now, fans still have plenty of time to watch games in the current stadium as the Browns begin their preseason. A recent engineering audit found the stadium to be well maintained and “in good condition considering the age of the facility.” That said, it does need some fixing up. As Signal Cleveland reported back in June, the audit laid out millions of dollars in short-term repairs.