Cleveland’s mayor says the Browns are moving forward with a domed stadium at Brook Park

The Cleveland Browns intend to build a new domed stadium in Brook Park, Ohio, and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and… The team confirmed Thursday.

Beebe revealed during a press conference at City Hall that Haslam Sports Group, headed by Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, has decided not to pursue a major renovation of the Browns’ existing lakefront stadium outside of downtown Cleveland and will instead move to suburban Brook. garden. In a Separate statementPep confirmed that the Haslam family delivered the news during a meeting on Wednesday evening.

He described the decision as “very disappointing and disappointing.”

“Over the past two years, this administration has made relentless efforts to craft solutions that advance HSG’s goals and the long-term interests of our residents and the broader community,” Beebe said in the statement. “We have put forward a fiscally responsible but aggressive financial package – larger than any other financial package offered to a Cleveland sports facility to renovate an existing stadium.

“When the Haslam family changed course and abandoned its renovation plans, we focused on exploring options for a new stadium and offered to make part of Burke Lakefront Airport available to the team to redevelop to include a new domed stadium and adjacent development, comparable to – arguably better – than the vision proposed by the Haslam Sports Group. Group for Brook Park but the organization was not interested in pursuing that option.”

The Browns’ lease with the City of Cleveland is set to expire at the end of the 2028 season, paving the way for a new home in the coming years.

Huntington Bank Field, the Browns’ current home stadium, is located adjacent to Lake Erie and Ohio Route 2, which separates it from downtown Cleveland. Getting traffic in and out of stadium events can be a nightmare and parking can be difficult. At Brook Park, the Haslams could have plenty of parking — that’s certainly part of their thinking, even with the potential need for additional lanes and freeway ramps to help with traffic flow. The Haslams didn’t want to go public with the team at 1-5, but the decision had long been finalized.

In August, Brown announced their intentions To move to Brook Park, located about 13 miles southwest of the current stadium, because it was their “most compelling option,” describing it as a $2.4 billion project.

At the time, the Browns said they decided with the city of Cleveland that the Burke Lakefront Airport option was not feasible, and that they could not put a dome over Huntington Bank Field “due to economic and FAA restrictions.” In its official statement on Thursday, the team cited “significant design, construction, geotechnical and environmental challenges” at the Burke site after completing “further diligence”.

“We have exhausted every option to keep Brown in our great city without compromising our city’s general revenues,” Beebe told reporters Thursday.

The Browns have played in their current building since the franchise returned to the NFL in 1999. The new stadium will likely retain its title as Huntington Bank Field; Huntington Bank approved a 20-year lease for the Brown family’s “existing or new home” in September.

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(Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images)