CLEVELAND — A proposed change in state law would let Ohio make an outsize investment in a new Browns stadium in Brook Park – but it would leave the Cincinnati Bengals on the sidelines.
That’s based on a draft budget amendment that’s circulating in Columbus, where the General Assembly is weighing the Browns’ request for $600 million to help finance an enclosed suburban stadium. The proposal essentially would create a new state incentive program for so-called “transformational” mixed-use districts anchored by major sports facilities.
But the draft language said those districts could only be created in counties with a population of more than 1 million people. That’s just two counties – Cuyahoga and Franklin.
Hamilton County, home to Cincinnati, has a population of about 837,000, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That means the Bengals, who are exploring a $1.2 billion makeover of Paycor Stadium on the Cincinnati riverfront, wouldn’t qualify.
State legislators told News 5 on Wednesday afternoon that the population language was “likely an oversight.” The possible amendment, from the House Committee on the Arts, Athletics and Tourism, hasn’t been introduced. It could still change significantly.
The draft amendment would do two things.
It would enable the state to cover 30% of the construction costs for a major sports facility that’s the centerpiece of a larger, mixed-use development project. Today, the state caps its contribution to sports facilities at 15% of the construction costs.
The proposal also would let the state issue $600 million in bonds for the Brook Park stadium. The Browns said the stadium will cost $2.4 billion. It will be surrounded by private development, including apartments, hotels, offices, retail and a sea of parking lots.
Haslam Sports Group, which owns the team, is asking state and local governments to chip in $1.2 billion by issuing bonds – debt the public sector would repay, with interest, over 25 years using tax revenues from the entire 176-acre Brook Park stadium district.
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The Browns are asking state lawmakers to include the financing in the next biennial budget, which must be approved by late June.
The team is asking Cuyahoga County to issue the remaining $600 million in bonds – an ask that County Executive Chris Ronayne has repeatedly rejected, saying it’s too much risk for the county to bear at a time when there are other major projects, from a new jail to a consolidated courthouse, on the horizon.
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The Browns are racing the clock to put the Brook Park deal together and get shovels in the ground. Their lease at publicly owned Huntington Bank Field in Downtown Cleveland ends in early 2029. If they’re going to start the 2029 NFL season in Brook Park, they need to close on their land purchase and start construction by early next year.
During a presentation last month, Browns General Counsel Ted Tywang told state lawmakers that the team's public-financing proposal could be a template for other investments in major sports facilities.
"I think we know the history of sports facility funding in Ohio," he said. "And I think we knew that we needed to be more creative than that."
News 5 statehouse reporter Morgan Trau contributed to this article.
