COLUMBUS, Ohio — State legislators are advancing a plan to help the Cleveland Browns finance a new, enclosed stadium in Brook Park — and leave Downtown Cleveland in 2029.
The team is now a step closer to getting $600 million from state-issued bonds under the just-revealed Ohio House version of the next biennial budget. However, the budget bill still needs to be vetted by the Ohio Senate and will require approval from Gov. Mike DeWine, who has veto power over spending.
Browns get $600m from lawmakers in bonds in the proposed budget.
— Morgan Trau (@MorganTrau) April 1, 2025
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Since the team's announcement last year that the goal was to leave the lakefront and move to the suburbs, the clock has been ticking to get financing in order to break ground in early 2026. The new stadium will take several years to build, and the Browns hope to start playing there at the beginning of the 2029 NFL season.
Now, members of the Ohio House are paving the way for the project. The House's budget proposal, released Tuesday afternoon, would allow the state to issue $600 million in bonds to help pay for the stadium.
And House members scrapped an alternative proposal from DeWine, who wants to increase taxes on sports-betting companies' profits to pay to build and renovate pro sports facilities and invest in youth sports across the state.
The House's budget proposal would change state law to allow lawmakers to make unprecedented financing commitments to certain pro sports projects. Those outsized incentives would be available for stadiums and arenas that anchor major mixed-use development districts, like the sprawling project the Browns are planning in Brook Park.
RELATED: Plan to pay for stadium in Cleveland leaves Cincinnati on the sidelines
The Browns are seeking $1.2 billion in taxpayer money to help pay for their new stadium, which could cost $2.4 billion to construct. Half of that public funding would come from the state.
The team has asked Cuyahoga County to issue $600 million in bonds as well — a request that Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne has repeatedly rejected as too risky for taxpayers. He says participating in the Brook Park project would put the county's credit rating at risk.
The Browns say the state money is make-or-break for the project. On Monday, owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam told reporters that they're exploring alternatives to the county financing, but the Haslams haven't said precisely how they would fill that $600 million gap.
"We will know on the state funding by June 30th, OK?" Jimmy Haslam said Monday during NFL league meetings in Florida, according to an audio recording shared with News 5 by ESPN.
"So this is not gonna be a drawn-out ... deal. It's either gonna happen and happen quickly, or we'll go to plan B," he added.
Plan B is renovating the existing Downtown stadium, which the City of Cleveland owns. Browns executives have continued to talk to Cleveland about a renovation, even though the team clearly prefers the Brook Park plan.
The suburban project — much more than a domed stadium — would remake 176 acres near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Haslam Sports Group's plans include new restaurants, apartments, entertainment venues, hotels, offices, and 12,000 to 14,000 surface parking spaces.
Haslam Sports Group claims the project will more than pay for itself in time, bringing an influx of cash to Northeast Ohio. The idea is that public-sector entities, including the state, will make debt-service payments on the bonds using a wide range of tax revenues generated by the entire mixed-use district.
But in recent interviews with News 5, finance experts have questioned the team's math, saying there's been far too little information released with so much public money at stake. Last week, Democratic Ohio House members asked for more public hearings and an independent analysis to prove that everything could actually work in Brook Park.
RELATED: Finance experts, lawmakers ask Browns to explain their math
DeWine has also voiced his opinion that giving the Browns money for the project through an amendment would open up a can of worms for other sports teams to ask for funding — something Ohio's coffers couldn't afford.
RELATED: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine trying to sack lawmakers' proposal to give $600 million to Browns
While the Browns may get this money, the Cincinnati Bengals have been left out of the conversation.
In a draft of the substitute bill, we noticed that the language would only allow the state to fund projects in counties with at least one million people. Hamilton County has about 830,000.
We asked lawmakers about this last week, and they said it was a mistake.
Today, finance chair Brian Stewart said the Bengals were excluded purposely.
"No, it's not an accident," he responded when we followed up. "This amendment is designed to refer to the Brook Park proposal only ... Look, we've not received an ask about any other proposal ... We'll deal with Southwest Ohio whenever folks make an ask."
Bengals are working on a $1.25 billion stadium renovation as their lease expires next year.
