The costs could range from $500 Million to more than a billion dollars for taxpayers.
Ohio lawmakers now have a general idea of how much public money it will take to make Dee and Jimmy Haslam, the owners of the National Football League’s Cleveland Browns franchise, dream come true for their stadium needs. It will cost about $600 million to renovate the present Cleveland stadium next to Lake Erie or about $1.2 billion to build a domed stadium along with a village surrounding the venue in Brook Park, Ohio. The Haslam’s present 25-year-old stadium was built after then Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell took his version of the Cleveland Browns NFL franchise to Baltimore in 1995. Local Cleveland area politicians quickly cut a deal with the NFL with the promise of the NFL returning to Cleveland after a new stadium was built. The second version of the Cleveland Browns franchise took to the field in 1999. The stadium cost local taxpayers around $283 million. The renovation of the present stadium could cost $1 billion while a Brook Park domed stadium could cost $2 billion. The Haslams might pay up to a billion dollars on a Brook Park facility but would need the rest of the money from local, regional and state taxpayers.
It appears the Haslams are not certain which road they will pursue. Jimmy Haslam said earlier this year, “I think it’s fair to say that in all likelihood we’re either going to remodel on the lakefront with an extensive remodel or build a new stadium, which would be a dome. Because if we did go the dome route, I’m not saying we’re doing that vs. remodeling where we are now, it could be used more than 12 times a year.” Haslam claimed that he will not be moving out of northeast Ohio. The 176-acre Brook Park property used to host two Ford automobile plants. The Cleveland stadium game has kicked off.
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