Team will learn if the state is funding $600M of domed stadium project this summer. If not, then Browns will move to “Plan B.”
Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam took full advantage of the media accessibility on Monday at the NFL’s annual league meeting in Florida.
Haslam revealed what everyone has known for a while: the club missed badly with the trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson. Staying with the quarterback theme, he also shared that the club is still evaluating the bargain bin of free-agent quarterbacks, with Joe Flacco “still in the conversation” for a potential return to Cleveland.
While those are short-term problems, Haslam continues to focus on the big long-term project of getting a domed stadium and a surrounding entertainment complex built in the suburban city of Brook Park.
The franchise is still working toward making that a reality, but they need public funding to cover half the project, which continues to be a sticking point for Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne, who prefer that the Browns stay downtown.
A key portion of the public funding will come from the state of Ohio in the form of $600 million. State officials seem to be on board with the plan but are still in disagreement about where the money will come from.
Gov. Mike DeWine has proposed increasing the tax on the companies that operate sports betting apps in the state to fund a pool of money that teams and youth sports programs across the state can tap into. Legislators are not keen on that idea, preferring that the state borrow the money.
#Browns owner Jimmy Haslam expects to know on June 30th if Ohio will come through on $600 million in funding for the enclosed new stadium in Brook Park; if not, they’ll revert to renovating the existing stadium: –> https://t.co/9DVPUnneG1
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) March 31, 2025
On Monday, Haslam said he expects to have an answer from the state by the end of June, which would then allow the Browns to break ground on the new stadium early in 2026 even if potential funding from the county is not in place, according to Mary Kay Cabot at cleveland.com:
“I mean here’s the positive: we will know on the state funding by June 30. And so assuming that goes well, then we can then move quickly to try to start sometime in the first quarter of ‘26. So this is not going to be a drawn-out two or four-year deal. It’s either going to happen and happen quickly or we’ll go to plan B.”
And just what is this “plan B?” Well, that would be renovating the current stadium to the tune of around $1 billion.
The team is so far down the road on the domed stadium plan that it would be a surprise, and surely a disappointment for the owners, if that falls through and they shift to renovating the current stadium.
For now, though, ownership remains focused on getting the rest of the funding in place for the new stadium, which, if all goes to plan, would be ready for the 2029 season.