NFL’s Browns plan to leave Cleveland stadium for dome in the suburbs

The National Football League’s Cleveland Browns are leaving the shores of Lake Erie.

The Browns plan to leave their current open-air stadium in the city of Cleveland for a yet-to-be-built domed stadium in Brook Park, Ohio, according to a press release from Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb that was later confirmed by the Browns owners.

Jimmy and Dee Haslam, the principals of the ownership group that owns the Browns, notified Bibb of their plan to move on Wednesday night, according to Bibb. He announced the news in a scathing Thursday press release in which he called the Haslams’ choice “driven by a desire to maximize profits rather than positive impact.”

“They had the opportunity to reinvest in Cleveland, transform the current stadium into a world-class facility, enhance the fan experience, and remain highly profitable,” Bibb said. “We put those options on the table in good faith. Unfortunately, that was not enough.”

In a joint statement, the Haslams said it was essential that the team had a domed stadium for “year-round activity,” and the economics of building a dome on some designated land that was still on the lake in the city of Cleveland did not make sense.

Huntington Bank Field, where the Browns currently play, hosts concerts and other non-football events, but the harsh weather limits the number of events on an annual basis. The lease for the Browns’ current stadium expires after the 2028 NFL season, so the plan is to open up the 2029 season at the Brook Park dome, according to a spokesperson for the Cleveland Browns.

A stadium’s ability to generate income from non-football events has gotten even more attention lately. One NFL stadium netted $4 million in revenue per show during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in 2023, CNBC earlier reported.

The Brook Park dome will not use existing taxpayer dollars, the release said.

“Instead, the over $2 billion private investment, together with the public investment, will create a major economic development project that will drive the activity necessary to pay the public bond debt service through future project-generated and Browns-generated revenue,” the Haslams said in the release, while also emphasizing they were still committed to bettering the city of Cleveland.

The Browns’ departure will cost the city of Cleveland $30 million per year in economic impact, according to the mayor’s release. The city is still open to resuming negotiations if the Brook Park venue does not work out, Bibb said.

The City of Cleveland and Haslam Sports Group have been negotiating about renovating the existing stadium or potentially building a new one in Cleveland. But the Haslam Sports Group had also been considering a $2.4 billion dome in Brook Park, according to the Associated Press, and intends to go with that option.

Brook Park is just more than 16 miles from the Browns’ current stadium, which was built in 1999.

The Browns are valued at $6.02 billion, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations. The Browns recently reached a naming rights agreement with Huntington National Bank for their current stadium.