The proposed $2.4 billion domed stadium would be built in Brook Park, adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and about 15 miles (24.14 kilometers) south of downtown Cleveland. The Browns look to begin construction next year and begin play at their new home in 2029, after completing their 30-year lease at Huntington Bank Field.
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That venue opened in 1999 as Cleveland Browns Stadium. It replaced Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which operated from 1931 until its demolition in 1996.
Haslam Sports Group, the company founded by Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, their daughter and son-in-law, agreed to pay the city $25 million by Dec. 1 and raze the current stadium to a “shovel-ready state.” The cost of demolition is estimated at $30 million.
The Haslams will also pay Cleveland $5 million annually from 2029 to 2033, as well as $2 million per year from 2029 to 2038 for community benefit projects.
The deal still must be approved by the Cleveland City Council.
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“This $100 million investment continues our lakefront momentum and economic resurgence,” Bibb said in a statement. “This deal puts Lakefront on the path to transformative development and the Browns on the path to a world-class facility in Brook Park. This is the right solution for the city and the region. Cleveland’s time is now. We are a city that leads the region, is open for business and knows how to achieve great things.”
Both parties will also work together on transport infrastructure to avoid traffic jams at the new site. The city and the Haslams will also collaborate on a new road network designed to serve both Brook Park stadium and the airport.
Both sides also agreed to drop their lawsuits. The Browns sued the city and state of Ohio in federal court last year, alleging that the state’s “model law” was unconstitutional. The law, enacted after Art Modell moved the original Browns to Baltimore in 1996, requires franchises that play in taxpayer-funded facilities to give the city or local investors the opportunity to buy the team before moving.
The city filed suit in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, arguing that the Browns violated their lease and that the Modell law still applied due to nearly $500 million in renovations. The city also appealed the Ohio Department of Transportation’s approval of the proposed 221-foot height of the new stadium.
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ODOT decided not to enforce the height limit, which is 150 feet above the airport’s ground elevation, after an independent consultant determined that construction of the stadium would not change any flight paths. The building will have signage and lighting required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Thanks to Mayor Bibb’s leadership and this monumental public-private partnership, we are accelerating the transformation of Cleveland’s lakefront as we deliver a new world-class stadium and mixed-use development in Brook Park. It’s a win for the city, the region and the fans,” Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement. “We will always be the Cleveland Browns, and this agreement reflects a continued commitment by the Haslam/Johnson family to strategically invest in community programs in the city of Cleveland, building on the family’s continued charitable giving throughout the region since assuming leadership of the Cleveland Browns in 2013.
The new stadium would be built on the former site of a Ford Motor Co. plant. It would be located 80 feet underground and 221 feet above ground.
The Browns are paying $1.2 billion for construction and will receive $600 million from the state. The team hopes to fill the remaining financial gap after discussions with Brook Park officials.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl