CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns still aim to move to a new, enclosed stadium in Brook Park in 2029. But they would have the option to stay put on the Downtown lakefront for two additional years – until early 2031 – under a proposed settlement deal with the city of Cleveland.
That detail is part of a four-page term sheet – an agreement in principle – signed this week by Mark Griffin, Cleveland’s law director, and Ted Tywang, general counsel and chief administrative officer for Haslam Sports Group.
Mayor Justin Bibb and Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam announced Monday that they’re ready to end a legal fight over the Brook Park stadium move. On Friday, the city announced that the parties had taken an initial step toward formalizing their agreement.
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The city released the term sheet in response to a request from News 5.
Most of the deal terms are what Bibb outlined Monday, during a news conference at City Hall. Haslam Sports Group has agreed to demolish the existing, city-owned stadium at an estimated cost of $30 million; give $50 million to the city for lakefront development; and spend at least $20 million on “community benefits projects” over a decade.
But the prospect of a lease extension is new. The team’s existing lease at city-owned Huntington Bank Field is scheduled to end on Feb. 1, 2029. The term sheet says the Browns will have two one-year extension options – without having to negotiate new lease terms.
A Haslam Sports Group spokesman said Friday that the Browns have no intention of extending their lease. They’re still determined to break ground for the Brook Park project in the spring, with the goal of opening the stadium, new hotels, apartments and nearby retail in the spring or summer of 2029.
But the proposed settlement gives them some wiggle room.
Cleveland City Council has scheduled a hearing on the deal at 10 a.m. on Monday. In a memo to his colleagues this week, Council President Blaine Griffin said he’s told the city’s law director not to dismiss any lawsuits against the Browns without council approval.
“This discussion must proceed with the utmost urgency to secure the best possible agreement for the residents of Cleveland,” Griffin wrote. “We must proceed collaboratively and with a unified front as we move toward a resolution on this matter.”
The city’s charter gives the law director authority to settle legal claims. Council has control over the purse strings. On Friday, the Bibb administration confirmed that the council will need to sign off on certain aspects of the settlement deal, including demolition of the city-owned stadium and accepting donations.
The administration expects to introduce legislation related to the deal on Monday.
This week, after announcing that they’d reached a deal, the city and Haslam Sports Group pressed pause on their dueling lawsuits over the stadium move. Cleveland also asked for a stay in its lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Transportation’s aviation office over the agency’s decision to approve a permit and a height waiver for the Brook Park stadium.
The Bibb administration and Haslam Sports Group are hoping to finalize their deal by Nov. 24. Cleveland will receive the first $25 million once the settlement is fully approved.
The term sheet clarifies that the up-front payment to the city could be treated as a donation. So could five annual payments of $5 million between 2029 and 2033. All of that money would be earmarked for lakefront development.
The document says the $20 million for “community benefits projects” will be spent “for the benefit of the city and downtown Cleveland lakefront.”
The term sheet says the city will publicly acknowledge that last bucket of money as donations from the Browns and the Haslam and Johnson families. Dee and Jimmy Haslam founded Haslam Sports Group with their daughter Whitney and her husband, JW Johnson.
Cleveland and Haslam Sports Group have agreed to pay their own legal fees.
They’ve also committed to working together to ensure that the Brook Park stadium project doesn’t interfere with operations at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, just west of the development site. And they’ve pledged to work together on planning for roads and other public infrastructure in the area.
The term sheet calls for Cleveland to help the Browns with “public safety planning” and utilities related to the Brook Park project. And it says an income tax-sharing agreement between Cleveland and Berea, where the Browns’ headquarters are located, will end when the team stops playing at the lakefront stadium.
If the Browns run into insurmountable obstacles in Brook Park and end up staying in Cleveland, the city will keep the initial $25 million payment. But Haslam Sports Group will not have to make the remaining $45 million in payments, or donations – and won’t have to pick up the tab to demolish the existing stadium, according to the term sheet.
