CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns have released a rendering of what a renovated Cleveland lakefront stadium could look like, following the image being leaked online.
Scene published a leaked photo of the rendering early Wednesday morning.
The Browns provided News 5 with the rendering, stating that the image came from a shelved renovation plan.
Before announcing their desire to build a new, enclosed stadium and mixed-use entertainment district in Brook Park last year, the team explored options for refitting the 25-year-old lakefront stadium but decided it didn’t make sense.
Last month, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne asked Ohio Senate leaders to include $350 million for stadium renovations in the next state budget. He argues that’s a wiser – and more fiscally responsible – choice than putting $600 million in state money into the Brook Park project.
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Despite Ronayne's push to keep the team's playing field in Cleveland, the Browns have stood by their choice to move. They’ve asked the state to issue $600 million in bonds to help pay for the new stadium — debt the state would repay, with interest, over 25 years, using tax revenues from the entire Brook Park stadium district. The General Assembly is debating that proposal – and how to deal with stadium financing more broadly — as part of state budget talks.
RELATED: Browns reveal more details about Brook Park plans in a pitch to state lawmakers
Dave Jenkins, the chief operating officer of Haslam Sports Group, provided News 5 with the following statement about the Downtown stadium rendering and the team's dedication to moving to Brook Park once the team’s lease expires for Huntington Bank Field — which the City of Cleveland owns — in 2029.
Browns Statement:
“As we have consistently communicated, we methodically explored the lakefront renovation for several years, and it became abundantly clear that putting any money into renovating the current open-air stadium is a short-sighted, short-term fix that will only create the same issues down the road and also will impede the City of Cleveland’s opportunity to finally re-imagine the lakefront. Those renderings were created as part of a process almost three years ago. We haven’t had substantive renovation discussions in months and have never been presented with a viable funding plan for a renovation from Cuyahoga County or the City of Cleveland to pair with our private investment. The Haslam Sports Group is committed to contributing $1.2 billion to the Brook Park enclosed stadium and contrary to County Executive Chris Ronayne’s consistently misinformed statements, the rest of the proposed public component will be public bonding, not grants, and will be paid back with revenue from the project and does not rely on existing taxpayer streams. We also appreciate and respect that Governor DeWine has communicated his support for a dome stadium and what it can mean for the State of Ohio. It has become increasingly disheartening to see local politicians lobbying against an unprecedented $3+ billion economic development project with substantial State investment in Northeast Ohio that would generate hundreds of millions of dollars for public stakeholders, especially at a time when these very same politicians are speaking of economic hardships and development challenges in this region. We are confident that an enclosed stadium and mixed-use development in Brook Park utilized year-round is the only reasonable long-term solution for our organization and the region. This project will allow our lakefront to thrive, generate hundreds of millions of dollars for Northeast Ohio to use on other community needs, and, when paired with yesterday’s airport modernization announcement, will serve as another catalyst for transforming our region.”
