BROOK PARK, Ohio — The early pieces of Brook Park’s deal with Cleveland Browns owner Haslam Sports Group are coming into focus — even as Mayor Edward Orcutt continues to negotiate a final development playbook for a $2.6 billion stadium and the surrounding site.
Legislation headed to Brook Park City Council for an initial discussion on Tuesday shows what the city stands to give — and get — under a pre-development agreement.
The legislation confirms that the stadium is likely to be owned by a new community authority, a public entity that hasn’t been created yet. Now Orcutt is asking City Council to authorize a sales-tax break on purchases of construction materials for the project.
That break, covering state and local sales taxes, is likely to be worth tens of millions of dollars — on hundreds of millions of dollars in building supplies. During a phone interview Monday, Orcutt said he couldn’t put a firm number on the value of that tax exemption.
"Every dollar matters on this project to make it a reality,” he said.
Brook Park also expects to forgo permitting fees on construction, according to the pre-development agreement. Orcutt said those fees are likely to add up to something “in the lower millions of dollars" on a massive building that could require thousands of inspections between now and the summer of 2029.
In exchange, a Haslam Sports Group affiliate will front $24.8 million to Brook Park over the next four years to help the city prepare for an NFL team and an influx of visitors and fans. The city will get that money in installments, starting with $800,000 when the pre-development deal is signed, and followed by monthly payments escalating from $250,000 in 2026 to $750,000 in 2029.
Orcutt said the payments will help the suburb cover its “start-up costs,” from buying new police cars and ambulances to hiring more people, upgrading sidewalks and installing hundreds of traffic cameras. But the pre-development agreement shows the city eventually will have to pay that money back — using city income-tax revenues, admissions-tax revenues and other tax revenues generated by the nearly 180-acre stadium district.
"They’re fronting it,” Orcutt confirmed by phone, “and we will continue to work on a development agreement that makes financial sense for the city of Brook Park.”
The pending legislation offers a first glimpse at where Brook Park is headed with the Browns. But there are still a lot of unanswered questions — and many details to come.
Haslam Sports Group’s most recent financing proposal for the stadium calls for a $245 million contribution from Brook Park — up-front cash from bonds. That debt would be repaid using future city income-tax and admissions-tax revenues from the entire district, according to a team presentation.
The pre-development agreement mentions that the new community authority would issue those bonds. But first, Brook Park City Council would have to vote to create the special stadium authority through a partnership between the city and a Haslam Sports Group affiliate.
"Since we’re in the middle of negotiations and nothing is definitive … at this time, I do not want to get into the specifics of revenue sources or obligations,” Orcutt said.
New community authorities can charge fees — and borrow against those anticipated fees — on real estate values and a wide range of activities across a district, from hotel stays to t-shirt purchases, bar tabs and parking.
They can issue bonds for the construction of stadiums and other “community facilities,” taking the weight of issuing and servicing debt off local governments.
And language tucked into Ohio’s operating budget bill last year notes that certain sports facilities owned by new community authorities are eligible for property-tax breaks, as well.
In 2019, Columbus City Council launched a new community authority to own the Columbus Crew’s soccer stadium. Haslam Sports Group is the owner of that team.
Orcutt said Brook Park City Council and residents could see enabling legislation for a new community authority in May or early June.
He hopes council will see the broader development agreement — a lengthy document that will outline the local financing plan and expectations for both the city and Haslam Sports Group — by June.
"At this time, we're not negotiating publicly,” Orcutt said in response to questions about other aspects of the emerging deal.
"We are working with our partners,” he added. “And … trying to have this public-private agreement where we will have success leading up to kickoff in 2029 — and for the next 30, 40, 50 years.”
Council is set to talk about the initial legislation and pre-development deal during a caucus meeting that starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Orcutt doesn’t expect an immediate vote.
With the goal of moving the Browns from Cleveland to Brook Park in 2029, Haslam Sports Group is already digging a deep hole where the new stadium will sit. A celebratory groundbreaking is scheduled for April 30.
But a $600 million state grant for the project is still tied up in court, where Ohioans are challenging the state’s move to permanently take unclaimed funds — missing money Ohio’s been safeguarding for people, businesses, nonprofits and government entities — to help pay for pro-sports facilities.
Michelle Jarboe is the business growth and development reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @MJarboe or email her at Michelle.Jarboe@wews.com.
