CLEVELAND — The owners of the Cleveland Browns marked a win on Tuesday, thanking lawmakers and Gov. Mike DeWine for including a $600 million stadium grant in the next state budget.
In a written statement, Jimmy and Dee Haslam touted their plan to build an indoor stadium and mixed-use entertainment district in Brook Park on 176 acres near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
They didn’t touch on what comes next – and what else it will take to make that ambitious vision a reality.
“Our fans deserve a world-class facility, and we are committed to building a state-of-the-art, enclosed stadium that resonates with Cleveland, highlighting our loyal and passionate fans and the Dawg Pound, while also incorporating innovation, bold design and an immersive experience,” the Haslams wrote.
They said the new Huntington Bank Field will be “fan-centric,” with a unique design for an NFL venue. Renderings released by Haslam Sports Group last year show a stadium sunk 80 feet into the ground, flanked by parking lots, hotels, apartment buildings, offices, retail and restaurants.
The Browns aim to move to Brook Park in 2029, after the end of the team’s lease at the existing lakefront stadium, which the city of Cleveland owns.
In an emailed statement on Tuesday, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb expressed disappointment in the budget and state lawmakers' maneuvers to smooth the road to Brook Park for the Browns.
"Relocating the Browns will divert economic activity from Downtown, create a competing entertainment district and disrupt the momentum of our lakefront redevelopment," Bibb wrote. "It will also trigger substantial taxpayer-funded infrastructure upgrades - including highway reconfigurations and public safety enhancements - adding significant public costs on top of the stadium itself."
Bibb reiterated his commitment to remaking the city's Downtown lakefront, with or without the Browns.
"For decades, Clevelanders have dreamed about the opportunity at our lakefront, and we want to deliver on that shared vision for the future," he wrote.
The Haslams have described their Brook Park plans – for a $2.4 billion stadium and roughly $1 billion worth of neighboring private development – as one of the largest economic development projects in the region’s history.
They’re looking to taxpayers to cover up to $1.2 billion of the tab for the stadium. Landing a $600 million state grant as part of the massive two-year spending bill DeWine signed late Monday night gets them halfway to that goal line.
But there’s still a lot more work to do.
RELATED: Gov. Mike DeWine signs state budget, including $600 million for a new Browns stadium
“We respect the firm commitment and leadership that Governor DeWine and the Ohio Senate and House have shown in their collaborative work to find a responsible way to support such a transformative project, one that will create a generational impact for our region and the state,” the Haslams wrote.
After considering proposals to double the state’s tax on sports-gaming companies’ profits or issue bonds to help pay for the stadium, Republican state lawmakers took another route to come up with the cash.
They turned to the $4.8 billion pot of unclaimed funds that Ohio is safeguarding for other people – misplaced money from old bank accounts, life insurance payouts, utility deposits, uncashed checks and other sources.
The budget calls for the state to take ownership of unclaimed funds that have been sitting for at least a decade, starting with $1.7 billion. Some of the money will go into a new sports and cultural facilities fund, creating a long-term source to help pay for projects.
"Look, it wasn't my choice of where to take the money. But I achieved the two objectives that I thought were the most important," said DeWine, who has argued for months that the state needs a sustainable way to invest in sports facilities without putting money for schools, mental-health programs and other everyday priorities at risk.
But the ultimate plan, which will cut off people’s ability to claim their missing money after 10 years, prompted pushback from national unclaimed-property experts and some lawmakers.
RELATED: Experts raise red flags about Ohio lawmakers' plan to take unclaimed funds
Two Northeast Ohio lawyers announced last week that they plan to file a class-action lawsuit to block the state from taking legal ownership of the money. The attorneys, former Ohio attorney general Marc Dann and former state representative Jeff Crossman, say the proposal will violate property-rights protections in the U.S. and Ohio constitutions.
RELATED: Lawyers plan to sue if state takes unclaimed funds for Browns
Early Tuesday, Crossman said he and Dann are updating their complaint and expect to file the lawsuit soon in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
In the budget bill, state lawmakers undercut another legal challenge to the new stadium plan by changing the wording of an Ohio law designed to give cities more leverage when pro sports teams want to leave publicly subsidized facilities. A last-minute addition to the budget tweaked the so-called Modell law, which requires teams looking to relocate to negotiate an exit deal with their host city or offer a six-month window for local investors to buy the team.
The new language says the law only applies to teams that are looking to leave Ohio, mirroring an argument the Browns have been making in a court fight with Cleveland.
RELATED: Lawmakers make changes to the Modell law as part of the state budget bill
On Tuesday, Bibb said the city tried to get the Modell law changes removed from the budget.
"Undermining this statute sets a troubling precedent and leaves cities like Cleveland with fewer tools to safeguard long-standing public assets," he wrote in his emailed statement.
Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne also criticized the final budget, including the state grant for the Browns. He continues to reject Haslam Sports Group's request for the county to borrow $600 million for the new stadium by issuing bonds tied to Brook Park tax revenues, a proposed bed-tax hike at local hotels and a new countywide fee on rental cars.
"They're gonna have to use their own money to finish the job," Ronayne said of the Haslams during an unrelated event on Tuesday morning.
"The state of Ohio and its legislative leaders keep saying this is economic development," he added. "It's not economic development. It's extraction. It's economic extraction from the city center."
On Monday, Brook Park Mayor Edward Orcutt told News 5 that he's optimistic about bringing a huge project to his community.
A Haslam Sports Group affiliate bought the future stadium site just last week, and the city is preparing to rezone the industrial land to make way for mixed-use development.
"I still think that the county needs to be a part of this," Orcutt said. "And I look forward to having that opportunity to continue to work with the county executive and see what role ... they can play."
RELATED: Brook Park moves to rezone potential Browns stadium site - but is still hashing out a deal
