Browns Stadium Could be Covered in Material that May Have Caused Tragic London Fire

FirstEnergy Stadium may be covered in the same aluminum panels possibly responsible for the Grenfell Tower fire.

The Browns’ home stadium may have been constructed using a material investigators believe could be responsible for a massive apartment building fire in London last month, according to the Associated Press.

Promotional brochures for Reynobond aluminum panels made by Arconic Inc. say the paneling was installed on FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, a Baltimore hotel, Alaska high school, Dallas airport, Denver office building and other buildings. It isn’t clear whether the stadium, or the other structures, were actually built with the Reynobond panels because in many cases building records are incomplete. A spokesman for Cleveland’s mayor did not specify to the AP whether the stadium was built with the material in question. 

The paneling was installed at the 24-story Grenfell Tower apartment complex in London that went up in flames in June, killing at least 80 people. The Reynobond panels are known to be combustible and are therefore not recommended for use in buildings over four stories high. Investigators are looking into whether the exterior panels were responsible for the rapid spread of the blaze.

Construction on FirstEnergy Stadium began in 1997 and was completed in 1999. The stadium was renovated in 2014.