Browns, City Of Cleveland Prioritizing Future Stadium Plans Downtown

As conversations continue over future plans for a stadium both the Browns and Cleveland city officials, like Mayor Justin Bibb are prioritizing keeping the team playing its games downtown

The future of the Cleveland Browns stadium remains in flux as city officials and the franchise continue having conversations about the most viable way to provide an updated NFL facility. 

Reports have suggested those discussions have centered around two potential options, one that would see an overhaul of the Browns current home in an effort to modernize the stadium. The other consists of constructing a completely new venue, which is obviously a massive undertaking and expensive.

While those discussions are still ongoing and nothing has been made official to this point, one thing that seems abundantly clear is that all parties involved are prioritizing keeping the stadium downtown.

"I think the future is bright," city Mayor Justin Bibb told 92.3 The Fan's Daryl Ruiter at  a press conference Thursday announcing that Billy Joel and Rod Stewart would be coming to Cleveland Browns Stadium in September "Excited about our conversations with the Browns and the Haslams about the future of this stadium and what it could mean for the lakefront. But for the city and the region as a whole.  Those conversations are ongoing but we're committed to making sure we have a world class facility right here in Cleveland, Ohio."

Team owners, Jimmy and Dee Haslam, have already made it clear that they have no plans of moving the Browns out of Northeast Ohio. That's the good news. Now, it's just a matter of figuring out where the franchise will be playing its home games beyond the current stadium's lease, set to expire in 2028. While there is universal interest keeping the team playing downtown, there also appears to be similar unification about keeping it on the lakefront as well.

"The city, the county and the state, hopefully, will be key critical partners for us as we think about the future of Cleveland Browns stadium, because it is a regional asset," Bibb added. "We wanna be sure we keep the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, Ohio right on Lake Erie. That's my goal as Mayor." 

Caught up with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb. He told me his goal is to keep #Browns in the city of Cleveland. The hope is the state & county will work with the city to modernize the stadium in the coming years pic.twitter.com/zfzUUtCV6Z

— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) January 25, 2024

Earlier in the week, David Griffin, President of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, expressed similar sentiments as Bibb during an interview on 92.3 The Fan's, Overtime with Jonathan Peterlin. Like the Mayor, Griffin has a personal desire to keep the Browns home base on the shores of Lake Erie.

"It really right now is between the Browns and the city," Griffin said. "The city and the owners, we know all the players and are aware of what's going on. It's a lot of negotiations. I really hope they end up staying down on the lakefront. The Browns have already said publicly they're not leaving Northeast Ohio, so that's great to hear. But there's almost 100 years of history with a stadium being down there."

Meanwhile, at the heart of this process has been both public and private debate over the viability of building a domed stadium, if it's ultimately decided that a new facility is the way to go. That decision is not so cut and dry though, as such a project would cost significantly more than a non-domed stadium.

For what it's worth, Griffin is team dome, noting the economic benefits that would come with such a space. That's where the Cleveland Sports Commission comes into play. Their primary responsibility would be helping book other sporting events at any venue the Browns end up with. Still, Griffin knows it's a complicated issue.

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"If you could snap your fingers and say 'can we have a dome," 100-percent [we'd want that]," he said. "The question is if a dome costs a $1 billion more – at least looking at the ones that have been built around the country you're talking well over $2 billion. I think the question is, ultimately, what's the return on investment. Do I think once every 20 years we could get a Super Bowl or Men's Final Four – I mean they're still incredibly competitive – I think we could. We have a track record in this community of very successfully hosting the largest events in the country." 

"...I think a lot of it will ultimately come down to dollars and cents. The building itself [needs to be used for] more than just what's on the field and I think that will be great for the community and I know that the Browns are thinking that way, the city is thinking that way."