Jimmy Haslam Says 'What's Best For Fans' Driving Browns Future Stadium Plans

The Browns owners are currently negotiating two different potential stadium plans, including building a new facility in Brook Park

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam watches a minicamp practice, Tuesday, June 11, 2024, in Berea. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

As the Browns begin preparations for the 2024 season at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., a massive decision over the future of the Browns stadium looms large of the franchise and it's passionate fanbase.

Speaking after day three of practice during training camp, team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam expressed that it's that group – Browns fans – at the forefront of their minds as they weight such a colossal decision.

This is a big project," Jimmy Haslam stated. "No matter which direction we go into. It's complicated anytime you have a public-private partnership it's not easy. We're continuing to work through the process and we hope sooner rather than later we'll have a solution.

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"What's the right answer? The right answer is what is best for our fans. That is driving 90% of the decision making: what's best for our fans. Cause these are long, long term decisions. This isn't a five-year decision or a 10-year decision. It's at least a 20-year decision, maybe more. So what is best for our fans will ultimately drive what we do."

As things stand right now, the Haslams are down to two options for the future home of the Cleveland Browns. They can renovate the current facility along the lakefront in a project that would essentially serve as a more than $1 billion band-aid to keep the stadium up-to-date in the short-term. That project, by the way, would not include adding a dome or roof over the venue.

Option two consists of the owners finalizing a land-purchase agreement of a 176-acre parcel of land in Brook Park near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, and erecting a brand new, state-of-the art domed facility on the property. That project comes with a price-tag of about $2.5 billion and also includes plans to build up a mixed-use development around the stadium.

Like any stadium negotiation, the finances can get dicey. However, the Haslam's expressed a commitment to exhaust all avenues as they work with a number of local entities to figure out how to fund whichever project they land on. That said, many believe the onus is on the ownership itself to finance the project. Jimmy Haslam says, it's not that simple.

"That's a complicated question," Haslam said. "In that the vast majority of these stadiums if you read the news the last six months are public-private partnerships. We don't own the stadium. And I'll be honest, the way the financial work out in an area like Northeast Ohio I think it needs to be a partnership. I still think the incremental revenue – that's what everybody needs to understand – will pay for the financing."

Whichever plan he and his wife Dee Haslam land on, it sounds like public funding of some kind will be involved.

"What the city, the county and the state – if they choose to do so and I won't be presumptuous – is they're really taking our new projected revenue stream, bonding it, and they're providing the financing for the project. So I think it's a good way to go. We have worked in depth with all four entities, the cities of Cleveland, Brook Park, Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio."

While the ownership group continue to reiterate that they'd still mulling over both options at this point, it was one comment from Dee Haslam that could provide a glimpse into where their heads are really at.

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"We just came off the MLS All-Star week down in Columbus at the Lower.com Stadium and we can see what a new facility can do for the vibrancy of the city," she said. "It was an incredible three or four days in Columbus."

Take that for what it's worth. Even if Jimmy and Dee Haslam ultimately settle on the Brook Park development though, they continue to express their loyalty to the city of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio as a whole, even endorsing Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert's Bedrock Project along the river downtown and the long overdue development of the lakefront.

Still, this decision will be a major one for the franchise and the fan base that loves the Browns so dearly. Even though Jimmy Haslam won't commit to a deadline, the current stadium's expiring lease is providing plenty of pressure to make a decision.

"Our lease runs out in 2028 so I guess you could say that's driving it, that's providing a sense of urgency," Haslam said. "I just don't want to say Oct. 1, or Jan. 1 or March 1 because it would be disingenuous cause we really don't know. I can insure you that the intensity on both sides to come up with a solution is extremely high."