The Cleveland Browns offered an update and shared new details of the team’s new proposed stadium Tuesday.
A new, world-class enclosed stadium the Dawg Pound deserves pic.twitter.com/eviU8oAse0
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) March 18, 2025
The proposed new Huntington Bank Field in Brook Park, Ohio, would be an enclosed facility that is located less than a mile from the city limits of Cleveland. Among the features of the new venue are a transparent roof that maximizes natural light to provide an outdoor feel and the first-of-its-kind “Fan Wall” to celebrate the team’s most passionate fans.
In a letter to Browns fans posted on the team’s website, the Haslam Sports Group, led by Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, announced that it is prepared to invest over $2 billion in private capital on the new proposed stadium and development surrounding the venue.
The new details around the proposed stadium come just over two months after the city of Cleveland filed a lawsuit against the Browns to prevent the team’s planned move to Brook Park. In a complaint, the city alleged that a move violates the Modell Law — an Ohio law that placed conditions on how teams can leave their publicly financed facilities. That law requires a team that takes taxpayer money and plays in a tax-supported facility to either obtain the city’s permission or allow the city and others to purchase the team before moving away from that facility. The law was passed after former Browns owner Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore in 1996.
The Browns announced their plans to move to Brook Park in August 2024, calling it “their most compelling option.” The Brook Park location is approximately 13 miles southwest of the team’s current stadium. A domed facility at the Burke Lakefront Airport site was determined not to be feasible by the team due to “significant design, construction, geotechnical and environmental challenges.”
Putting a dome over the current Huntington Bank Stadium was also not an option “because of economic restraints and FAA restrictions.” Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb led an effort behind the proposal of significant renovations of the team’s current home, but The Haslam Sports Group was more interested in the Brook Park option.
Since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999, the team has played in downtown Cleveland and last season marked the team’s 26th year at the venue. The Browns lease with the city of Cleveland is set to expire at the end of the 2028 season.
In 2024, the Browns went 3-14 to finish last in the AFC North. In the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, the Browns hold the No. 2 overall pick. The team recently inked star defensive end Myles Garrett to a new four-year extension that includes $123 million in guaranteed money.
Browns sticking to their plan
The presentation is slightly different, but little is new here. The Browns have long intended to move to an indoor facility in Brook Park — and they’ve long believed that the Modell Law should not stop them from doing so. That things have remained ugly between the franchise and the city is not a surprise, but the Browns have been firm in their plans to move and seek $1.2 billion in public financing to help finalize the project.
The current lease runs through 2028 and the Haslams have said multiple times that the team is not leaving Northeast Ohio, so eventually somebody is going to budge. The Browns came out with these plans last fall and essentially said there would be no changing them. — Zac Jackson, Browns beat writer
(Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images)
