Cleveland Browns Could Receive Millions in State Funding for New Stadiums

Ohio’s new budget law provides for millions of dollars in grants to cover the cost to build or renovate sports and cultural facilities.

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam looks on prior to a game against the Baltimore Ravens at Huntington Bank Field on October 27, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images

The Cleveland Browns will receive hundreds of millions of dollars for a new stadium from the state of Ohio.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed the state’s budget into law on Monday.

“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,” Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and his wife Dee said in a statement on the team website.

“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.”

“We appreciate the support of State leaders and their belief in this transformative project,” they added.

The budget law establishes an “Ohio cultural and sports facility performance grant fund” under the state treasury for sports and cultural facility projects in Ohio. Money disbursed from the fund can be used to pay or reimburse up to 15 percent of the costs to build or renovate a particular facility, if those costs are initially estimated at $500 million or less; or up to 25 percent of costs on projects estimated at $500 million or more.

In order to qualify for the funds, projects must meet five requirements:

1. Sports facilities projects must have an initial estimated cost of at least $50 million. Cultural facility projects must cost at least $5 million. Those funds must be used for construction or renovation;
2. The operator of the facility must apply for a grant to the Ohio Office of Budget and Management. The application must include a financial and development plan, including a lease or other binding agreement to operate the facility, timeline on any existing agreements, a list of state tax credits awarded or applied for, a timeline for the project, an an explanation of how the facility will benefit the state through economic or cultural benefits;
3. The state budget office will enter into a tentative agreement with the applicant organization identifying the amount of revenue it will generate over how much time;
4. The applicant pays an amount equal to 5 percent of the grant into an interest-bearing escrow account with the state, to be returned with interest upon completion of all the above requirements.
5. The agreement is approved by the board of the agency that oversees the facility.

Should the applicant organization fail to pay back the grant, the state can take the difference out of the escrow account.

On their website, the Browns reported that they will receive $600 million from the state to fund the construction of a new domed stadium in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park. This is despite the bill also clearly stating, “No grant may be of an amount greater than $250 million dollars.”

That funding model produced by the Haslam Sports Group, published on the Browns’ website in February, also outlined another $422 million from Brook Park and $178 million from Cuyahoga County, and $1.2 billion in private funding along with any overruns. In total, the project would cost around $2.4 billion.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Cleveland Browns for clarification.

The law also amends the “Modell Law,“ a law that requires sports teams that play in a ”tax-supported facility” to remain in the city it resides in, unless the team enters into an agreement with its resident city allowing it to move elsewhere; or gives its resident city at least six months’ notice of its intent to move, and gives the city or any individual or group the opportunity to purchase the team.

The law scraps those requirements, and instead requires the teams to remain in their facility for 30 years after their first regular season home game after the construction or renovation; or until the total tax revenues or economic benefits achieve the target amounts specified in the agreement with the state—whichever comes first.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, who previously threatened the Browns with a lawsuit over their planned move, condemned the budget in a statement posted to X.

“Relocating the Browns will divert economic activity from downtown, create a competing entertainment district, and disrupt the momentum of our lakefront redevelopment,” Bibb wrote.

“We also remain firmly opposed to the changes in the Modell Law, which was enacted to protect communities that have made substantial public investments in their sports teams,” he added. “Undermining this statute sets a troubling precedent and leaves cities like Cleveland with fewer tools to safeguard long-standing public assets.”