Publicly, neither the Browns nor Cleveland City Hall have disclosed the exact cost to taxpayers of a refurbished stadium.
However, during a series of meetings held in October at Browns’ Berea headquarters, the team presented the City Council with an approximate amount—between $500 million and $600 million—from the general people, as reported by two attendees. They shared information from a private meeting, therefore they begged not to be named.
According to the members, that amounts to half of the $1 billion to $1.2 billion that a stadium renovation may cost. The idea was to take up the remaining half by the Haslam Sports Group.
The team would not ask Cleveland to manage the public portion on its own. Mayor Justin Bibb previously stated that Cuyahoga County and the State of Ohio will be required to assist Cleveland.
While the team and the city negotiate a lease extension, no agreement has been declared. The owners of the Browns seem to be looking into a few other stadium locations, including suburban ones. In addition to the lakefront property, the NFL team announced last week that it was “studying additional prospective stadium locations in Northeast Ohio.
Members who talked with Signal Cleveland said that last October, council members and Browns representatives met in small groups, so the meetings weren’t seen as public forums.
One member added that team officials also unveiled a video rendering of a renovated stadium that could be accessed via a land bridge connecting the lakefront to the grassy malls.
The Browns declined to comment for this story, citing their earlier statement to Signal Cleveland.
The billion-dollar renovation estimate exceeds the insurance-related projected replacement cost that the city uses. The stadium is insured for up to $800 million, according to city officials at a council committee meeting last week.
Nowadays, stadium projects around the nation frequently reach the ten-figure threshold. The projected overall cost of the new Tennessee Titans stadium is $2.1 billion. The price of Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, which will host Super Bowl LVIII, was about $2 billion. Taxpayers will foot the $1.5 billion bill for the new Buffalo Bills stadium.
During the past ten years, the Browns Stadium project is projected to be the most expensive sports complex renovation in Cleveland. In 2017, Cuyahoga County, in collaboration with the city, funded half of the $140 million renovation project for the Cavaliers arena. Two thirds of the $202.5 million Progressive Field reconstruction project was funded by the state, county, and city in 2022.
How city officials plan to finance the renovation of the stadium is yet unknown. At the moment, Cleveland uses money from a countywide sin tax on cigarettes and alcohol to cover the cost of repairs.
However, as building costs rise and the tax approaches its 2035 expiration date, those resources are becoming scarcer. According to data from the Gateway Economic Development Corporation, as of last year, the expected sin tax profits left over for Browns Stadium in the city were $54 million.
According to a spokeswoman, Cuyahoga County officials have not yet determined whether to put the expansion or extension of the sin tax on the ballot.
When the current club lease expires in 2028, Cleveland plans to retire that debt.
