Earlier this year, news broke that the Browns’ ownership group – Haslam Sports Group – had purchased land at Brook Park, a suburb of Cleveland.
The news caught some individuals by surprise as the ownership group had already proposed renovating the existing Cleveland Browns Stadium and sought public funding to help pay for the $1.2 billion upgrades.
Dee Haslam – who is part of the ownership group – sees the advantages of a new stadium being built for the community.
Analyst Daryl Ruiter shared on Twitter a video of Dee speaking after the Browns’ training camp practice as she suggested the Major League Soccer stadium in Columbus – where she had recently attended the MLS All-Star Game – had done wonders for the Ohio city.
“We can see what a new facility can do for the vibrancy of the city; it was an incredible three or four days in Columbus,” Haslam said.
Jimmy & Dee Haslam discuss #Browns stadium conundrum pic.twitter.com/umVIVeqtrH
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) July 27, 2024
The Haslam Sports Group has an ownership stake in the Columbus Crew, the MLS franchise in Ohio.
Haslam did not discount the competing stadium project as she said renovating the existing facility could still be accomplished.
The owner did say that the renovations are necessary to ensure public and fan safety as well as make the stadium more accessible.
These “functional” issues were important to address to accomplish what the owner said was the ultimate goal for the new facility: improving the fans’ experience.
The proposed cost of a new facility in Brook Park is estimated at $2.4 billion while renovating the existing facility has been tagged at $1.2 billion.
Both proposals have sought partial public funding to pay for the projects.
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