With their current lease at Cleveland Browns Stadium set to expire after the 2028 season, the Browns organization has presented multiple city and state lawmakers with plans to either renovate the existing facility or build a new domed stadium.
Although Brook Park has been the only location discussed for potential development, is a second site an option to build the new facility?
According to a transportation blog, a new option – and a second potential site – is rumored to be available for the Browns.
NEOtrans Blog – a website dedicated to covering real estate development and construction in northeast Ohio – covered the potential closure of Burke Lakefront Airport as a second site the Cleveland football franchise could convert into a new stadium.
The airport closure has roadblocks to making this a quick solution for the time-crunched Browns, however.
According to the article, Burke serves as a backup to Cleveland Hopkins International and is the only one within the geographical area that has a runway length, tarmac area, hanger spaces, and terminal spaces to serve as a reliever airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires airports like Hopkins International to have such a backup, and Burke’s closure would require another nearby airport to upgrade its facilities, meaning this project could take over a decade to complete.
Burke is on a 450-acre land plot, and the city has looked at developing the airport for residential and business purposes.
The Browns have asked for either the renovation or new construction options to be partially publicly funded, meaning that taxpayers would be on the hook for as much as $1.2 billion in subsidies.
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