(Cleveland) The Cleveland Browns say they are looking at other locations for a potential new stadium. A report on Thursday from the real estate blog NEOTrans cites three anonymous sources as saying that the Haslam Sports Group has a contract to purchase 176 acres of property in Brook Park. The parcel sits on the east side of route 237, across from Hopkins Airport. The Browns released the following statement:
"We’ve been clear on how complex future stadium planning can be. One certainty is our commitment to greatly improving our fan experience while also creating a transformative and lasting impact to benefit all of Northeast Ohio. We understand the magnitude of opportunity with a stadium project intent on driving more large-scale events to our region and are methodically looking at every possibility. We appreciate the collaborative process with the City of Cleveland and the leadership of Mayor Bibb in analyzing the landbridge and renovating the current stadium. At the same time, as part of our comprehensive planning efforts, we are also studying other potential stadium options in Northeast Ohio at various additional sites. There is still plenty of work to do and diligence to process before a long term stadium solution is determined and will share further updates at the appropriate time.”
The team has been involved in talks with the City of Cleveland on renovations plans for the current stadium as it relates to the City's plans for redevelopment of the lakefront. The Browns current lease at the stadium, which is owned by the city, runs through the 2028 season.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb's Chief of Staff Bradford Davy released the following statement:
“Keeping the Browns at home on the downtown Cleveland lakefront is a priority for Mayor Bibb and City leadership. We understand and respect how complex this process is and appreciate the partnership we’ve had and will continue to have with the Browns and Haslam Sports Group (HSG).
The administration has developed a strong, thoughtful and comprehensive package that we believe respects taxpayers and protects the city’s general revenue fund while meeting the needs expressed by the team. This has been shared with the HSG team during our extensive negotiations over the last 8 months. We continue to meet with their team to refine our terms and come to a shared vision and acceptable deal for both parties that improves the experience for residents, sports fans and visitors. The success of our collaboration and commitment on this topic has been recently demonstrated through yesterday’s $20M earmark which advances our shared goal of improving lakefront access to the stadium for everyone.
The experience of Cleveland residents and visitors to our city is top of mind for us and we are committed to developing our North Coast Lakefront into a world-class, well-programmed, people-focused space and we see the activation of Browns Stadium as a key part of that vision. The mayor's commitment to a vibrant shore-to-core-to-shore plan for Cleveland is steadfast and gaining momentum. Downtown Cleveland is such an integral part of the game day experience and the transformational changes on the horizon promise to make that experience even better."
Read NEOTrans Blogger Ken Prendergast's story HERE.
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