After a multitude of legal and financial obstacles, the long-awaited, multibillion dollar Cleveland Browns stadium in Brook Park is finally underway.
At a groundbreaking Thursday, Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, along with other representatives, called the project "iconic" and "transformative," with Jimmy Haslam saying the stadium will "surpass everyone's wildest dreams."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell praised the city and organization for not only starting the project but also complimented their work as hosts for the 2021 NFL Draft. While Goodell said the NFL will return the draft to Cleveland, he was less committal about a Super Bowl in Northeast Ohio.
"I have no doubt that this stadium is going to be Super Bowl quality," Goodell said. "Zero doubt about that. I think the challenge now for this community, and ... hopefully this stadium and this development is going to be transformative, is how do the rest of the facilities in the community develop."
Goodell said the Super Bowl draws not just 75,000 people for the game itself, but around 200,000 people to the host city. Goodell cited needs for airport capcity and up to 60,000 hotel rooms. Competing cities like Los Angeles boast 100,000 hotel rooms.
Developers of the ambitious stadium complex, believed to cost about $3.5 billion for the stadium and surrounding projects, say fans will be lower and closer to the action than any stadium in the NFL, while construction will temporarily employ up to 6,000 workers, 75% of them local.
"The Dawg Pound's going to be incredible ... it'll have the steepest rake (high incline) within the fan wall in all the National Football League," said JW Johnson, Haslam Sports Group partner and son-in-law of Jimmy and Dee. "We know tailgating is a big deal and a lot of people go to the Muni Lot, but we're going to have plenty of parking for our fans to be able to come and tailgate and then not walk a mile into the stadium. It'll be a closer proximity. They'll have their own entrance into the stadium dedicated to the Dawg Pound."
The Haslams say the stadium will bring more than one billion dollars in annual economic development to the region, despite previous reports from the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County asserting an economic loss from the moving the team away from Downtown.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said the project is a big deal for the state.
"You can look at the construction jobs; I met a number of our trades union folks out here and they're going to have thousands and thousands of people employed here."
DeWine added the stadium is set to be a first in Ohio.
"It's going to give a lot more flexibility," DeWine said. "I mean, we do not currently have a covered stadium in the state of Ohio. We don't have anything like this in the state of Ohio. We needed this in the state of Ohio. It was about time."
The project is moving forward despite funding uncertainty. After the Statehouse pledged $600 million toward the project, a Franklin County judge blocked the state from using Ohioan’s unclaimed funds to help pay for the project as a civil lawsuit plays out. It's another hurdle after a $100 million exit deal with the city of Cleveland cleared the contentious move from Downtown.
Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne has also pledged to shield taxpayer dollars from the stadium project, which he vocally opposes.
Jimmy Haslam estimates the cost of the stadium itself to be $2.6 billion. Public financing, including the state share tied up in court, would be about $850 million, $250 million of that from Brook Park through income tax on the players and admissions taxes.
"That big revenue stream, and it's spread out over 30 years, Brook Park will be able to bond us and write us a check for $245 million relatively early in the project," Haslam said. "That will help us get the project going, if you will.
"We will pay all this money back. It's not a gift, ok. We will pay it all back over a 20-to-30-year period."
Still, the Haslams plan to open doors in time for the 2029 season. If they don't, Cleveland has given a hard deadline to the team to vacate the city-owned stadium after the 2030 season so it can proceed with lakefront planning.
