DeWine signs budget giving $600M for Browns' new stadium
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The proposed covered Browns Stadium in Brook Park. Rendering: HKS Architects/Cleveland Browns
The biennial state budget that Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law late Monday night includes $600 million for the Haslam Sports Group to build a new Browns stadium in suburban Brook Park.
Why it matters: The state funding is roughly half of the total public contribution the Haslams sought for their $2.4 billion project.
- Locking it down sets the table for the team's relocation after the current lease expires in 2028.
The latest: The Browns formally purchased the $76 million, 175-acre site last week in Brook Park, where they intend to construct the new stadium.
Yes, but: The mechanism by which state lawmakers chose to fund the project has generated controversy.
Zoom in: The legislature decided to tap a $4.8 billion pot of "unclaimed funds" — generally small sums that Ohio residents have not yet collected from old bank accounts, uncashed checks and security deposits.
- The budget sets aside $1.7 billion of these funds to create a new reserve for Ohio's pro sports facilities. The Browns will be the first recipient, but the Cincinnati Bengals are next in line.
Between the lines: DeWine's preferred funding method was doubling a tax on sports betting operators, but he did not veto the measure.
The other side: Cleveland-area elected officials have sharply criticized the proposal, part of the unanimous Democratic opposition to a budget they say prioritizes billionaires at the expense of Ohio's working and middle classes.
- The budget also includes a tax cut for wealthy earners.
What they're saying: "Ohioans' private property should not be taken without due process, and certainly not to subsidize billionaire developers," said State Rep. Tristan Rader (D-Lakewood) in a recent statement.
- "This isn't economic development, it's a constitutional red flag."
Between the lines: Two former Democratic state lawmakers plan to file a lawsuit in Franklin County over the unclaimed funds' reallocation, which they call a "classic, unconstitutional taking of people's property."
What's next: County Executive Chris Ronayne has affirmed the county will not issue additional bonds for the project and still believes that by holding out, the Haslams may ultimately choose to return to a renovated lakefront facility.
- "They've swum halfway across the river," he told Signal Cleveland. "And however they get across — they either come back, which we're encouraging them to do, or if they keep going, they do it with their own money."