Cleveland might host a Super Bowl before the Browns play in one
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
With a new stadium being built, could the Super Bowl ever come to Cleveland? Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
Cleveland has hosted major sporting events like the Women's Final Four and NBA All-Star Game, but what about a Super Bowl?
Why it matters: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates the big game could draw 150,000 visitors to a region and inject anywhere from a few hundred million to over a billion dollars into its local economy.
Driving the news: The Browns will break ground next month on the site of a new $2.4 billion enclosed stadium in Brook Park.
- The venue is scheduled to open before the 2029 NFL season.
The intrigue: The last nine NFL stadiums to be built have each hosted a Super Bowl.
- Most of those venues were in warm climates, but not all.
Flashback: Super Bowls held in Indianapolis and East Rutherford, New Jersey, saw jacket-worthy temperatures below 50.
- The outdoor temperature during the 2018 Super Bowl, held indoors at Minneapolis' U.S. Bank Stadium, was 2 degrees.
Reality check: Hosting a Super Bowl is about more than weather. The NFL's demands (per the Minnesota Star Tribune) for Minneapolis to host the game in 2018 included the stadium having at least 70,000 seats and 35,000 parking spaces.
- There also had to be enough hotel rooms within an hour's drive of the stadium to accommodate 35% of the available Super Bowl seats.
Zoom in: The stadium in Brook Park is set to hold up to 75,000 fans, meaning more than 26,000 hotel rooms would be necessary.
- A November 2024 report detailing the economic impact of a stadium in Brook Park estimated there are slightly fewer than 18,000 hotel rooms in Cuyahoga County.
Between the lines: Other Super Bowl requirements include transportation guarantees, tax exemptions for the NFL and the ability to handle winter weather, tailgating and media demands.
- Officials in Santa Clara, site of this year's Super Bowl, say it will cost $6.3 million in operational expenses.
What they're saying: David Gilbert, CEO of Destination Cleveland and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, told Crain's Cleveland last month the city is willing to look into bringing a Super Bowl to Northeast Ohio.
- Yes but: He added, "Just because it's nice to talk about hosting the Super Bowl doesn't mean it's a good idea — for lots of reasons."
The bottom line: A Super Bowl coming to Cleveland may be a long shot, but it still seems more likely than the Browns playing in one.