CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The Cleveland Browns have released a rendering of what a potential renovation to the downtown stadium would have looked like under their old plans.
According to the Browns, who are releasing the rendering and a statement following a leak, they remain committed to the Brook Park dome.
The leak comes weeks after Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne called for the Browns to release their downtown plans, something he says was presented to the City/County when discussions were ongoing for a stadium renovation.
Browns release old rendering of downtown renovation (Cleveland Browns) The Browns released this statement with the rendering:
“As we have consistently communicated, we methodically explored the lakefront renovation for several years, and it became abundantly clear that putting any money into renovating the current open-air stadium is a short-sighted, short-term fix that will only create the same issues down the road and also will impede the City of Cleveland’s opportunity to finally re-imagine the lakefront. Those renderings were created as part of a process almost three years ago. We haven’t had substantive renovation discussions in months and have never been presented with a viable funding plan for a renovation from Cuyahoga County or the City of Cleveland to pair with our private investment. The Haslam Sports Group is committed to contributing $1.2 billion to the Brook Park enclosed stadium and contrary to County Executive Chris Ronayne’s consistently misinformed statements, the rest of the proposed public component will be public bonding, not grants, and will be paid back with revenue from the project and does not rely on existing taxpayer streams. We also appreciate and respect that Governor DeWine has communicated his support for a dome stadium and what it can mean for the State of Ohio. It has become increasingly disheartening to see local politicians lobbying against an unprecedented $3+ billion economic development project with substantial State investment in Northeast Ohio that would generate hundreds of millions of dollars for public stakeholders, especially at a time when these very same politicians are speaking of economic hardships and development challenges in this region. We are confident that an enclosed stadium and mixed-use development in Brook Park utilized year-round is the only reasonable long-term solution for our organization and the region. This project will allow our lakefront to thrive, generate hundreds of millions of dollars for Northeast Ohio to use on other community needs, and, when paired with yesterday’s airport modernization announcement, will serve as another catalyst for transforming our region.”
