The Cleveland Browns released a statement about future stadium plans amid reports of them purchasing land outside Downtown Cleveland.
According to the NEOtrans blog’s Ken Prendergast, Haslam Sports Group bought 176 acres of land in the Brook Park suburb. Peter John-Baptiste shared a statement on behalf of the team’s ownership group Thursday.
“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,” John-Baptiste said. “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.”
A statement regarding future stadium planning.
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— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) February 8, 2024
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Per Prendergast, the Brook Park property is located around 1,000 feet away from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Sources didn’t confirm that the land is intended for a new stadium, but Prendergast speculated that it could be used as an “insurance policy” as the Haslams negotiate to renovate the team’s city-owned stadium.
Their lease on Cleveland Browns Stadium ends after the 2028 season. Yet they’d need to start construction sooner if renovating or building a new stadium at the same location.
If establishing a new stadium on the purchased suburban plot, the Browns could play outside of the city of Cleveland for the first time in franchise history.