Last night (Thursday night), the Cleveland Browns took on the Pittsburgh Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium, winning the game by a score of 24 to 19. The heavy snow that came down during the game had a major impact on how both teams performed and what schemes they used, making some people ask if a dome for future Browns games is in store.
No other AFC North team has a dome, but Cleveland’s pitch for one would make sense, given the current stadium’s location being an epicenter for heavy snow to impact games, as it did last night.
Six months ago, a proposal was put forth by the Cleveland Browns to build a new dome stadium in Brook Park where Cleveland taxpayers would foot half of the $2.4 billion dollar price tag. Brook Park itself is located about 25 minutes away from Huntington Bank Field, making the proposed site for the stadium situated further southwest. The stadium would be out of Cleveland’s primary snow belt, which runs itself along the eastern side of Cuyahoga County. Regardless, the stadium being a dome would nullify any potentiality for heavy snow to impact the outcomes of games in the future.
The snow really started to come down towards the beginning of the second half of the game, marking Cleveland’s first snow of the season and changing the impact of the game against Pittsburgh. At halftime, the Browns led the Steelers ten to three. As the game went on, the snow became more and more prevalent in how the game would turn out, with multiple shovelers having to shovel the turf every few minutes to prevent more snow from getting onto the field and interrupting the game.
A dome to prevent issues like this from occurring again would be ideal, but the AFC North is one of the toughest divisions in all of football. Many of the division’s games between heated rivals have been played in inclement weather, and fans of every team in the division (and most likely some players as well) would most likely be opposed to having a dome in order to preserve the culture of the storied rivalries.
Recently, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb announced a plan for the Browns to leave the city of Cleveland and complete a move to Brook Park, but a lack of financial support from taxpayers has halted the move. A $1B dollar renovation to the lakeside stadium was also proposed as a secondary option, however, it is unclear whether or not the plans for the renovation would include a dome in the mix.
Regardless, only time will tell whether or not a dome for the Cleveland Browns will be in the future. Last night’s game against the Steelers definitely supports the cause, but the culture of AFC North football is also a card that comes into play as well as taxpayer funding and the overall intention of the Haslams.
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