COLUMBUS, Ohio — If the Browns want to build a new stadium in Brook Park, they may have a little trouble gathering support they need to fund the project.
According to Jeremy Pelzer of 3News partner Cleveland.com, the team is seeking $1.2 billion in public money to go towards a potential new $2.4 billion venue near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, with state and local governments equally splitting the former figure for a total of $600 million each. However, Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens says the state doesn't have that much money to spare, and even if it did, he's skeptical of the concept anyway.
"We don't have $600 million to give," Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, told reporters Tuesday in Columbus. "I mean, it's really easy to not support it when you don't have it."
Per Pelzer, Stephens would prefer to see the Browns get the funding through some type of bonds, which "doesn’t necessarily mean that taxpayers pay hundreds of millions of dollars for a stadium in Cleveland." To him, a straight funding injection in the state budget will set a precedent where "everybody else will be wanting a stadium."
Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam have already confirmed they are down to two options: either a new stadium in Northeast Ohio outside Cleveland (presumably in Brook Park) or a $1 billion renovation of the current downtown facility. The lease for Cleveland Browns Stadium expires in 2028, and regardless of which project moves forward, the club wants half of the funding to come from the public.
Just two weeks ago, Browns representatives met with state lawmakers to pitch the Brook Park proposal, both Cleveland.com and Signal Cleveland reported. Westlake Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, who helped set up the meetings, told Pelzer such talks are still in the early stages.
"I think most every lawmaker there just wants to make sure that there’s a good deal for taxpayers if we’re using taxpayer dollars, and that it makes sense for taxpayers," Sweeney, a Democrat, said.
Further complicating matters is the ongoing infighting between Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly, where term-limited Senate President Matt Huffman, from Lima, is running for a House seat with the intention of winning and eventually replacing Stephens as speaker next year. Huffman has yet to share his thoughts on the stadium saga.
When asked for comment by Cleveland.com, Gov. Mike DeWine's spokesman Dan Tierney said, "It's a bit premature to comment on any funding split, because we don't have a concrete plan." The Browns have also been quiet on the topic in recent weeks.