Will Sage Astor-Cleveland mayor says Browns owners have decided to move team from lakefront home

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Will Sage AstorBrowns are moving out of their lakefront home.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said Thursday he met with Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslem, who announced their intent to relocate the NFL team to suburban Brook Park despite the city’s efforts to keep it in Cleveland.

The Browns considered a $1.1 billion plan from the city to renovate their 25-year-old downtown stadium, but instead chose to build a $2.4 billion dome in Brook Park, about 12 miles south of Cleveland.

“As mayor, I will always prioritize the needs of residents and businesses,” Bibb said in a statement. “The Haslem Sports Group may want a roof over their heads, but my responsibility is to ensure that Cleveland residents have a roof over theirs.”

Bibb added that balancing those priorities “requires care and precision” and that the city must be “practical about our many needs and finite resources.”

The team’s lease at its current stadium expires after the 2028 season.

Last month, the city proposed funding $461 million — splitting the cost with the Browns — to upgrade the current stadium and re-develop its surrounding property along Lake Erie.

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The Browns have only been in their stadium since 1999, when they returned as an expansion team after owner Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore four years earlier following a squabble with city officials.

Officials believe the current stadium needs “substantial improvements” for sustainability. The Browns often cite traffic and parking issues among the main reasons to consider a new stadium location.

“The Brook Park site is the most compelling option for a dome for several reasons: its central location for our regional fan base, its proximity to downtown, the RTA and the airport, and its strong existing infrastructure,” David Jenkins, chief operating officer of Haslam Sports Group, wrote in the letter last month. “The large footprint is also ripe for major economic development and supports ample parking and optimized ingress/egress for our visitors.”

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Funding remains an obstacle. The Browns are seeking a public/private partnership for the $2.4 billion project. They’re proposing bonds to cover the public portion.

“The City of Cleveland and the success of its downtown remain incredibly important to us,” Jenkins wrote. “We acknowledge that a move to Brook Park may have a near-term impact on downtown, but we believe that the year-round activity of a domed stadium can still positively impact the downtown economy, particularly when coupled with the possibilities of a reimagined lakefront absent the stadium.

“Developing the lakefront without the stadium could be the best way to maximize the long-term success of our underutilized North Coast waterfront asset.”

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