The Cleveland Browns’ days playing on the lakefront are beyond the horizon.
]The Browns will build a $2.4 billion enclosed stadium in Brook Park, about 12 miles from their current home, Huntington Bank Field. The new location is adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins international Airport and next to the I-X center. The stadium, which is yet to be named, is scheduled to be completed and open for the 2029 NFL season.
Fans are ambivalent about the move. “I think that it’ll be better for the state of Ohio to bring more people in,” sophomore Lamir Bell said.
Track coach and security guard Anthony Watkins said he doesn’t care for the new stadium. “They haven’t produced a winning team, so why build a new stadium?” he said.
The new stadium will have 67,500 seats, a little more than the 65,000 seats in Allegiant Stadium, new home of the Las Vegas Raiders. The playing surface will be 80-feet below ground due to the nearby airport and Federal Aviation Administration height restrictions. The new stadium will have a translucent roof and feature the largest NFL locker room. The Haslam Sports Group was given $600 million from the state of Ohio to help pay for it.
Sophomore Tommy Downing thinks the Browns won’t earn back their investment quickly. “I don’t think we should build a new stadium because we’re gonna use a lot of the state’s money to fund it,” Downing said. “There’s no point in building a huge stadium now and putting all this commitment into a team that isn’t gonna be that great.”
Math teacher Ryan Routh said the Haslams have lost touch with the fans. “Have you ever been to a snow game? They don’t understand what’s fun about football,” Routh said.
The Browns’ current home was first called First Energy Stadium and opened Sept. 12, 1999. Its construction cost was approximately $283 million, about $550 million in today’s economy. When it was built, First Energy Stadium held 73,200 people before capacity was reduced to 67,431 due to renovations in 2014-2015. The stadium was renamed in 2024 to Huntington Bank Field when the Browns and the bank agreed to a 20-year naming rights partnership worth $150-200 million.
The city of Cleveland used sin taxes (taxes on alcohol and cigarettes) to build the stadium. Cleveland still owes about $46 million on the facility, which is going to be demolished after the 2028 NFL season.
Bell said destroying the current stadium will take a toll on fans. “It’ll definitely be a hard time for most Clevelanders because that stadium was what a lot of people grew up with. It’s something that’s always been there. Now that it’s moving, you have to go to basically a whole different city to go watch a game,” he said.
Senior Myles Hills doesn’t favor a move outside of the city. “You can’t have the Cleveland Browns be outside of Cleveland,” Hills said.
The Browns’ record in First Energy Stadium is 84-116-1, a .420 winning percentage.
The original Browns never played in First Energy Stadium. The Browns, which had existed since 1946, became the Baltimore Ravens in 1999. Art Modell, who owned the original franchise, under financial distress and aging, moved the franchise to Baltimore in 1999 to make more money and cement his legacy.
The Browns first played at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, an 81,000-seat facility built for the Browns and the then Cleveland Indians. Built in 1931, it cost $3 million, equivalent to $63.97 million today. Tickets for a Browns game at Municipal Stadium could be purchased for as little as $5. Cleveland Municipal Stadium was demolished in 1996 to make room for the new Browns stadium. The Indians moved to Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) the year that it was demolished. Over 50 seasons in Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the Browns’ record was 239-128-6 (.653 winning percentage).
“It was time to get a new stadium from Municipal stadium,” Watkins said. “It was solid. We didn’t always win there, but I’ve been to some games where we won.”
Cleveland’s history of stadiums is complex, but one thing that’s certain is the never-changing losing record of late.
“The players we had before were better. The players we have now aren’t that bad,” said Watkins. “I think the coaching lacked a lot of discipline and that’s why we suffered a little bit. It wasn’t the skill, I think it was a discipline from the coaching staff in my eyes being a coach.”
Said Watkins, “Browns fans are the same no matter where they’re at.”
Sports Writing Reporters Jordan Ford, Lincoln Phillips, Phoenix Randolph and John Scales compiled this story. Raider Zone Reporters Andrew Mullen and Graham Gurney contributed reporting.
