Haslam breaks ground on Browns’ $2.4B domed stadium set to open in 2029
BROOK PARK, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and his family marked a significant milestone on Thursday with the groundbreaking ceremony for the new domed stadium scheduled to open for the 2029 season. There are still a couple of questions to be answered though even as construction commences on the 67,500-capacity facility, which will be next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of downtown Cleveland. The $600 million that the state of Ohio has committed to the project is on hold due to a class-action lawsuit, which argues that the provision the state budget that took $1 billion from the state's Unclaimed Funds Account to help fund sports facilities in Ohio, violate constitutional prohibitions against taking people’s private property for government use.
Governor Mike DeWine did not know if the litigation would be settled by the time he leaves office in January after two terms. “This is clearly going to go on for a while and so I’m not happy about that. There’s nothing we can do about that, but we’re going to go ahead,” he said after the ceremony.
“I think that we’re going to win this case in court. It’s slow, certainly and we’re waiting, but I think eventually we win. If we do not win, if we ultimately lose, there’s another alternative.
My initial proposal was to tax the sports gaming companies. I think that’s still a possibility that we could do. ” The city of Brook Park still has not approved its $245 million funding planned.
The Haslam Sports Group — the company founded by Dee and Jimmy Haslam, their daughter and son-in-law — is covering most of the costs at $1. 76 billion along with any cost overruns. Haslam said stadium discussions began in 2018, which originally centered on renovating the Browns current lakefront stadium home.
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