Browns to leave Cleveland; team opts for new domed stadium

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns will be moving to Brook Park, according to the city’s mayor.

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The team’s lease at recently-renamed Huntington Bank Field is up in 2028 and now the Browns have chosen to build a state-of-the-art facility in Brook Park, a suburb of Cleveland.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb released a statement on Thursday saying he met with Jimmy and Dee Haslam, principals of the Haslam Sports Group, on Wednesday and they expressed their intent to move the the team from their lakefront stadium to Brook Park.

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“We can see and feel that our downtown is thriving, our vision for redeveloping the lakefront is becoming reality, and more and more businesses are choosing to invest in our city,” Bibb wrote in a statement. “The Haslams’ choice to move the team away from this progress is frustrating and profoundly disheartening.”

The move to the suburbs will technically mark the second time the team left Cleveland in its 78-year history, WOIO report.

“Cleveland and Northeast Ohio are the fabric of the Browns and that will always be the case. Our community commitment to Cleveland and efforts to improve the lives of its residents will not change,” the Haslams’ said in a statement.

The new stadium, which would include a dome, is estimated to cost at least $2 billion to build.

The team released renderings of the Brook Park stadium in August. At the time, officials said the stadium would “greatly enhance the fan experience and enable the State of Ohio and our region to compete for some of the biggest events in the world 365 days a year.”

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