Cleveland Scene
What Huntington Bank Field could look like after a renovation
Jimmy and Dee Haslam have been anything but shy in sharing imagery for the dome and surrounding development they hope to build in Brook Park.
The possible future home of the Browns – a $2.4 billion project with a proposed $1.2 billion privately financed by the Haslams and $1.2 billion coming from public coffers in the form of state and county bonds – has been teased in photos, videos, and sizzle reels as the team sells the idea to government officials, business leaders and the public.
But what they haven’t shared publicly are how renovations at the current lakefront stadium would look. The clear and admitted option number two.
For years before the pivot to Brook Park, those plans weren’t secondary but instead at the forefront of discussions with the city, county and state. And through late 2023 and early 2024, the Haslams did share renderings of that renovation plan in presentations with assorted officials, stakeholders and business leaders in the region. But not the public, even as they acknowledged last year that there were two real options.
Renovation is not, after all, the plan the Haslams prefer at this juncture, but it is one that, given the current budget process in Columbus and opposition to the Brook Park move from both Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, remains a distinct possibility. But more on that in a minute.
The public does have its first look at what the renovation of Huntington Bank Field would look like thanks to an image obtained by Scene showing a rendering by the team. (The single image is part of a larger set of renderings that show other angles and how the stadium fits in the planned lakefront transformation project.)
Asked for comment, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne, who along with Mayor Justin Bibb had been included in those previous conversations, told Scene he’s glad part of the project is finally being published as the public debate continues.
“From day one, I said we need to reveal your lakefront transformation plan as well, so the public can get an honest comparison of the two plans, because both involve a request of the public for subsidies and support,” Ronayne, who first saw a presentation from the Haslam Sports Group on the proposed renovation in late 2023 and has staunchly opposed the possible move to Brook Park, told Scene.
“They have never revealed what they’ve shared with other members in the community – business leaders, chamber of commerce members, public officials. It’s only fair to the public to have a full view and not just one side of an argument. Share it with your partner, the public, if that’s what you’re going to call the public,” he added.
Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration agrees there’s something exciting the public should see, not only for how the renovation would change how the stadium looks and operates but also for how it fits into the larger plan for the city.
“The early renderings of the downtown Cleveland stadium transformation demonstrate the possibility for a world-class, year-round facility on the lakefront that builds on decades of investment made in Cleveland,” a City of Cleveland spokesperson told Scene. “This compelling vision for a transformed stadium offers a connected and activated lakefront anchored by the stadium and surrounded by dynamic public space and development.”
The $1 billion project, as the rendering shows, would dramatically change the outside of the stadium from the concrete jungle as it currently exists, replaced instead with vertical columns in exoskeleton and glass walls that open up the area to light and surrounding nature. Inside, two large public gathering areas – a la The Corner – would be installed high above each end zone and the interior walkways would be significantly widened. Planned mixed-use development can be seen on the western side.
Members of the Haslam Sports Group, which didn’t respond to a request for comment from Scene for this story, said in those conversations nearly two years ago that the renovation would allow for the space to be activated more than 100 days a year – not quite as many as they promise with the dome (or, as analysis by the state has found, overpromise), but still a huge improvement on the current situation – and provide a better fan experience.
A renovated stadium has long been the centerpiece for Cleveland’s planned lakefront transformation project. The Haslam Sports Group for years had led that effort and, according to Bibb’s prior statements, helped choreograph the direction and urgency of the plans.
The County Executive concurred.
“In 2023 and some of 2024, the Browns were entertaining two plans: Brook Park and Cleveland,” Ronayne said. “But the lakefront transformation plan including the Browns has been around for a number of years and for four or five of them, the Haslam Sports Group led the plan, they led the advocacy. When I took office in 2023, it was a full-throated effort to petition the state to assist with the lakefront with the Browns as a key anchor. We’ve netted $280 million now in ready infrastructure, and that has been secured in part because HSG helped us make the pitch down state. But, at some point, HSG revealed to – let’s say civic and business circles – their plans for Brook Park instead.”
That $280 million Ronayne mentioned is money Cleveland and Cuyahoga County have secured to achieve the larger lakefront transformation, which includes a land bridge that would connect downtown to the shores of Lake Erie and turning the Shoreway into a four-lane boulevard, among other infrastructure improvements. (The converted Shoreway can be seen in the rendering.)
“We finalized a masterplan, refined the design for the North Coast Connector, and secured over $150M in state and federal funding to build a new world-class connection to a world-class facility on the lakefront,” the City of Cleveland spokesperson told Scene.
On the funding front for Brook Park, there are open questions about whether or not the state of Ohio will come through with what the Haslams want in terms of public support.
Gov. Mike DeWine, in his proposed executive budget, sought to fund this and other sports projects with increased taxes on gambling companies that operate in Ohio. While the governor and others believe it’s the most responsible way to contribute public funds to billionaire owners going forward – “We can’t really afford to continue to put money in sports stadiums out of a general fund,” DeWine said – it’s unclear how fast that revenue could be collected (and thus when shovels could get in the ground) as well as questions on whether the state could legally issue bonds against that future revenue.
Meanwhile, the Ohio House, in its proposed budget, allocates $600 million in bonds for the Brook Park dome.
As for the state Senate, it is mulling a hybrid model between the two but hasn’t yet indicated whether it will propose that version or any support at all for the Haslams.
And while the Browns have touted economic impact reports championing the number of additional events, visitors and revenue a dome would bring – a key component in how they say the state, county and Brook Park will be able to repay those $1.2 billion in bonds, which, by the way, would balloon to $2 billion when interest is factored in – analysis by the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Service Commission’s legislative budget office called those projections “overly optimistic.”
Ronayne is more direct in his qualms about the project’s proposed financing, calling $600 million in county bonds “too risky” for the health of Cuyahoga County’s coffers.
“I want to keep surfacing the truth and the truth is the Brook Park proposal is too risky,” he said. “Our analysts at the county have deemed it too risky. I’ve said to the public it’s too risky, and we urged the legislative services commission to analyze it and the office of budget management and both have done that and found in the same week that it’s overly risky for the state.”
He instead has called on the state to issue $350 million in bonds for a renovation of Huntington Bank Field.
Which all leaves a lot of questions going forward. Would DeWine veto a budget that included only bonds for the Haslams without a future source of stable funding for similar projects in Cincinnati and elsewhere? Will the state Senate propose a hybrid model that would deprive the Haslams of hundreds of millions in upfront cash needed to get the dome financed? Does anyone still care about the Art Modell lawsuit?
And will the Haslams, after declaring Brook Park or bust, be forced to revisit the lakefront?
There are about 60 days until a final budget will land on DeWine’s desk and 60 days before we’ll know the answer to some of those questions.
Jimmy Haslam, at the NFL owners meetings earlier this year, acknowledged the deadline and the possibility that the lakefront does await.
“Here’s the positive is we will know on the state funding by June 30,” he said. “And so assuming that goes well, then we can move quickly to try to start sometime in the first quarter of ’26. So this is not going to be a drawn out two- or four-year deal. It’s either going to happen and happen quickly or we’ll go to plan B.”
For Ronayne, the answer is already clear.
“Why are we flying away from the downtown energy? The only thing I can see is a money grab – a money grab that’s putting the risk on the public and the profits in the hands of private developers,” he said. “[A renovation] is half the price, far less risk, and much less infrastructure needed and we’ve secured dollars ready to go. On top of that you can develop an area commensurate with the Brook Park modeling. The only thing you can’t guarantee is a sea of surface parking in a suburb where you get all the profits.”
The same for Bibb, who has said time and again he wants the Browns stay downtown, playing “good or bad football” on the lakefront, as he jested at the State of the City last month.
“The HSG Brook Park stadium plan diverts economic activity away from downtown and costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars more. In contrast, the Lakefront plan demonstrated in the renderings offers an incredible fan experience for half the cost of HSG’s Brook Park proposal,” the Cleveland spokesperson added.
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