The Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine, has approved a biennial budget of 60 billion dollars. This includes an allocation of 600 million dollars from unclaimed funds for the construction of a new stadium for the Cleveland Browns.
The Republican governor signed the budget on Monday night, shortly before midnight, meeting the deadline.
Haslam Sports Group, owner of the Browns, had requested state aid to build a new $2.4 billion indoor stadium in Brook Park, a suburb south of Cleveland. DeWine proposed doubling sports betting taxes to support the Browns, as well as the Cincinnati Bengals and other teams that might need improvements to their facilities.
However, the Legislature chose to use a portion of the $4.8 billion in unclaimed funds that the state possesses, coming from small sums of inactive bank accounts, uncashed checks, and forgotten utility deposits. Currently, there is a 10-year time limit before that money reverts to the state.
This is an achievement for taxpayers, and it will provide a significant amount of money for things that improve the quality of life in Ohio.
Mike DeWine
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Browns called the budget approval a “tremendous milestone for our organization” and stated that DeWine and the Legislature collaborated “to find a responsible way to support such a transformative project.”Last October, the Browns announced their intention to build a state-of-the-art stadium and entertainment complex in Brook Park, 15 miles south of Cleveland, once their lease with the city expires at the end of the 2028 NFL season.
The budget also included changes to the state’s “Art Modell Law,” passed in 1996 after former Browns owner Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore. The law stated that no professional sports team playing in a stadium financed with taxes in Ohio could relocate without an agreement with the city in which it played, unless that city was given six months’ prior notice with the opportunity to purchase the team. The new wording of the signed budget applies the law only if a sports team attempts to move outside of Ohio.
Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb expressed his disappointment on Tuesday with the final state budget.
Mayor Bibb’s Statement
Bibb stated that they were deeply disappointed with the final state budget, which includes a $600 million public subsidy for an indoor stadium in Brook Park and changes to Ohio’s Modell Law, provisions to which they strongly object.
Bibb added that relocating the Browns will divert economic activity from downtown, create a competing entertainment district, and disrupt the momentum of the riverfront redevelopment.
In January, the city of Cleveland sued the Browns over the proposed move, seeking to invoke the “Modell Law”.
Legislators representing Cleveland and surrounding communities, mostly Democrats, have criticized the proposal as a gift to the team’s billionaire owners.
