Ohio Governor Approves Funds for New Browns Stadium
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed a $60 billion biennial budget, which includes an allocation of $600 million in 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, the established deadline.
The Haslam Sports Group, owner of the Browns, originally requested state support to build a new $2.4 billion indoor stadium in Brook Park, a suburb south of Cleveland. DeWine had proposed doubling sports betting taxes to help the Browns, as well as the Cincinnati Bengals and other teams that might need improvements to their facilities. However, the Legislature opted to use a portion of the $4.8 billion in unclaimed funds that the state holds, coming from small forgotten sums in inactive bank accounts, uncashed checks, and unclaimed utility deposits. Currently, there is a 10-year time limit before that money reverts to the state.
This is a win for taxpayers and 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’s approval a “tremendous milestone for our organization” and highlighted that DeWine and the Legislature worked together “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, located in the same county but 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,” enacted in 1996 after former Browns owner Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore. The original law stated that no professional sports team playing in a tax-funded stadium in Ohio could relocate without an agreement with the city in which it played, unless that city was given six months’ notice with the opportunity to buy the team. The new budget language signed applies the law only if a sports team attempts to move out of Ohio.
The mayor of Cleveland, Justin M. Bibb, expressed his disappointment with the final state budget.
The Cleveland Mayor’s office’s post on X:
Mayor Bibb’s Statement
Bibb added: “We also remain firmly opposed to changes to the Modell Law, which was enacted to protect communities that have made significant public investments in their sports teams. Undermining this statute sets a problematic precedent and leaves cities like Cleveland with fewer tools to safeguard long-standing public assets.”
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. Democrats outside the Legislature have threatened to sue if DeWine signed the plan, arguing that it would be an unconstitutional appropriation of unclaimed funds without due process.
