Ohio Legislators Choose to Use $600M in Unclaimed Funds for Potential Cleveland Browns Indoor Stadium in Brook Park

In Columbus, Ohio, negotiators in the Ohio General Assembly have reached an agreement to allocate $600 million towards the construction of the proposed Cleveland Browns domed stadium in Brook Park. This funding will come from unclaimed funds and is part of the state’s budget for fiscal years 2026-27.

Reported by 3News media partner Cleveland.com, the approved budget is set to undergo two routine votes on Wednesday before reaching Governor Mike DeWine’s desk. The governor will then have to decide whether to sign the budget as is or make line-item vetoes before the June 30 deadline.

The plan for the Brook Park project, spearheaded by the Haslam Sports Group, outlines the construction of a $2.4 billion domed stadium along with a mixed-use development that is estimated to require an additional billion dollars. The group, in collaboration with their development partners, has committed over $2 billion in private capital towards the project and is now looking for public funding to cover the remainder of the expenses.

The Senate’s plan calls for the utilization of the state’s $3.7 billion in unclaimed funds to create a “Sports and Culture Facilities Fund.” The Browns’ $600 million “performance grant” would be paid back to the state through tax revenues generated by the stadium and mixed-use development over 16 years. 

To protect the state’s investment, GOP Senate lawmakers say the Haslam Sports Group would put $50 million into escrow that could be tapped into if revenues fall short of projections. If that $50 million is used early, the Browns have also committed to providing another $50 million through a line of credit. 

Several other options for state support for the Brook Park project emerged in the past few months.

In his budget rollout in February, DeWine introduced a plan to double the sports gaming tax in Ohio to 40%, generating between $130 million-$180 million per year for a Sports Facilities Construction and Sports Education Fund. In April, the Ohio House passed a budget that allocates $600 million in state-backed bonds to go towards the Brook Park development.

The Browns’ domed stadium plan also called for the city of Brook Park and Cuyahoga County to provide an additional $600 million in bonds to be covered by an increased admissions tax, parking tax, bed tax and rental car surcharge. However, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne has pushed back on the proposal, calling it everything from “a risky bet” to a “boondoggle.”

Last month, the Haslam Sports Group informed Ronayne that the Browns were prepared to go forward with the project without the county’s participation. In response, Ronayne accused HSG of engaging in “greed and opportunism,” “distorting the facts,” and “attempting to bully the public and fleece County taxpayers” for their private gain. 

Ronayne is urging DeWine to line-item veto the measure once the completed budget arrives on his desk.

So how can the project move forward if the county is not part of the equation? 

“What we asked the county to do initially was to issue bonds — use their credit rating to issue $600 million of bonds that are largely repaid by Brook Park specific tax revenues. It was never a true $600 million ask of the county,” explained HSG Chief Operating Officer Dave Jenkins. “They have since made it very clear they’re not going to play if we go to Brook Park, which lessens the amount that Brook Park can issue in bonds themselves or through some other authority. So we are working to solve and have zeroed in on a solve for the remaining balance that otherwise could have been available if the county had issued the bonds.”

But while Ronayne is against supporting the HSG’s stadium plan, some members of Cuyahoga County Council seem more willing to listen. 

“I understand the position of the executive is he only wants it downtown, but here we are; they’re going to Brook Park,” Councilwoman Sunny Simon said during a council committee meeting per Cleveland.com. “I want to see how that’s going to impact the county financially and if it makes sense for council to consider any kind of participation, because we give out loans, we do all kinds of things for projects, why not this?”

Cleveland.com points out that per Cuyahoga County administrators, should County Council approve funds for a stadium and Ronayne vetoes it, lawmakers can override the veto with a super-majority of eight council members out of the 11 total.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has said that should the state approve the $600 million request, the plan is for groundbreaking of the new domed stadium to take place sometime early next year.