It’s official. The Cleveland Browns are moving.
The Cleveland Browns have fully announced their plans to relocate the team to a new city after their lease is up in 2028. The Browns have famously played at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio since 1999.
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The Browns made the stadium its home after they returned from an expansion snafu that would have relocated the team to Baltimore. Owner Art Modell intended to relocate the team but was threatened with legal action from the city of Cleveland and the fans.
The Browns were officially suspended as a team following these events and were allowed to return in 1999 — which they did. Fast forward to 2024 and the team finds itself in another relocation project. This time, it appears the team will move once the lease on Huntington Bank Field ends in 2028.
CLEVELAND, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 22: Members of the Cleveland Browns run onto the field before the game against the New York Giants at Cleveland Browns Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. Browns moving while Cleveland mayor calls the situation, “dissapointing.”
Jason Miller/Getty Images
The Browns made the relocation officially, penning a letter to fans.
“Our stadium planning process started in 2017 and as Mayor Bibb mentioned today, for the last two years, we have had positive, productive, and collaborative dialogue with the Mayor and his staff, working together to find the optimal long-term solution for our stadium,” the statement reads.
“We pursued many possibilities, with our initial focus on renovating the current stadium and engaged design, construction, and engineering experts to develop a plan to do so. We also explored building a new stadium on multiple sites, both within and outside of Cleveland. We’ve learned through our exhaustive work that renovating our current stadium will simply not solve many operational issues and would be a short-term approach. With more time to reflect, we have also realized that without a dome, we will not attract the type of large-scale events and year-round activity to justify the magnitude of this public-private partnership. The transformational economic opportunities created by a dome far outweigh what a renovated stadium could produce with around ten events per year.”
Despite what appears to be tons of work done behind the scenes to ensure that the Browns stayed in Cleveland, that is not to be the case. The team will move to Brook Park along with a new state-of-the-art facility that is reportedly set to cost upwards of $2.4 billion to make.
Naturally, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb voiced his displeasure with the situation.
“I am deeply, deeply disappointed that the Haslam Sports Group has chosen to pursue a move to Brook Park,” Bibb said.”
“The Haslams’ choice to move the team away is frustrating and profoundly disheartening. In the past two years, this administration made relentless efforts to craft solutions that advance both [Haslam Sports Group’s] objectives and long-term interest of our residents and the broader community.”
Bibb states that the move from Cleveland to Brook Park will damage a multitude of businesses in the area that thrives on patrons attending games in their city.
So far, there has been no mention if the Browns will have to change their name considering they will now look be in Cleveland, but there is sure to be more information as time goes on.
As stated, the Browns are remaining at Huntington Bank Field until their lease expires in 2028. Beyond that, there might be a reality where the team is called the Brook Park Browns.
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