Last week the Owners of the Cleveland Browns Jimmy and Dee Haslam had the opportunity to speak to the Cleveland sports media. The press conference took place at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs West Virginia during Cleveland Browns training camp. The owners of the team explained where they are at with the stadium situation.

No final decision has been made yet. However, they are down to two options. The Cleveland Browns and the city of Cleveland will either remodel the current stadium for an estimated 1.2 billion dollars. Or a new dome stadium complex will be built in Brookpark Ohio at an estimated cost of 2.5 billion dollars. The Brookpark location is located 10 miles from downtown Cleveland. The question is which option are the Haslam’s most inclined to take?

According to Dee Haslam, they will go with the option that is best for the fans. And she did indicate that the fans are more in favor of the dome stadium in Brookpark. Although there was no actual survey or poll information from Cleveland Browns fans on the stadium situation. Her information regarding the desire of the fans seems anecdotal at best. But her take could be accurate. One inaccurate misconception is how either stadium option would be funded.

With either option the Haslam family is willing to pay half of the costs. The rest would be financed by the state of Ohio and Cuyahoga County. The funding is still being considered by all party’s involved with the process. Some people think that 100% of it would be paid by the taxpayers. That is not true, half will be paid by the team’s owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam. So, when will a decision be made on the Cleveland Browns Stadium?

The current lease on Cleveland Browns Stadium is due to expire at the end of the 2028 season. So, either the new or remodeled stadium needs to be ready by the start of the preseason of 2029. And either project will take at least 3 ½ years to complete. Browns fans could expect a decision by the end of the 2024 season. And it will probably be the dome in Brookpark.

Based on what Jimmy and Dee Haslam said last week, I believe the dome in Brookpark will be the final decision. I also feel that the Haslam family will do their best to have stadium built with best fan experience in mind. And the best fan experience possible in any venue or stadium is to win championships.  And to win consistently which until recently wasn’t happening in downtown Cleveland. Maybe a change will do everyone good?