The dead period for NFL news between the start of NFL free agency and the NFL draft has been going on for a few days, with most of the exciting news being uniform rebrands and draft hat designs. However, in Cleveland debates between fans, and more importantly the city of Cleveland and Haslam Sports Group have been going on to figure out where the next Browns stadium should be, and what it will look like. With this, the Haslams held a press conference during the NFL league meetings. They spoke about the team going into the 2024 season and the plans for the future home of one of the NFL’s historic franchises, the Cleveland Browns.

In my previous article on this topic, I advocated for placing the stadium at the current USPS facility north of Progressive Field. In this press conference, the Haslams all but shot down this idea saying “We have two potentially really good options, a major remodel of where we are now that will be, Dee used the word transformative, for Cleveland Browns Stadium. It’ll be transformative or build a new dome stadium,” In other words, renovate the stadium we have now and stay downtown, or build a dome at the Brook Park plot of land the Haslams are purchasing 20 minutes from downtown next to Cleveland-Hopkins Airport. Both of these options have positives and negatives. However, in my opinion, they provide no perfect solution to the issue of the Browns’ new stadium.

Renovate the Current Stadium

As much as I would like to act like this is the best option it is not. The positives to this idea are all location-based. The Browns stay downtown, on the lakefront as they always have, whether that be at Municipal Field or Cleveland Browns Stadium. Other than that this is the only real positive I see with this move because, for one, the Browns will most likely have to play somewhere else for a few seasons while the stadium gets renovated, and with the biggest rumor being that the Browns play in Columbus at Ohio Stadium, I’d rather not have the Cleveland Browns two hours from their home city. Another Negative to renovating the current stadium is the fact that the parking situation is awful and the city of Cleveland is planning to develop the lakefront replacing parking spots for developments like shops and apartments. The location of the lakefront while historical and in the city is not Ideal for a 2024 NFL football team.

Move to Brook Park

Listen, I hate the idea of the Browns being out of downtown but if it is truly Brook Park or the lakefront I think the Haslams will 100% go this route. In the earlier quote, the Haslams mention a dome, something that is only realistic for the Brook Park location. On top of this, the Haslams could have a gold mine built in Brook Park, with a “ballpark village” development that has grown in popularity with shops, restaurants, and entertainment open year-round surrounding a sports team’s stadium. The Haslams also will have a staggering 176 acres of land. They have plenty of room for a stadium and ballpark village, as well as, all the parking they want making it easily accessible to tailgate, walk to the stadium, and leave after games and events they can now host year-round with a dome stadium.

I will still stand by the fact that the Cleveland Browns should remain in downtown Cleveland as they always have, however, I also understand the scope of building a new stadium and what should be included in the new stadium for the owners of an NFL team to want to invest in it. If the city of Cleveland does not want to help and move buildings such as USPS around and chip in for funding, it is inevitable for the Browns to run for the suburbs.