Funding lined up for stadium demolition

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and the Haslam Sports Group (HSG), owners of the Cleveland Browns franchise, have announced an agreement intended to result in the demolition of the 26-year-old stadium on the Cleveland lakefront.

The agreement includes a $100 million commitment from HSG to the city of Cleveland that the two parties say will accelerate a lakefront transformation that likely starts with the demolition of the 67,000-seat football stadium built in the late 1990s.

Reports from that time say the soon-to-be-demolished structure was built in part from precast concrete and 60,000 cubic yards (more than 115,000 tons) of cast-in-place concrete that involved more than 6,000 truckloads of material brought on-site.

The venue also contains considerable amounts of structure and reinforcing bar steel, plus copper wiring throughout its concourse and luxury suite sections.

The new agreement means those materials could enter recycling markets soon, as HSG and the city of Cleveland have agreed to prepare the current lakefront stadium site for redevelopment.

The Cleveland Browns and HSG, meanwhile, are making plans to build and move into a new facility in Brook Park, Ohio, adjacent to Cleveland.

“I’m proud to deliver this historic deal to the residents of the city of Cleveland,” Bibb says. “My administration, with the Haslams’ support, will finally unlock the full potential of our lakefront, benefiting all residents and attracting new investment to the city.”

“Because of Mayor Bibb’s leadership and this monumental public-private partnership, we are accelerating the transformation of Cleveland’s lakefront while delivering a new world-class stadium and mixed-use development in Brook Park," HSG Principal Partners Dee and Jimmy Haslam say in a statement.

“It’s a win for the city, the region, and the fans. We will always be the Cleveland Browns, and this agreement reflects a continued commitment by the Haslam/[James Wood]Johnson family to strategically invest in city of Cleveland community programs, building on the family’s consistent charitable giving across the region since taking leadership of the Cleveland Browns in 2013.”

Terms of the agreement include a requirement for HSG to pay the city of Cleveland $25 million by Dec. 1. HSG also will oversee demolition of the existing stadium, currently known as Huntington Bank Field, to a pad-ready state at the Browns’ expense. HSG estimates that cost is at $30 million.

“This $100 million investment continues our lakefront momentum and economic resurgence. This is the right solution for the city and the region," Bibb says. "Cleveland's time is now. We are a city that leads the region, that’s open for business, and that knows how to get big things done.”

The parties also have agreed to mutually support infrastructure plans related to road and air travel with respect to both the Brook Park stadium mixed-use project, the modernization of Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport and the development of the Cleveland lakefront, including the redevelopment of the Burke Lakefront Airport property.

While the current lakefront stadium is nearly adjacent to the private aircraft Burke Lakefront Airport, the proposed stadium in Brook Park is near the city-owned Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport.

Both parties also have agreed to dismiss previously filed lawsuits and to work collaboratively to finalize a formal settlement agreement, reflecting mutual support of both the lakefront and Brook Park development projects.