Browns break ground on new stadium despite lawsuit

BROOK PARK, OHIO (AP), 5-1-2026

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There are still a couple of questions to be answered though even as construction commences on the 67,500-capacity facility, which will be next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of downtown Cleveland.

The $600 million that the state of Ohio has committed to the $2.6 billion project is on hold due to a class-action lawsuit, which argues that the provision the state budget that took $1 billion from the state’s Unclaimed Funds Account to help fund sports facilities in Ohio, violate constitutional prohibitions against taking people’s private property for government use.

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“This is clearly going to go on for a while and so I’m not happy about that," (said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine). There’s nothing we can do about that, but we’re going to go ahead. I think that we’re going to win this case in court. It’s slow, certainly and we’re waiting, but I think eventually we win. If we do not win, if we ultimately lose, there’s another alternative. My initial proposal was to tax the sports gaming companies. I think that’s still a possibility that we could do.”

The city of Brook Park still has not approved its $245 million funding planned. The Haslam Sports Group — the company founded by Dee and Jimmy Haslam, their daughter and son-in-law — is covering most of the costs at $1.76 billion along with any cost overruns.

https://apnews.com/article/browns-stadium-779dc41bbb15001be7aece476f7ce24f


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