Earlier this week, 179 acres of land in suburban Brook Park transferred to an affiliate of the Haslam Sports Group for a new sports and entertainment complex that will be the site of the Cleveland Browns’ home football games (Myplace.cuyahogacounty.gov). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Deed transferred June 24, recorded today
Although the deed transfer was signed June 24, the document transferring 179 acres of land to an affiliate of the Haslam Sports Group for a new stadium in Brook Park didn’t become public until today. Nonetheless, this is the deal that helps set the stage for the construction of a new $3.6 billion enclosed stadium and proposed supportive development for the new home of the Cleveland Browns.
An affiliate of the Haslam Sports Group called Primacy Development LLC paid $76,005,477.90 for the land at 18300 Snow Rd., according to Cuyahoga County property records. The seller was a joint venture which purchased this and other former Ford auto plant properties totaling 210 acres in April 2021 for $31.5 million, public records show.
The properties were owned by a partnership of Weston, Inc. of Warrensville Heights, the DiGeronimo Cos. of Independence and Scannell Properties of Indianapolis, IN. They created a joint venture called DROF BP I LLC (spells “Ford” backwards and “BP” referring to Brook Park).
Signing the deed transfer for the joint venture was Kevin DiGeronimo, principal of the DiGeronimo Companies. That firm is also developing the Haslams’ District 46 mixed-use development at the Browns CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, now under construction.
First page of the deed transfer from a real estate joint venture to an affiliate of the Haslam Sports Group (Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer) .
Two parcels of land belonging to Akron-based FirstEnergy were previously folded into the site. The two parcels totaling 3.68 acres were sold Nov. 15, 2024 to DROF BP I LLC, for $144,000, according to a FirstEnergy spokesperson.
Despite the utility right of way being a narrow piece of land, only about 100 feet wide, it extended roughly 1,400 feet deep into the very center of the proposed stadium site. On that land currently are pairs of side-by-side towers carrying high-tension, high-voltage power lines.
Those wires deliver electricity to Ford Motor Company’s nearby Engine Plant No. 1, 5600 Henry Ford Blvd. That 1.6-million-square-foot plant remains active and employs about 1,834 workers.
The power lines will have to be relocated to make way for a stadium. NEOtrans understands that site preparations including cleanup, removal of abandoned utility infrastructure and grading have already begun for the proposed stadium site.
Although financing is coming together for the new enclosed stadium in Brook Park, it remains to be seen how much of the proposed stadium-area development featuring hotels, restaurants, shops and apartments actually gets financed and built (HKS).
NEOtrans was first to reveal in February 2024 that the Haslam Sports Group was pursuing this land for a new stadium, setting off a storm of controversy over keeping the Browns playing downtown as they have for 75 years. It involved Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, the business community and others that still hasn’t settled but is getting closer.
The Ohio General Assembly this week passed its biennial budget which includes $600 million as a state contribution to the construction of the $2.4 billion enclosed stadium. Gov. Mike DeWine has until July 1 to line-item veto any parts of the budget he doesn’t like. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has urged DeWine to veto the stadium funding.
That funding is due to come from a pot of $1.7 billion in Ohio unclaimed funds, of which there are more than $3.7 billion in dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, unpaid insurance policies, plus forgotten rent or utility deposits. The $1.7 billion share would be used to create an Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility fund.
Of that, $600 million would be earmarked for the Brook Park stadium with the rest available by request to other stadiums, arenas and mixed-use developments next to them. A number of groups have threatened to file lawsuits, claiming the state has no right to use those funds.
Proposed conceptual site plan for the Brook Park stadium and development. Detailed design is just getting underway (HKS).
Another $480 million is coming from Brook Park city taxes to be collected from stadium-related activities. The rest of the stadium’s $2.4 billion is to come from the Haslam Sports Group and its private-sector partners.
Peter John-Baptiste, chief communications officer for the Haslam Sports Group and the Cleveland Browns, had no comment regarding the property acquisition. He said the Haslams and the Browns would not be hosting any kind of event after crossing the finish line in securing public financing for the new stadium.
The Cleveland Browns will continue to play their home games at Huntington Bank Field on Downton Cleveland’s lakefront for four more years. The team’s lease to use the city-owned stadium, built in 1999, is due to expire after the 2028 football season.
In the meantime, the Haslam Sports Group and its development team will wrap up financing, prepare detailed designs and start construction of the new stadium. Upon completion, it will take over the name Huntington Bank Field in 2029.
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