Browns take major step toward building new domed stadium

Primacy Development — a company located at the Browns’ headquarters with ties to the Haslam Sports Group — has closed on the purchase of a 176-acre plot in Brook Park, Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan reports. Cuyahoga County records indicate the price will check in at more than $76M. This news comes after the Browns exercised their purchase option on the land in December.

To pave the way for the agreement to be finalized, the Modell Law (which prevented the Browns from leaving Cleveland) has been amended. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is now in position to sign the necessary provisions into law next week while finalizing the state’s budget. That includes $600M in state funding for the construction of the team’s new stadium, which is currently expected to cost a total of $2.4 billion.

The Browns’ new home will be a domed (rather than outdoor) stadium, making it the first of its kind in the AFC North (and marking a departure from the Ravens, Steelers and Bengals). Once construction is complete, the AFC East will be the league’s only division consisting entirely of teams — the Bills, Dolphins, Patriots and Jets — that play outdoors when at home.

The targeted start time for construction of Cleveland’s new stadium is early next year, with the Browns planning to move there in time for the 2029 campaign. Provided the land purchase agreement is indeed finalized in the coming days, the process will take an important step forward.