A new home in Brook Park
The proposed enclosed stadium, branded in prior materials as Huntington Bank Field, would anchor the development just east of the airport on former industrial property off Snow and Engle roads. The Browns aim to open the venue in time for the 2029 NFL season, lining up with the expiration of the team’s lease at Cleveland Browns Stadium on the downtown lakefront in early 2029.
Haslam Sports Group executives have called the project the largest construction effort in Cuyahoga County history, with mass excavation at the site set to begin this month under a previously issued $65 million permit. A formal groundbreaking ceremony is expected later in the spring as the team finalizes remaining approvals and financing agreements with the city.
Stadium design and fan experience
Team renderings depict a fully enclosed, multipurpose stadium with seating in the 67,000 to 70,000 range, designed to bring fans closer to the field than in any other NFL venue and to maximize flexibility for non-football events. The dome is intended to allow the facility to host concerts, basketball tournaments, soccer matches and other large-scale events, accommodating crowds of up to roughly 75,000 and positioning the region to compete for future Super Bowls and marquee championships.
The master plan emphasizes an “industrial” aesthetic that reflects Northeast Ohio’s working-class heritage, pairing brick and steel elements on the stadium and adjacent buildings with contemporary glass and lighting. Planners say the materials palate draws on the region’s woodlands and lakefront while nodding to its manufacturing past, aiming to make the building a recognizable civic landmark as well as a football venue.
A year-round “live, work, play” district
Beyond the stadium, the master plan lays out a multi-phase mixed-use district intended to keep the area active every day, not just on Sundays. Phase 1, which would rise alongside the stadium, calls for an event venue, a 350-room hotel and the bulk of the initial retail space, concentrated along a new main street leading toward the stadium plaza.
Later phases would add more residential and office space, ultimately totaling 1,588 housing units for more than 2,000 residents, roughly 300,000 square feet of retail, a 350-room hotel, 500,000 square feet of offices and more than 5,600 structured parking spaces across six garages. Linear parks, tree-lined promenades and smaller green spaces are planned throughout the district, with city and team officials promoting a walkable neighborhood that can host farmers markets, winter ice skating and other community programming.
Economic stakes and funding questions
Brook Park leaders have pitched the project as a generational economic engine that could reshape the airport-adjacent suburb and help attract national investment to Northeast Ohio. The city is negotiating a development agreement that could commit about $300 million toward the stadium by pledging future income, parking and admissions tax revenues from the site back into the project.
Haslam Sports Group says it can cover the remaining share of the $2.4 billion stadium and roughly $1 billion in surrounding private development through team and private financing if necessary, though public support at the state level has already sparked political scrutiny. Supporters argue the project will create thousands of construction jobs and long-term employment in hospitality, retail and office sectors, while critics question the scale of subsidies and the impact of shifting games and visitors out of downtown Cleveland.
A regional debate over identity and place
The Brook Park vision has sharpened an ongoing debate over where the Browns belong and how public dollars should shape the team’s future. Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has previously criticized state-backed funding for the suburban stadium, warning that moving the team away from the lakefront could siphon activity from downtown and complicate existing waterfront redevelopment plans.
Backers of the Brook Park plan counter that repurposing long-vacant industrial tracts into a dense, brick-and-steel entertainment district near an international airport is a rare opportunity to redefine the region’s image for visitors and residents alike. With excavation set to begin and a target opening year of 2029, the Browns’ $2.4 billion master plan now moves from renderings on paper toward a high-stakes test of whether a new suburban dome can deliver on promises of economic growth, modern fan experience and a built environment rooted in Northeast Ohio’s industrial heritage.