As public officials consider increasing taxes on alcohol and tobacco to pay for repairs on three publicly owned sports facilities in Cleveland, a new poll suggests that the Browns’ plan to move to Brook Park would complicate their campaign to sway Cuyahoga County voters to support another so-called “sin tax.”
That’s the conclusion of a memo obtained by Signal Cleveland that was shared with public officials and business leaders Tuesday. The memo summarizes a poll of 850 “likely November 2025 voters” conducted May 12-18. It asked voters for their opinions on the Browns, Guardians and Cavs and on the teams’ sports facilities. The poll also asked voters if they would pay more for beer and cigarettes to maintain those facilities.
“The poll results show that a large majority of Cuyahoga County voters oppose the move of the Cleveland Browns to Brook Park, and that opposition is damaging support for the excise tax,” reads the memo, which was produced by the opinion and consulting company EMC Research. “If a portion of the excise tax were dedicated to funding a new Browns stadium in Brook Park, the tax would be likely to fail at the ballot box in November.”
The memo says that voters would support extending a sin tax for repairs on Progressive Field, Rocket Arena and Huntington Bank Field.
“In order to maximize the chances of passing an increase to the sin tax, it will be important for policymakers to continue to focus the tax on repairs and maintenance for existing sports venues in Cleveland,” the memo says.
It remains unclear who paid for the poll
EMC Research did not respond to questions about its poll before the story was published. The story will be updated with responses from EMC and other officials as they are reached.
The memo also does not include detailed poll results, which makes evaluating its conclusions difficult. Some poll questions, which were shared last week by respondents, highlighted the investment the Guardians and the Cavs have made in their facilities. That’s a point Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne have been making for months. They insist the Browns should stay downtown to protect investments already made in the sports facilities and in surrounding developments.
The Browns argue the team and the region will benefit more by building an enclosed stadium and related retail development. The Browns are not seeking money for a new stadium from the current or a future sin tax. It’s seeking $1.2 billion from the state and from other county tax sources. On Tuesday, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, which is the region’s business network that often influences development in Cleveland, endorsed the Browns’ plan to build a new stadium in Brook Park.
Voters say they support the Cavs and Guardians more than Browns
The memo says voters have more favorable views of the Cavs and Guardians than the Browns.
“The Browns are much more divisive — only 49 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of the team, with 50 percent unfavorable.”
The poll also found that a majority of voters — 61% — oppose the Browns move.
Why are public officials considering another sin tax
The money raised by the current sin tax doesn’t generate enough money for the repairs at the three sports facilities. The city and county are required to cover certain costly repairs and upgrades per their leases with the teams.
The teams and government leaders have been discussing alternative sources of funding for repairs and possibly extending the sin tax, which is set to expire in 2034.
Voters originally passed the sin tax in 1990 to pay the construction debt for the arena and ballpark, renewing the tax in 1995 to include the future Browns Stadium in the deal. Voters again re-upped the tax in 2014 to pay for repairs at the three facilities. The tax raises about $14 million a year, which is split equally among the teams.
Public officials can’t ask voters to consider extending and raising the six tax without first getting the state legislature to sign off. That’s because lawmakers capped how much money the county can raise through the excise tax.