Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne has asked Ohio Senate President Rob McColley to consider earmarking $350 million in its state budget proposal to help the county renovate the Browns lakefront stadium, known as Huntington Bank Field.
“As the Senate deliberates on the operating budget and considers the unprecedented request by Haslam Sports Group (HSG) for $600 million in bonds for the new domed stadium proposal, you need to know there is a better, and less expensive option for the stadium,” Ronayne wrote, adding that this request is on par with what Hamilton County leaders are seeking to renovate the Cincinnati Bengals stadium. “Fair is fair. The two NFL teams in Ohio, both in the AFC North Division, should receive an equal sum for stadiums that are comparable in age, structure, and location on downtown waterfronts.”
Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam are seeking state money to build a new enclosed stadium in Brook Park. The team has argued that its plans present an unprecedented economic development opportunity for the county and that an enclosed stadium is the best long-term option for the team. The Browns won the support of Republican Ohio House leaders, who included the Haslams’ request in their budget bill earlier this month.
The Republican-controlled Senate is working on their own version of the budget bill and are holding public hearings, which resumed in Columbus this week.
John Fortney, a spokesperson for Ohio Senate Republicans, said in response to the letter: “Right now, our members are having thorough and thoughtful discussions about the budget. Nothing additional to add at this point. Stay tuned.”
In an interview, Nickie Antonio, the top Democrat in the state Senate, said she and her colleagues are opposed to the House budget plan’s funding of the proposed Brook Park stadium.
She was noncommittal about Ronayne’s proposal, but said it’s worth considering. Antonio said Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposal to raise taxes on sports betting to pay for a general stadium fund also could be something the Senate ends up pursuing.
“I appreciate that our county executive is thinking about a Plan B or a Plan C, rather than assuming it’s a done deal with the Haslams moving their franchise to Brook Park,” Antonio said. “So I think what this proposal does is give us some space to talk with other legislators about a different plan.”
Though the Haslams are contributing half, or $1.2 billion, to the project, they still need support from county leaders to raise an additional $600 million through a bed tax increase and other sources. Ronayne has remained opposed to such an idea.
Ronayne’s letter, sent April 28, tries to seize on recent reports from Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget office and from the Ohio Legislative Commission that are critical of the Haslams’ financial projections that the development will generate enough money to repay the state bonds. The state legislature’s nonpartisan research office came to a similar conclusion. (You can read the Haslam Sports Group’s point-by-point response to the reports below Roynane’s letter in this post.)
“In Cuyahoga County, we remain concerned about the risks associated with unrealistic event projections and inflated revenue estimates, the potential dissolution of state income tax as a funding stream for state bond repayment, aggressive assumptions for parking and admissions taxes, an increase in the bed tax directed to a single project, and the creation of an unprecedented county-wide car rental tax on our residents,” Ronayne wrote.
Ronayne told Signal that he’s been publicly arguing for a renovated lakefront stadium project for months because it is more “fiscally prudent” and it aligns with Cleveland and Cuyahoga County’s vision for the waterfront, which he said the Haslams once supported.
He said he sent the letter because he’s worried that state lawmakers haven’t really heard his message among the voices of lobbyists and others.
“The Haslam Sports Group and the Haslams have a lot of influence,” he said. “It is a matter of who hears our message.”
