Gov. Mike DeWine has an idea for handling requests for tax dollars for sports stadium projects like the one the Cleveland Browns are proposing.
DeWine on Monday proposed creating a new stadium and youth sports education fund with money generated by doubling the state’s tax on sports gambling from 20% to 40%.
He estimated the tax increase would raise $130 million to $180 million a year. An appointed commission then would decide how to spend the money, although DeWine made clear that he had the Cleveland Browns stadium project and a separate proposal to renovate the Cincinnati Bengals stadium in mind.
DeWine described the tax hike as a way to make sports gambling companies, whose marketing he described as “extremely aggressive,” to pay their fair share.
“These sports gaming companies … They’re getting Ohioans to lose massive amounts of money every year. And it seems to me only just and fair that some of the stadiums be paid for by a portion of it,” DeWine said.
Who would decide how new gambling revenue is spent?
DeWine announced his new stadium fund on Monday as he rolled out a proposal for a new two-year, $60.9 billion state operating budget, which must be approved by the end of June. The budget bill, including DeWine’s idea for funding the Browns stadium, will be reviewed by state lawmakers, with the state House and Senate expected to release their own budget proposals in the coming months.
DeWine said the gambling revenues would be controlled by a newly created Sports Facilities Construction and Sports Education Fund, whose members would be appointed by the governor’s office and the legislature. He said fund proceeds could be used either on stadiums used by major or minor-league professional sports teams, or sports education. To illustrate what he meant by youth sports education, DeWine offered the example of helping needy families afford sports-related expenses that might otherwise prevent them from participating.
How much money could go to Browns stadium project isn’t clear
He didn’t describe details on how much state money might go to the Browns project, although additional details will be released on DeWine’s budget plan in the near future. DeWine described his proposal as a way to permanently fund future requests for public funding for stadium projects without cutting in the state’s general fund, which pays for core state priorities like K-12 school funding, or by making lawmakers or voters decide between competing geographic areas.
“This proposal that I have outlined has the added benefit of no longer will we have to, at any time in the future, go to the people of the state of Ohio and say, your tax dollars will go for this stadium or that stadium,” DeWine said.
Browns ownership has tried to drum up support for public stadium funding
Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam announced in October they want to leave the lakefront when the stadium lease is up at the end of 2028.
Browns ownership has been trying to win popular support for building a $2.4 billion roofed stadium in Brook Park. The team is asking for the public to take on half of the cost – though it wasn’t clear which public entities would be on the hook for $1.2 billion. For months, state lawmakers have fielded questions about the possibility of contributing $600 million to the stadium’s cost.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne have insisted the Browns stay in Cleveland to preserve and build upon the hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private development. The city recently produced a study that said it would suffer a financial loss if the Browns left the city.
Signal Cleveland Government Reporter Nick Castele contributed to this story
