With Cleveland Browns Stadium approaching a quarter-century of service, the organization is looking into various options to upgrade. One option is simple: renovate the current stadium in what would undoubtedly be a massive undertaking, but one that would keep tradition in place and the setting familiar for fans and players alike.
The other option is to do away completely with the current location and go somewhere else. On Wednesday, the Browns revealed the particulars of that option, which would include a domed stadium.
The franchise revealed artistic renderings of a new indoor stadium in Brook Park, Ohio, which is about 16 miles from the current stadium location right in downtown Cleveland. As with all artistic renderings of this nature, it at least looks nice.
While we have considered numerous sites throughout Cleveland and the region, our focus has been on two potential paths for the future of our stadium.
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 7, 2024
While significant work remains, the more we have explored the Brook Park option, the more attractive it has become, and we are… pic.twitter.com/5wXzpNANxz
The Brook Park site is the most compelling option for a dome for several reasons: its central location for our regional fan base, its proximity to downtown, the RTA and the airport, and its strong existing infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/T36yXZAm8q
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 7, 2024
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 7, 2024
Cleveland.com shared more images, and noted that a team spokesperson declined to provide similar renderings for a renovation of Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Here are more of the Browns' renderings of what a $2.4 billion Brook Park stadium could look like. When asked to share renderings of what a $1 billion renovation of the existing stadium in downtown Cleveland could look like, a team spokesman declined.
— clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) August 7, 2024
Images: Provided by HKS pic.twitter.com/W5HoerPGZB
Cleveland fans will likely have strenuous objections to such a stadium. Like with the Chicago Bears' situation, moving the stadium outside of the city and into the suburbs will be met with strong resistance, and that's before getting into the dome aspect. An indoor stadium allows for ownership to capitalize on the field as a venue year-round, but it would also take away much of the character that comes with playing in Cleveland and a bit of home-field advantage.
Playing the Browns at home means playing in the wind and cold and snow and rain—not so much when the field is 15 miles away from Lake Erie and indoors.
It's still the very early days of this project, of course. Much can change in the coming months and years. But the release of renderings means Cleveland fans must begin to prepare themselves for the possibility that significant change could be in the near future.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cleveland Browns Unveil Renderings of Potential New Indoor Suburban Stadium.
