CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are firing back over newly released documents that raise questions about whether the state should issue $600 million in bonds to help fund a new stadium in Brook Park.

What You Need To Know

  • Recently released documents raise some questions about whether the state should issue hundreds of millions in bonds to help fund a new Browns stadium in Brook Park

  • There are reports from the state Office of Budget and Management as well as the Legislative Service Commission

  • The Browns owners are firing back against the detractors' claims point-by-point.

One of those reports, from the state Office of Budget and Management (OBM), raises concerns about the burden this project would place on Ohio taxpayers, questions the methodology used by the Haslam Sports Group and says some of its projections are "wildly overblown.”

But the Browns are pushing back with their own point-by-point response.

The Browns’ plan to use $600 million in state funding to finance a new enclosed stadium in Brook Park took two big hits this week.

The recently-released reports from OBM and the Legislative Service Commission question the teams’ projections—from the number of jobs the development is expected to create to its tax revenue—echoing the concerns of northeast Ohio leaders like County Executive Chris Ronayne and local stadium finance expert Ken Silliman.

“There is still a lack of transparency here,” Silliman said.

But the Haslam Sports Group (HSG), which owns the Browns, is firing back against its detractors' claims.

They said in a statement, in part,

“We question many of the memos’ assertions and have worked with our team of national experts to prepare relevant information and responses to the points in the OBM materials, which we have provided to the administration. The LSC memo also contained several inaccuracies and misinformation.”

OBM’s memo questions whether the Brook Park project will actually generate 5,000 new jobs, as promised by HSG, saying most of the jobs the Browns are claiming to create already exist.

“Most of the jobs are simply going to transfer from the City of Cleveland to Brook Park,” Silliman said.

But the Haslams' response says OBM overlooks the broader impacts of the development, claiming it will attract major employers that aren't here now.

Beyond the conflicting ideas on job creation, OBM’s memo says HSG “inappropriately overstates projections of future taxes generated by the project, overinflating positive impacts of the Brook Park development.”

Silliman said he agrees, pointing to what he, OBM and LSC call inflated projections of how many events the new facility will bring in beyond football games.

“That throws everything off, because as far as tax projections, you've got things like admission tax and parking tax that are so solely dependent on how much attendance you get,” Silliman said. “And if you fall short of the Brown's projections, you're going to fall short on the tax revenues.”

If the budget is approved in its current form, and the state issues $600 million dollars in bonds to help pay for the Brook Park project, the OBM memo cautions the cost of repaying those bonds over 25 years will be closer to a billion dollars.

Spectrum News 1 producer Cody Thompson contributed to this report.

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