DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Haslam Brook Park Stadium Proposal

Mayor Bibb is such a clown.

I’d like to see the details and what strings were attached.

Agreed, however (as Milk stated) we don't know the $$ amount or any additional terms.

Yet the stadium was built for a team owned by Lerner. Haslam really has no obligation to give them so much as a penny as long as he honors the terms of the lease. Looking a gift horse in the mouth on the part of the mayor is just stupid.

j/c…

I’m surprised that wasn’t something contemplated by the team when applying for the permit, considering the proximity to the airport.

Either way, I’m sure they’ll work it out.

While I won't add my opinion about whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, when a billionaire is involved on a major deal like this involving billions over the long run, the vast majority of the time things gets worked out.

I thought that was the reason it was built a little bit lower? It will get ironed out I'm $ure

I'm sure they will probably just go down a little bit further as that was the purpose of digging down.

I didn't read the report - how low does the stadium have to be?

Something like 56 feet lower

The plans had the stadium being built 80’ below grade. According, to ODOT they will need to be 58’ lower. Digging down 138’ below grade seems wild. That alone would significantly increase costs I would suspect.

It is also interesting considering the FAA already cleared it. Haslam worked closely with them to be in compliance.

That's probably correct. I don't know if that's right however. Shouldn't be that because you got money, they bend the rules..

By the way, there is one section of the new facility that is 58 Ft too tall. In the grand scheme of things, that's not that hard to adjust.

ODOT just wants their palms greased like the boys at the Statehouse down in Columbus!

Here are some more details from neo-trans blog. I remain amazed at how Ken Pendergrast is always the first to have the scoop on anything real estate related in the city.

ODOT said the Haslams can also resubmit for a new application with a shorter stadium and/or one built farther from the airport. As planned, the lowest level of the new Huntington Bank Field would be built 80 feet into the ground.

Or it could trade places with a stadium village and entertainment district proposed farther from the airport on a large, vacant site on Snow Road at Interstate 71. An HSG affiliate paid $76 million in June for 179 acres of a former Ford auto plant.

The ODOT-Aviation letter, citing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, describes the limitation stemming from the enclosed stadium’s placement and height within an arc beyond the end of the airport’s east-west Runway 10/28. This runway is used by commercial aircraft however infrequently, depending on unique wind conditions.

“A horizontal plane 150 feet above the established airport elevation, the perimeter of which is constructed by swinging arcs of a specified radii from the center of each end of the primary surface of each runway of each airport and connecting the adjacent arcs by lines tangent to those arcs,” the letter continues. “The proposed structure exceeds this protected surface at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Cleveland Ohio by 58 feet at the highest point.”

ODOT-Aviation said that if the proposed structure at this location were reduced in height by a specific amount, it would not be considered an obstruction to air navigation. “Please contact our office to request a permit at these reduced heights,” ODOT-Aviation said.

The stadium may also be permitted at the proposed height at another location further away from the airport. “If you want to change the location of the proposed structure, you will need to file a new 7460-1 Notice of Proposed Construction with the FAA,” the letter said.

https://neo-trans.blog/2025/08/15/new-browns-stadium-denied-odot-aviation-permit/

Pendergrast is the best! I follow his blog regularly.

At some point you hit groundwater and things get real costly.

The Feds approved the plans ..... but the state doesn't? Weird.

In May, the FAA concluded that the proposed stadium would exceed federal obstruction standards, as the ODOT letter noted.

However, the agency determined that exceeding those standards “is in itself not sufficient grounds for issuance of a determination of hazard to air navigation.” Building the stadium as planned “would have no substantial adverse effect” on aircraft or air navigation facilities so long as illuminated red lights are placed atop the stadium, the FAA concluded.

The FAA determination letter also stated that there were negotiations to lower the height of the proposed stadium, but they were unsuccessful.

Quinn noted in his letter that ODOT’s aviation division had previously sent him six letters giving written approval for mobile cranes to construct the proposed stadium.

Quinn also wrote that he was “puzzled” by ODOT’s rejection of a “permit application,” as the team “made no such application.”

Local politics. ODOT might feel butt chapped, feeling an end run was made and they weren't consulted and or a few Clevelanders are high up with ODOT and want to create a stink.

Link with full article and formal letters submitted regarding the proposed stadium.

https://www.news5cleveland.com/spor...ermanently-and-negatively-impact-hopkins

Like I said, political.

I have had it with the Cleveland political lunatics. The have been screwing up their relations with the Browns for decades.

Haslam needs to move the team to some other city. Offer it up to some local group for $30 billion to meet the "Modell Law". Haslam owns the team. He can ask any price he wants. If nobody is able or willing to buy, move the team to somewhere that appreciates having an NFL team and owner who pumps in millions a year in to the local economy.

It's going to get worked out, but petty crap like this ticks me off.

It will get worked out. Once a project like this starts moving down the tracks, it reaches a point where the train can’t be stopped.

Amazing, You assume it's politics, but you don't know...And you already go down the road of threatening to move the team..

It probably IS politics, at least somewhat. When are elections for mayor and city council? Up here we call them municipal elections and everyone, when elections are looming, wants to get their name in the media, to show they’re fighting for you, the taxpayer, the hard-working people of Cuyahoga County!

Just get over it and work together to build the damn stadium.

Just curious. Since the FAA already approved clearance for the new stadium, why do you think a state agency stepped in against the FAA ruling? ODOT is the Ohio Department of Transportation. The FFA is the Federal Flight Administration. If it isn't political wrangling what do you think it is?

It isn't politics, it's specifically the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The plans were submitted to the FAA. The FAA reviewed and approved the plans, however, the airport administration has additional concerns about the plans and expressed those concerns to ODOT, who will need to approve the building permit and re-route traffic etc. during the building phase.

In this particular case, it doesn't seem to be a money grab OR a political stand against the stadium. It is simply to quell the concerns of the air traffic board of Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Once there is a solution, the plans will move forward. Apparently there are options available and they are willing to adjust the originally submitted plans to fix the current issue. This is a non-story. Ask ANY contractor and they will tell you there are snags in nearly every build... not many builds are this complex. Because of the stink the city raised, EVERYTHING is front page worthy when it comes to the project. This particular "issue" won't stop the building of the stadium in the current vicinity.

You do realize that the FFA is specifically designed to target air traffic on a national level while ODOT is a state agency to address all forms of transportation, right? I am a former contractor and have been in management for a general contractor. This isn't simply a "snag".

This is a state agency overriding the decision of a federal agency specifically designed to address air traffic. Anyone that thinks ODOT knows more about air safety than the FAA I don't believe understand their respective roles.

I understand that... What I said is that this is a concern coming directly from the Director of the Cleveland Hopkins Airport. It isn't ODOT saying the FAA doesn't know what they are talking about, it's ODOT saying the head of the local airport has concerns and we won't move forward until those concerns are addressed.

Which makes it even more political. The airport is run by the city of Cleveland. The head of the airport isn't elected. He/she is appointed by the mayor, and maybe approved by the city council, like they know what the buck they are talking about.

I didn’t know that. I knew they owned Cleveland Municipal Airport, but I didn’t know they owned Hopkins. I’m surprised they don’t have to have a committee elect the director since that’s the case. I wouldn’t think it would be an appointment that could just be approved. That’s very interesting and I can see where the politics come into play fr all of this now.

Thanks for sharing!

Look, it probably has some degree of Political intrigue involved. But saying it's political and threatening to move the team is IDIOTIC.

Why? The city seems to want to wage all out war to keep the team from moving 15 miles away, or more likely just to be a pain in the ass. What would you propose?

The Haslams offered to help demolish the stadium. The Mayor turned it down. If I was Haslam I would say fine. You didn't like it so it is off the table and another offer isn't on the way. Demolish your own stadium. You own the thing.

How was that a smart move by the city?

I’m surprised by that. CVG has an actual CEO. They just have to follow regs. Our last CEO was Candace McGraw and she was a rockstar. Not sure how the new guy will do.

I'm just curious. Can anyone think of any instance in which ODOT ever overruled a decision by the FAA?

A couple things to note:

1) Nobody knows the details of the offer to help demolish the stadium or what strings may or may not have been attached.

2) The Haslams are still $600M short of the $1.2B needed in public funding and are counting on Brook Park and Cuyahoga County for those funds. The Haslams said they do not need Cuyahoga County but I cannot imagine Brook Park has the capacity to issue a $600M bond as a city on their own and are counting on Cuyahoga County's assistance/partnership with the bond.

Well, for one, it sounds like everything a certain leader uses to get his way.. Over the long haul, it doesn't hold up.

What are you talking about?

Citizens of Brook Park PACK the room to fight Haslam-- NOT. Guess it isn't important.