Ronayne: Public investment in Browns stadium worth considering. But how much?

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The owners of The Cleveland Browns say they want a domed stadium in Brook Park and that they’re starting to prepare for a move, but Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne thinks the team can still be lured back to the lakefront – potentially through greater public subsidies or the promise of a new stadium later.

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Ronayne has already made it clear that county tax dollars will not follow the Browns to Brook Park. Not only does he consider the teams’ projected $2.4 billion stadium – half at the public’s expense – “too much to ask of us,” but he worries the move might also pull resources away from downtown and cost the county unnecessary money to build up infrastructure in the suburb that already exists downtown.

He can’t yet justify those costs – “and I say ‘yet’ because there’s constant dialogue,” he hedged in an interview with cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer this week.

But if the team chooses to stay and renovate the existing facility – for now, at least – then perhaps the county would contribute more towards a benefits package than the one-third in sin tax collections it currently provides, he said.

That might involve pitching in more for a renovation than the county has in the past, he said. It might mean funding additional infrastructure or development along the harbor that supports the stadium. Or it might mean a new downtown stadium sometime in the future.

“I want to continue to ask them to keep their minds open on downtown,” Ronayne said of owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam.

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The county, too, needs to “ask ourselves what we’re willing to do,” he said.

Ronayne believes the Browns are worth some public investment. One of his major visions for growing the county hinges on building up its lakefront, and that “will happen faster with the Cleveland Browns,” he said.

The team also contributes to the county’s reputation as a sports town, with four major sports teams, if you count the Cleveland Monsters, as hockey-fan Ronayne likes to do – but also its reputation as an entertainment destination, considering its renowned arts and culture and theater facilities.

He expressed as much in a recent meeting with the Haslam Sports Group, he said, and he thinks a favorable agreement is still possible.

“I sense that they’re still open to talking about downtown,” Ronayne said. “I’m going to keep pushing that.”

Any request must be within reason, though, Ronayne cautioned. What is reasonable, though, is unclear.

The county is facing a projected $25 million budget deficit in 2025, it continues to rank among the highest poverty rates in the nation, and it’s preparing to invest about $1.5 billion in a new jail and courthouse.

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It’s also still trying to figure out how to keep up with repairs at Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, since spending has outpaced revenue. The county recently took on new debt to help pay off past-due repair bills while it tries to identify a more sustainable funding source.

Anything else, Ronayne said, must be balanced against the county’s basic function to provide for better health and human services, public safety and economic development.

“We do have to do right by taxpayers,” he said. “But we do, at county, realize that the Browns are an important part” in driving visitors to Cuyahoga County to spend money in its restaurants, hotels, bars and small businesses.

County funding is only part of the package, too.

It would need to be stacked with state and city money, but the state has never provided the level of sports financing requested and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb made one offer that capped at $461 million. Bibb has also said he will enforce the Modell Law to give the city or local residents an opportunity to purchase the Browns before they can move.

Ronayne is pushing for mutually-beneficial solutions, before then.

“We’re going to continue to get this figured out with the Cleveland Browns,” Ronayne said. “We’ll see where things go.”