Browns Dug In Dome plan: Darcy cartoons

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The former Cleveland Rams new dome home in Inglewood near the L.A. airport was built 100′ below ground and 100% self financed. Cleveland Browns would now like to follow their predecessors dome playbook at least part of the way.

At the Columbus Statehouse last Wednesday, the Browns displayed for state legislators preliminary plans for a dome stadium in Brook Park, across from the airport, that would be 80′ below ground to meet FAA flight path height restrictions.

The Browns may also have their own financial spending height restrictions. They are reportedly looking to split the estimated $2.4 billion cost of the new dome sports/entertainment complex with the state, county and Brook Park. Browns team headquarters and practice facility is just down the road in neighboring Berea.

Rams/Chargers SoFi stadium sits 3/4 below ground in Inglewood, a suburb of Los Angelas. Other NFL stadiums with no public funding include Miami Dolphins Hard Rock Stadium, the Carolina Panthers home turf and New York Giants/Jets Met Life stadium.

State Rep. Gayle Manning of North Ridgeville said the dome renderings they were shown “looked pretty fabulous.” Though the Browns asked lawmakers not to leak any of the renderings, at least one already has been.

To garner public support the Browns clearly want, they will have to have public release of renderings, however preliminary, sooner rather than later.

The fact they even had renderings finished enough to show lawmakers is another sign the Browns have had this proposal in the works far longer than was publicly known. See that as a good sign that the owners are not asleep at the wheel like the city was when Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore, in part because of the old stadium issue and his own money problems. The later is not a problem for the Haslams who just sold their Pilot J chain for $billions to Warren Buffet. Browns aim to move into a new dome by 2029, hopefully with at least one Super Bowl trophy.