CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland Browns’ game plan to resolve height issues over their proposed new stadium next to the airport doesn’t involve digging deeper into the ground or adjusting the site plan, but rather trying to convince the state that the FAA got it right in determining the new stadium was not an aviation hazard.
The comments from Kenneth Quinn, the team’s lead attorney on aviation issues, came Wednesday on the same day that Cleveland’s airport chief spoke publicly for the first time about his continued opposition to the height of the proposed stadium.
The stadium site in Brook Park is on 178 acres of former Ford Motor Co. property the Browns acquired earlier this year next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
Though the Federal Aviation Administration has said the stadium height was OK as long as red lights were installed on the roof, the Ohio Department of Transportation – in response to concerns raised by the airport – denied a construction permit on Aug. 1. ODOT offered two options: lower the stadium by 58 feet or move it to an unspecified location.
ODOT and the Browns have since been in discussions in an attempt to resolve the issue – talks the Cleveland airport director said he only learned about through news reports.
Cleveland Browns Brook Park stadium, aerial
Cleveland Browns plans for a proposed enclosed stadium in Brook Park, next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.Courtesy Cleveland Browns
The Browns were originally under a Tuesday deadline to appeal ODOT’s ruling. But ODOT late Tuesday lifted that deadline – without setting a new timetable – because the notice was not properly delivered. “Everyone is involved in the conversation toward a resolution. That’s the goal,” an ODOT spokesperson said.
Quinn, during an interview with cleveland.com, characterized the discussions as involving details of the FAA’s findings, and not in search of how to make adjustments to the stadium plan. The plan already involves digging down 80 feet and going 221 feet above ground.
“Any time you have to dig deeper and have things underground, it comes at a great economic expense,” Quinn said. “There’s a point where our consultants and the FAA agreed that you need not go farther to accommodate the safety and efficiency of airspace operations.”
Bryant Francis, Cleveland’s director of airports, said that months ago he had met with the Browns representatives regarding concerns about vehicle traffic flow around the airport during big events at the proposed stadium. But he said he has not discussed aviation issues with the team or its parent Haslam Sports Group. Instead, he wrote letters to ODOT in March and June.
Quinn said he was more than willing to speak directly with the airport about any aviation concerns, including the findings of the FAA’s evaluation.
“We view the airport as a long-term partner for an economic revitalization of the region,” said Quinn, former chief counsel for the FAA. “We’ve been working with the FAA for over two years with the foremost experts in airspace hazard determinations.”
Though the FAA offers determinations, the state of Ohio decides whether to deny or approve construction permits.
Quinn said that normally when there is a conflict, it is a state or local government seeking to move forward with a project deemed a potential hazard by the FAA – not the other way around, as in the Browns’ case.
Neither Quinn nor Francis said they had detailed information readily available Wednesday regarding other structures that may exceed the stadium’s height near the airport. Nor did they have information on the height of the former Ford plants demolished nearly 15 years ago.
The opposition from the city-owned airport comes as Mayor Justin Bibb has been working to block the Browns’ move from the city’s football stadium on the lakefront to suburban Brook Park.
Francis, during his late-morning media briefing, said that his opposition to the height was not directed by Bibb.
“This was not a mayor conversation. This was about me and my role,” Francis said.
Bryant L. Francis, Director of Port Control for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
Bryant Francis, director of Port Control for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Burke Lakefront Airport, on Wednesday discussed his concerns about Browns constructing an indoor football stadium next door. (File photo)John Kuntz, cleveland.com
Francis said he was concerned because the stadium, as designed, would exceed the airport’s protected airspace threshold by 58 feet and would pose potential safety risks.
“While we value regional development, no single project should come at the expense of the safety, efficiency and reliability of an asset that benefits our entire region,” Francis said in opening the briefing with prepared remarks.
However, Francis declined to outline exactly what safety hazards the structure might pose, saying he is “not a pilot” and not an aviation safety expert. And he said there were no written notes or reports to share from his staff.
Quinn described his experience in the process in working on projects in other cities across the country.
“Once you go above a certain height, the FAA will say this is an obstruction, and then you work to see whether it’s an obstruction that really would pose an adverse effect on safety and efficiency,” Quinn said. “You have to do changes. You have to maybe change the angle, the height, some of the cranes that you might have. But in this one, they determined that we don’t need that at all.”
The stadium site is about one and a half miles from the center of the airport, according to the FAA.
ODOT, in explaining the agency’s Aug. 1 permit denial, said, “If an airport has any objections to a permit due to safety concerns, it has generally been ODOT’s practice to deny the permit based on the airport’s concerns.”
The city’s objection was the only public comment the FAA said it received after circulating the proposal among 2,657 parties with “aviation” and “non-aeronautical” interests that may be affected.
The Browns want to break ground early next year on the $2.4 billion stadium, with hopes of opening in time for the 2029 NFL season.
The team’s lease with the city-owned stadium on the lakefront expires at the end of the 2028 season.
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