BROOK PARK, Ohio – While Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam in a flash last week abruptly announced their deal to resolve issues over the team moving from the city, there’s no clarity so far on when agreements will be ironed out with Brook Park.
Yet, in incremental steps, the suburb 10 miles southwest of downtown is moving toward becoming the home of the Cleveland Browns as early as the start of the 2029 NFL season.
City Council in August rezoned the property. The mayor expects to return to council in about a month with preliminary site development plans. Proposed roadway improvements submitted for state help are now being scrutinized by regional planning officials.
And on Oct. 28, the public will get a chance to weigh in on the infrastructure plan during a 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. open house at City Hall.
Yet, when it comes to many specifics — such as how exactly Brook Park would support the project through taxes from the site, the potential diversion of property taxes from the development, and the creation of a community authority to own the stadium — Brook Park Mayor Edward Orcutt has largely been mum.
Orcutt deferred on many questions during an interview with cleveland.com on Friday, saying he is privately negotiating with the team. And he declined to speculate when a development agreement would be reached.
“As soon as it is completed, we will make it public and present to council, which would have to approve,” Orcutt said. “It will be presented when everything is absolutely right … with the long-term sustainability that it needs to make us successful for decades.”
He did say the “development agreement will be inclusive of many things, including any incentives on the properties with TIFs.”
TIF, short for tax increment financing, is a tool cities sometimes use in which a property owner, instead of paying traditional property taxes, makes equivalent payments into a separate fund that supports the same or related developments.
Brook Park Mayor Ed Orcutt Patriot Day 2022
Edward Orcutt, mayor of Brook Park since 2022, has been working on the Browns deal since early 2023. (File photo)
Orcutt has said he first called the previous property owners in March 2023, after hearing the Browns say they wanted to explore options off the lakefront, and then he soon met with team executives.
Talks with the Browns and their parent Haslam Sports Group are known to largely center around two things: local tax revenue to support construction and the ownership/operation of the stadium.
At the heart of the Browns plan is the creation of a “new community authority” — a public, nonprofit entity to be established by Brook Park under Ohio law that would own the stadium, manage the lease and oversee broader site development.
The Browns also have said they are seeking about $300 million in support from city taxes generated at the stadium and adjacent development site. Making up the biggest share would be admissions taxes. Parking and city income taxes are also part of the proposed mix.
Separately, the state has committed $600 million, payable in February. The Haslams say they will cover the balance for the $2.4 billion stadium, and along with their development partner the $1 billion for an adjacent hotel-retail-residential district.
Though the details for both the community authority and the tax structure have not been determined, Orcutt said time needed to pin down these issues would not delay construction.
The Browns purchased the property earlier this year for $76 million. The team announced that excavation work began on Oct. 1. And a groundbreaking for the start of construction of the building is promised for next year. All this is aimed at the 2029 opening.
“We will continue to move dirt,” Orcutt said. “There has been great investment privately and publicly throughout. There are technical things that need to be worked through for the public to be comfortable for the long-term sustainability.”
Brook Park Browns infrastructure, October 2025
Proposed infrastructure plan for improvements around the Browns Brook Park stadium site submitted to the Northeast Areawide Coordinating Agency.Osborn Engineering
Orcutt said the preliminary site development plan he anticipates going to council within about a month would include things like a general layout of what buildings are proposed to go where. The mayor said he hopes to see a final site development plan by the end of the year.
Both steps require council approval, offering the opportunity for public debate, Orcutt said.
As for the broader development agreements with the city, including tax obligations, Orcutt said:
“My obligation to the residents of Brook Park is to make sure we have ourselves set up for success for the future. Negotiations are happening. We are not negotiating in public.”
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