BROOK PARK, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns are surveying fans to gauge interest in buying personal seat licenses for the new stadium, ranging from $500 in the upper deck corners to $149,300 for the closest seats with perks at the 50-yard line.
The survey sent Thursday to at least some current season-ticket holders, however, stopped short of saying PSLs were a sure thing in the stadium, noting in bold, underlined type that they “could be” required.
And more than one pricing scenario was presented for the same seats.
The survey came just two days after cleveland.com outlined the strong possibility of PSLs for the new stadium in Brook Park, noting that stadiums now under construction in Buffalo, New York, and Nashville, Tennessee, have PSLs with a starting price of $750 per seat, and explaining what will happen to PSLs bought years ago for the current stadium. The Browns plan to move into their new indoor stadium in 2029.
The Browns at the beginning of the survey said of PSL programs now common across the league that “purchasing a PSL typically involves a one-time fee, which grants the buyer both the right and the responsibility to purchase season tickets for that seat for the lifetime of the new stadium.”
The survey explained various seating options planned for the new stadium, including a standing-room area in the end zone, club seats and special group seating areas.
Then it went through 10 pages — each presenting five PSL and ticket-pricing options. Users were asked on each page which option they preferred or none at all.
Areas were repeated at different price points. Some examples from a survey reviewed by cleveland.com:
Upper corners at the highest level of the stadium: $500 one-time PSL, plus $1,250 annually per season ticket; $550 PSL with $1,500 for season tickets; and $650 PSL with $1,000 season tickets.
Lower level end zone standing position: $1,800 PSL, plus $2,500 per season ticket; and $2,650 PSL with $2,250 per season ticket.
Mid-level seat between the 30-yard lines: $14,350 PSL and $5,500 per season ticket; $16,350 PSL and $3,250 per season ticket; and $16,350 PSL and $5,500 per season ticket.
50-yard line club seat at field level on the home side, including all-inclusive food and beverages with top-shelf liquor, priority parking and access to the VIP Field Club: $149,300 PSL and $22,500 per season ticket; $131,100 PSL and $19,750 per season ticket.
The survey also asked preferences for PSL payments, including interest-fee payments over three years until the stadium opened, or five- and 10-year payment options at 8% interest.
PSL Part 2, for Cleveland?
While the survey sheds new light on what Browns fans might pay, it also underscores how common — and costly — PSLs have become across the NFL. And for Cleveland, the idea is hardly new.
They were part of the existing stadium on the lakefront, ranging from $250 to $1,500 a seat, though none were charged for the 10,000 Dawg Pound seats. Previous season-ticket holders received discounts of 10% to 50%. About 57,000 PSLs were sold by opening day in 1999.
The Browns stopped selling new PSLs by 2013 as demand slowed, but many fans still hold them. Others transferred or lost their rights after failing to renew. Under existing terms, those PSLs will expire with the last game at the downtown stadium.
Among the unknowns: whether longtime patrons will receive discounts on new PSLs if the Browns use them to help fund their $1.5 billion share of the $2.4 billion Brook Park project. Some $600 million from the state, plus local tax revenues tied to the site, are expected to cover the remainder.
“We haven’t finalized our ticket-pricing structure as we are still gathering information necessary to make those decisions,” Browns spokesperson Peter John-Baptiste said last week. “But we do intend to offer a variety of pricing options and payment structures to accommodate as many of our fans as possible.”
Ticket prices have climbed steadily, from about $33 on average the last year of the old stadium in 1995 to roughly $180 now, and are almost certain to rise again with the new stadium.
The NFL first embraced PSLs in the mid-1990s as a way to recover construction costs. The concept debuted in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Carolina Panthers’ stadium that opened in 1996 and has since become standard for new builds.
Pricing elsewhere
Recent stadiums in Minneapolis, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Las Vegas all used PSLs, as will those opening next in Buffalo and Nashville.
Buffalo, opening 2026: About 45,000 of the 60,000 seats are earmarked for PSLs, ranging in price from $750 to $50,000. An unofficial seating map circulating on the internet shows upper deck mid-field PSLs priced at $2,500, with those at mid-field in the lower deck at $15,000. Total cost for the stadium in suburban Orchard Park, N.Y., is $2.2 billion — $1.35 billion from the team, $600 million from the state and $250 million from the county.
Tennessee, opening 2027: PSLs range from $750 to $75,000, with the team reporting 72% sold. The high-end at $75,000 is for an “ultra-premium, all-inclusive food and beverage, luxury club experience.” The club said 40% of the “seat memberships” would be below $3,500. Estimated cost of the Nashville stadium is $2.2 billion — $940 million from the team, $760 million from the city and $500 million from the state.
The one current exception does not involve a new stadium, but rather the massive $1.4 billion Jacksonville renovation underway and due to be completed in 2028. The Jaguars are kicking in $625 million, with the city covering the rest.
“As for PSLs, this is not part of the math here in Jacksonville. Never was,” spokesperson John Dever said by email.
The Titans, meanwhile, offer existing season-ticket holders a credit toward PSLs in the new building — a move the Browns could consider.
The Browns were on hiatus in 1996 when PSLs first came to Cleveland, but season-ticket holders did receive price breaks when the new lakefront stadium opened in 1999.
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