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08 July 2025
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Jul 08, 2025Athletic Business
Three people in Ohio filed a lawsuit against state officials who pushed through legislation that will allow the state to use $600 million in unclaimed funds to pay for a domed stadium for the Cleveland Browns.Â
The three plaintiffs are seeking class-action status on behalf of thousands of Ohioans to prohibit the state from using their funds while the legal battle plays out.Â
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Browns $600M Stadium Deal Hit With Suit Over âUnclaimedâ MoneyThe Brownsâ plan to relocate to suburban Brook Park, Ohio, and build a $2.4 billion domed stadium and mixed-use development has moved from one legal quagmire to potentially another.Â
As expected, a recently approved state plan to provide $600 million toward the stadium project, backed by funds from an account of unclaimed funds, has generated a lawsuit. A group of former Democratic lawmakers in Ohio has followed through on a prior threat to challenge the use of that money, filing a lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court against several state officials and claiming the plan is unconstitutional on both the state and federal levels.Â
The unclaimed funds are derived from sources such as utility deposits, uncashed cashierâs checks, and forgotten bank accounts, with Ohio currently holding nearly $5 billion of such money. For the new Browns stadium, some of those funds would be used to help support stadium construction, and then repaid through future tax revenues generated at the venue.Â
âThe state now intends to confiscate the private property ⌠for the purpose of funding a private development, depriving the rightful owners of their property,â the lawsuit reads in part. âThe state intends to do so, even though it has long been settled that funds held by the state of Ohio in its âunclaimed fundsâ account are private property.â
The lawsuit seeks class-action status and an injunction to block the use of the unclaimed funds, and it says the public-sector costs will ultimately exceed $1 billion when factoring in additional related costs.Â
âThe state of Ohio intends to steal over a billion dollars in private property from its citizens and pour it into the pockets of [Browns owner] Jimmy Haslam, one of Americaâs richest men,â said Jeffrey Crossman, former Ohio legislator and part of the group that filed the lawsuit. âEveryday Ohioans are outraged by this blatant abuse of power. The government canât just take someoneâs property and give it to someone else.â
The legal challenge closely follows the approval of the Ohio budget that included not only the Browns stadium funding, but also changed elements of the stateâs Modell Law to apply limitations on pro teams in the state relocating only if they intend to leave Ohio entirely. That shift in the Modell Law essentially mooted a prior lawsuit from the city of Cleveland, which had argued the Brownsâ intended move to the suburbs was unlawful.Â
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has opposed the use of the unclaimed funds and called it âpoor public policy,â but still believed it was legal. Along similar lines, Gov. Mike DeWine previously said he anticipated the lawsuit as the recent state budget process unfolded.
âIâm sure that will be tested in court, if thatâs what we end up doingâif thatâs what the legislature ends up doing,â DeWine said last month regarding the use of unclaimed funds. âSo Iâm sure that will be tested. But thatâs nothing. A lot of things get tested in court.â
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09 July 20253 min readBrowns $600M Stadium Deal Hit With Suit Over âUnclaimedâ Money
Front Office Sports
09 July 2025
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Lawsuit Challenges Ohio'S Use Of $600M In Unclaimed Funds For Browns' StadiumThree people in Ohio filed a lawsuit against state officials who pushed through legislation that will allow the state to use $600 million in unclaimed funds to pay for a domed stadium for the Cleveland Browns.Â
The three plaintiffs are seeking class-action status on behalf of thousands of Ohioans to prohibit the state from using their funds while the legal battle plays out.
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08 July 20251 min readLawsuit Challenges Ohio'S Use Of $600M In Unclaimed Funds For Browns' Stadium
Athletic Business
08 July 2025
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Commandersâ $3.8B Stadium Deal In Jeopardy? Mayor Sounds The AlarmAs temperatures rise in Washington, D.C., so, too, do political tensions over the Commandersâ bid to build a $3.8 billion domed stadium on the grounds of their former home, RFK Stadium.Â
The euphoric feelings that existed less than three months ago, when the Commanders and owner Josh Harris first unveiled their plan to return to the District, have given way to frustration and doubt. Already facing an uphill climb to secure sufficient D.C. Council support for more than $1 billion in public funding for the project, Mayor Muriel Bowser is now sounding alarms about a potential collapse of the deal.Â
âI think that everybody should be treating this urgently,â Bowser said on WTEM-AM. âNobody should have the nonchalance that Iâve heard from some, the âOh, whatâs a month? Whatâs two months? Whatâs three months?â I think it introduces a level of uncertainty and risk thatâs intolerable for most business organizations.â
Asked on the radio show to rate her worry about the Commandersâ deal on a scale of zero for ânot concernedâ to five being âvery concerned,â she answered with a four.
âWhen youâre a big-city mayor, youâre concerned about everythingâIâll put it at a four,â she said.
Core to the dispute is a decision last week by the council and its chair, Phil Mendelson, to separate consideration of the Commandersâ funding from a broader deliberation of the upcoming D.C. budget. That, in turn, threatens a provision in the deal for the council to approve funding by July 15 to preserve a planned 2030 stadium opening. Mendelson has argued that the July 15 deadline is not realistic, particularly given the due diligence needed to review the agreement, and that the Commanders wonât realistically need public funds until early next year.
In the meantime, the Commanders hosted a dinner earlier this week for council members in Georgetown to answer questions and help build support for the stadium effort. Itâs currently thought that there are four solid âyesâ votes on the council for the stadium funding, three short of the needed threshold.Â
Stadium and arena battles, however, are nothing new in the nationâs capital. Delayed council approval of the funding for Nationals Park more than two decades ago nearly derailed MLBâs relocation of the Montreal Expos to become the Nationals. Much more recently, Ted Leonsis planned to move his NBA Wizards and NHL Capitals to neighboring Alexandria, Va., in a new venue before reaching a deal last year with Bowser to renovate the teamsâ current home, Capital One Arena, instead.Â
Harris, meanwhile, is also proceeding with plans to build a new arena in the South Philadelphia sports complex and begin a WNBA expansion franchise there, both in partnership with Comcast Spectacor.
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02 July 20253 min readCommandersâ $3.8B Stadium Deal In Jeopardy? Mayor Sounds The Alarm
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02 July 2025
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Ohio Governor Approves $600M In Unclaimed Funds For New Cleveland Browns StadiumOhio governor Mike DeWine has approved a two-year, $60 billion budget that includes $600 million to build a new stadium for the Cleveland Browns.Â
The Browns owners had requested the state's financial help in building a $2.4 billion domed stadium for the team.
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02 July 20251 min readOhio Governor Approves $600M In Unclaimed Funds For New Cleveland Browns Stadium
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02 July 2025
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Daily Digs: New Minor League Baseball Stadium, $200M In Renovations To Levi'S Stadium, And More!The forthcoming minor league baseball team known as the Wilson Warbirds released renderings of their new downtown baseball stadium.
After the 2025 season, the Carolina Mudcats will rebrand as the Wilson Warbirds.
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02 July 20251 min readDaily Digs: New Minor League Baseball Stadium, $200M In Renovations To Levi'S Stadium, And More!
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02 July 2025
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$600M For Browns Stadium Sparks Cleveland Backlash, Possible LawsuitThe Browns are officially getting $600 million in state money toward a planned domed stadium and mixed-use development in suburban Brook Park, Ohio. The fallout from that budget decision, however, is still unfolding.Â
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law late Monday a state budget that includes a $600 million âperformance grantâ for the Browns. Those funds, approved last week by the Ohio legislature, will be paid out from an account of unclaimed state funds, such as utility deposits, uncashed cashierâs checks, and forgotten bank accounts, and repaid through future tax revenues.Â
DeWine said he opposed that structure, but nonetheless, did not exercise line-item veto power to quash it.Â
âThat was not my first choice. I had another way of doing it,â DeWine said Tuesday morning, of helping fund the Brownsâ stadium. âBut governors donât get everything they want. ⌠My criteria was that it would not spend money out of the general fund and it would not directly compete with education, directly compete with mental health. Stadiums should not compete with mental health, should not compete with education. So this budget, while it doesnât do it the way I originally designed it ⌠meets those criteria.
âThis is a win for taxpayers, and it will provide significant money for things that improve the quality of life in Ohio,â he said.Â
A group of former Democratic lawmakers in Ohio, meanwhile, intends to file a class-action lawsuit, calling the use of those unclaimed funds unconstitutional.Â
The budget signing also codified a change to Ohioâs Modell Law, designed to help prevent pro teams in the state from moving, that will only trigger those protections should a franchise look to relocate out of state. That shift essentially moots an ongoing lawsuit between the Browns and the city of Cleveland.Â
More broadly, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb blasted the budget approval and what the Brownsâ move to the suburbs will do to the city.
âRelocating the Browns will divert economic activity from downtown, create a competing entertainment district, and disrupt the momentum of our lakefront redevelopment,â Bibb said. âIt will also trigger substantial taxpayer-funded infrastructure upgradesâincluding highway reconfigurations and public safety enhancementsâadding significant public costs on top of the stadium itself.â
Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, for their part, cheered the DeWine signing and touted the ambition in their $2.4 billion stadium and development plan. A groundbreaking is now set for early next year, in advance of a planned opening in 2029. Â
âThe new, enclosed Huntington Bank Field will be completely fan-centric, a first-of-its-kind design in the NFL, and a dynamic venue that draws visitors from across Ohio and beyond, for concerts and significant sporting events throughout the year,â the pair said in a statement.
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01 July 20253 min read$600M For Browns Stadium Sparks Cleveland Backlash, Possible Lawsuit
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01 July 2025
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Bengals Strike 10-Year, $470M Stadium Deal To Stay In CincinnatiThe Bengals will remain in Cincinnati through 2036, after an expiring stadium lease had threatened their future in the city after this season.
The NFL franchise and Hamilton County have agreed to a new 10-year lease to continue playing games at Paycor Stadium, and give the venue a $470 million renovation. There is an option for a further 10-year extension through 2046. That total renovation cost is down significantly from previous proposals, which climbed as high as $1.2 billion.
The teamâs current lease was set to expire in 2026, unless a new deal was agreed to by June 30. In April, Bengals EVP Katie Blackburn sparked concern when she said, âWe could, I guess, go wherever we wanted after this year.â
On Thursday, Blackburn, who is the daughter of Bengals owner Mike Brown, heralded the new lease extension as a âsignificant day for the Bengals and Hamilton County as we secure the teamâs future in Cincinnati.â
The Bengals will invest $120 million in the renovation project and cover 75% of the new improvements to the stadium. An official announcement said the franchise and Hamilton County would âcontinue to work collaboratively to secure meaningful funding from the State of Ohio to further support the renovation efforts.âÂ
Specific details on how that public funding will be secured are unclear. Other NFL franchises around the country, including the Bengalsâ in-state neighbor, the Cleveland Browns, have struggled to get public stadium funding. However, the cost of Cincinnatiâs proposed project is far lower than new stadium builds and other upgrades that can be well into the billions.
Paycor Stadium opened in 2000 and was known as Paul Brown Stadium after the franchiseâs late founder until 2022.
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26 June 20252 min readBengals Strike 10-Year, $470M Stadium Deal To Stay In Cincinnati
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26 June 2025
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Browns $2.4B Stadium Plan Now Relies On Ohioansâ Forgotten MoneyThe Brownsâ $2.4 billion plan to build a new stadium and mixed-use development in suburban Brook Park, Ohio, has cleared one major hurdle, but it will likely soon face others.Â
The state legislature has likely mooted a legal battle between the NFL team and the city of Cleveland over Ohioâs Art Modell Law, named for the late former owner of the Browns and designed to keep pro teams playing in publicly supported facilities from moving.
The law blocks any team relocation without giving city officials six monthsâ notice and an opportunity to buy the franchise, and became the source of competing lawsuits from the team and the city as the Browns look to depart Huntington Bank Field in downtown Cleveland. A last-minute change to the Ohio budget, however, alters the Modell Law to apply the limitations only to teams looking to leave the state of Ohio entirely.Â
The shift, not surprisingly, angered city officials, with Cleveland saying in a statement that âwe strongly oppose this legislative maneuver because Clevelanders have invested hundreds of millions in the lakefront stadium and surrounding infrastructure. This proposed change fails to protect communities like us when a team decides to leave.âÂ
The Browns and team owner Haslam Sports Group called that sentiment a mischaracterization.
âThe General Assemblyâs amendment of the Modell Law confirms that the law is intended only to prevent teams from breaking a lease or leaving the state,â the team said. âThe Browns are doing neither of those things. The team is staying right here in Cuyahoga County, less than a mile from the city line, and HSG will honor every commitment of the Brownsâ current lease.â
That lease at Huntington Bank Field expires after the 2028 season.Â
As the state budget now moves to Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature, that monetary plan includes $600 million in previously approved funding for the Brownsâ stadium in Brook Park. That money would be drawn from an account of unclaimed state funds, such as utility deposits, uncashed cashierâs checks, and forgotten bank accounts, and repaid through future tax revenues. DeWine has until June 30 to sign the final budget.Â
Two primary obstacles, however, remain in that plan. DeWine has line-item veto power and could strip out that particular piece of ratified legislation. A group of former Democratic lawmakers in Ohio, meanwhile, intends to file a class-action lawsuit against the move if it proceeds, calling the use of those funds unconstitutional.Â
âThese are funds held in trust. This is not state property,â said attorney and former state Rep. Jeff Crossman. âThese funds belong to all those hardworking Ohioans across the state with forgotten savings accounts, uncashed checks, overpaid utility billsâtheyâre not abandoned. ⌠Weâre not anti-stadium. Weâre anti-theft.â
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26 June 20253 min readBrowns $2.4B Stadium Plan Now Relies On Ohioansâ Forgotten Money
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26 June 2025
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Thunder To Remain In Okc Through 2053 With New $1B Arena Deal SignedAs the Oklahoma City Thunder storm their way to game six of the NBA Finals, they have also closed a major deal with the Oklahoma City Council to remain in the city through 2053 and secure a new lease on their stadium.
According to KFOR News, the Oklahoma City Council views this deal as âone of the primary accomplishments of the city government.â
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19 June 20251 min readThunder To Remain In Okc Through 2053 With New $1B Arena Deal Signed
Athletic Business
19 June 2025
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Chicago Fire Planning $650M Stadium As Bears, Sox Projects StallMajor League Soccerâs Fire have taken close note of other pro stadium deliberations around Chicago, and they are determined to have a much smootherâand quickerâpath from concept to reality.Â
The Fire began their formal effort to develop a $650 million, soccer-specific stadium near downtown Chicago, holding a community meeting Monday night with local alderman Pat Dowell about the clubâs plan to anchor The 78, an undeveloped parcel on Chicagoâs South Loop.Â
As the neighboring Bears, White Sox, and Stars have each faced numerous obstacles in their pursuits of new facilities, particularly around obtaining public financing, the Fire and owner Joe Mansueto are moving full steam ahead with a private financing plan designed in part to have a new facility open roughly 33 months from now.Â
âWeâre completely focused on making sure we deliver,â Fire president of business operations Dave Baldwin tells Front Office Sports. âWe see ourselves as something of a sleeping giant, particularly as the biggest MLS market with only one team, and we want to ensure that this world-class city has a soccer stadium to match.â
There is little time for any sort of delays, though, as the club intends to secure all its needed zoning and preliminary approvals in the coming months and have shovels in the ground by the end of the year, and perhaps sooner than that. Such a rapid timeline would allow the Fire to stay on schedule for the stadiumâs planned spring 2028 opening in collaboration with Related Midwest, the developer that owns The 78 land.Â
There is no active consideration, meanwhile, to have the White Sox join the Fire at The 78, Baldwin says. The MLB club has actively studied the site as a potential ballpark location for more than a year, and said earlier this month they âremain confidentâ the site could still house two facilities, but nothing has progressed beyond that.
âWe wish them well, but right now, thereâs no plan for any other stadium at The 78,â Baldwin says.
The Fire, meanwhile, also unveiled initial designs late Monday for the 22,000-seat stadium. Working with Gensler, which designed several other MLS facilities, including ones in Los Angeles and Austin, the early drawings aim to reflect the grittier nature of Chicago with a heavy focus on brick and steel.Â
âWe want this to be truly emblematic of Chicago and are working around a theme of âenduring elegance,ââ Baldwin says. âThe core idea is to have something that looks like it would have fit right into the landscape of Chicago from 50 years ago and will be just as appropriate 50 years from now.â
That said, the design also pulls some influences from other recently developed MLS stadiums, as well as soccer facilities in Europe.Â
âOne of the first things we did after Joe got involved with the team was move downtown to Soldier Field,â Baldwin says. âWeâve loved being in the city, but weâre really looking forward to having a true home-field advantage and that level of intimacy with our supporters right on top of the pitch.â
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16 June 20253 min readChicago Fire Planning $650M Stadium As Bears, Sox Projects Stall
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16 June 2025
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$3.8B Commanders Stadium Deal At Risk Over Political RiftAs the Commanders look to advance their $3.8 billion plan to build a new venue at the site of the former home of RFK Stadium, the issue has devolved into a political back-and-forth between the District of Columbiaâs top two officials.
Less than two months after first completing the stadium deal with Commanders owner Josh Harris, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser said that delays by the D.C. Council to approve the latest budget are already imperiling a plan for the facility targeted for a 2030 opening.
âA delay sacrifices our exclusive seat at the table and $2.7 million in private investment,â Bowser said. âThe Commanders and my team are ready to iron out the details with the Council and respond to any concerns. It should be clear, but let me emphasize: If the Council strips the deal terms or budgeted dollars from the budget, it kills our agreement with the Commanders.â
The agreement between Bowser and the Commanders does require preliminary approval of the stadium plan by July 15, at which point the team would be able to talk with other jurisdictions. Neighboring Maryland and Virginia have made separate pushes toward a new stadium, but never got as far in negotiations as D.C.Â
D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, already a skeptic of the $1.1 billion in public support targeted for the Commanders stadium and related infrastructure, called Bowserâs comments inaccurate. He also said, despite the language in the stadium deal, there is more time to work with than what Bowser suggests.
âThe Commanders have said the earliest they would need the Districtâs money and go to the bond markets to finance construction is next summer,â Mendelson said. âWe will work within the Commandersâ 2030 timetable.â
Part of the backdrop of the political battle between the two officials is Bowserâs late May delivery of a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, weeks later than expected and a particular source of public frustration for Mendelson, as he claimed it has unduly compressed the Councilâs legislative work to fund the upcoming year.Â
Along similar lines, Mendelson has frequently balked at the prospect of reviewing and voting on an agreement as large as the Commandersâ stadium in just a matter of weeks, but he still pledged to move the governing body he leads as fast as possible.
âI have heard over and over from citizens and fellow councilmembers that the Council should do due diligence of this multibillion-dollar deal before voting to approve it,â he said. âThe Council will move forward quickly to analyze the mayorâs terms, improve the deal where possible for taxpayers, and approve a new football stadium. Any suggestions to the contrary are simply false.â
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12 June 20253 min read$3.8B Commanders Stadium Deal At Risk Over Political Rift
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12 June 2025
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$2.4B Browns Stadium Plan Clears Hurdle With $600M State BackingThe Brownsâ $2.4 billion plan to build a domed stadium and mixed-use development in suburban Brook Park, Ohio, has taken a major step forward as the state legislature has approved $600 million in public funding toward the project, but many more hurdles remain.Â
After weeks of debate, the Ohio Senate passed a $60 billion state budget for the next two years that includes the Browns funding, arriving in the form of a âperformance grantâ from an account of unclaimed state funds that would be paid back to the state through future tax revenues. That senate move follows a prior approval by the House that instead provides the funding in the form of state-backed bonds.Â
A reconciliation process will now start to resolve the differences in the two funding mechanisms before it moves to Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature. Whatâs clear, though, is that there is state-level legislative support for the Browns and this project.Â
âWhat this does is take idle money and puts it to work to create jobs, to create incremental taxes, and thatâs why weâre so excited about this project,â said Ohio Senate budget chief Jerry Cirino, a key architect of the plan to use the unclaimed state funds, which derive from sources such as utility deposits, uncashed cashierâs checks, and forgotten bank accounts.Â
Two big steps, however, remain for the Brownsâ plan to become reality. Another $600 million in local money will need to be found to get to the 50-50 split the team envisions between public and private funds for the project.
The Browns will also need to resolve an ongoing legal dispute with the city of Cleveland, which is fighting the teamâs move out of downtown. A law named for former Browns owner Art Modell, who moved the team to Baltimore in 1995, states that a team playing in a publicly supported stadium in Ohio cannot move without giving the city in question six monthsâ notice and an opportunity to buy the franchise. There are competing lawsuits from the team and the city surrounding the dispute, with little sign of an immediate resolution.Â
The Broncos, meanwhile, have been linked to a series of land purchases near Burnham Yard, a railyard property just south of downtown Denver that has been eyed as a potential site of a new stadium. The teamâs lease at its current stadium, the 24-year-old Empower Field at Mile High, ends in 2030, and Broncos president Damani Leech told Front Office Sports earlier this year that âpretty soon, we need to figure out what weâre doingâ after that expiration.
The team, led by the Walton-Penner family ownership group, declined to discuss the transactions, but regarding the stadium deliberations broadly said, âNo determinations have been made as we continue to evaluate several options in and around the Denver metro area.â
An amassing of separate real estate, however, has a similarity to the Bears, who currently play in Soldier Field in downtown Chicago but are increasingly pursuing a new facility on land they own in suburban Arlington Heights, Ill.
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12 June 20253 min read$2.4B Browns Stadium Plan Clears Hurdle With $600M State Backing
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12 June 2025
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