Just hours after researchers for state lawmakers released their analysis of the tax revenue estimates for the Cleveland Browns domed stadium development in Brook Park, the state’s budget director has blasted the plan in a memo obtained by the Statehouse News Bureau. And she says the state shouldn’t put up $600 million bonds for the project that she calls "risky", which is included in the budget approved by House Republicans earlier this month.
“Abundant research over many years concludes that economic benefits do not outweigh the costs incurred by governments,” Office of Budget and Management Director Kimberly Murnieks writes in a memo dated March 26 but released today. “The promised tangible economic benefits – economic growth, income growth, wage growth, employment growth, and higher tax revenues – do not occur the way sports teams claim. State and city governments are subsidizing development within a single neighborhood, with no tangible benefits for the rest of the city or state.”
And because there are other capital projects waiting on funding—including Dayton’s mental health hospital, Department of Youth Services facilities, prisons, state parks and the H2Ohio program—the state “does not have the capacity to accommodate these priorities plus $600 million in bonds for a single sports facility,” Murnieks writes.
Murnieks says she’s met with members of the Haslam Sports Group, which owns the Browns. She notes the size of the project changed from $3.8 billion in June 2024 to $3.4 billion as described by the team owners’ in February in a presentation to state lawmakers. She writes that it appears there are three phases in that project, and that the team has only committed to Phase 1, a $2.4 billion domed stadium.
The Browns have said the project will raise $1.3 billion more than the billion dollars the state will need to pay back the bonds over 30 years. Murnieks writes that the actual cost to pay back the bonds will be $1.01 billion over 25 years, which is what the budget proposal states. Her analysis notes the $38.5 million in upfront cash that the Browns initially offered “does not even equate to one year’s worth of debt service”. The House budget increased that to $50 million. But Murnieks says because credit rating agencies might feel the revenue stream won’t cover costs, the annual debt service could be between $35 million and $81 million.
Murineks writes this plan would “lock up all state sales, income, and commercial activity taxes within a specific area.” She describes that as “unprecedented” and “administratively burdensome”. And she adds that the Haslam Sports Group “inappropriately overstates projections of future taxes generated by the project, over-inflating positive impacts of the Brook Park development.” For instance, she writes that her office needs more detailed data on sales tax projection because the team “could be counting economic activities that are exempted from state sales taxes,” such as parking and admissions.
Murnieks says a spreadsheet she analyzed from October 2024 shows 6,000 construction jobs and 5,000 new jobs. But she says by her count, most of those “new” jobs already exist. She estimates around 1,500 new service sector jobs, but says they “would not generate income tax revenue sufficient to meet the debt service obligations on the project bonds.” And she compares the building of the Intel manufacturing facility in central Ohio with 7,000 estimated jobs, saying the projections of 6,000 construction jobs for the stadium “also appear to be wildly overblown.”
The state would own the stadium, Murnieks writes, and would be responsible for its maintenance—which she estimates at $19.9 million a year. And since there’s no dedicated revenue source, Murnieks recommends that if the state owns it, the state should share revenue from events it hosts.
Murnieks also writes the $1.01 billion in estimated repayment costs “will likely cost close to twice as much as the Administration’s proposal to use cash from increased sports gaming tax.” Gov. Mike DeWine, who appointed Murnieks, proposed that in his initial budget, saying it’s the solution he prefers for professional sports teams approaching the state to secure funding for facilities.
