Sports teams in America typically want to find the best facilities for their fans and their incomes. However, in a busy sports city like Cleveland, finding space for new sports stadia can be quite the challenge. Reports that the Cleveland Browns have been looking for a new home have been circulating for quite some time. A new suggestion came out in late June that the Browns would once again be looking to move on from the FirstEnergy Stadium. However, this does not appear to be the case.

After much discussion midweek, the Browns announced that they are not looking to move into a new stadium. The heaviest reporting on the subject came recently, but the club has now moved to bite back against reports. Instead, they are looking to undergo a "significant" renovation project on their current home. A study has been underway, led by the club, to look at renovations alongside Lake Erie.

In a quick statement on the matter, team spokesman Peter John-Baptiste denied the move claims, stating: “The future of the stadium is one of several important pieces to the long-term execution of the lakefront project, and our organization looks forward to continuing to work with our community partners and leaders to identify next steps and our role in helping advance this initiative,” 

Why Are the Browns Looking To Renovate as Opposed to Moving to a New Stadium?

For some fans, the idea of a new move would appeal to them. After all, the FirstEnergy Stadium is one of the more dated stadia within the league. It has been played since they returned to the NFL in 1999, their first season back in Cleveland after departing for Baltimore. As the 12th-oldest stadia within the league, though, some fans would like to see a complete new build as opposed to the modernization of what already exists.

At the moment, there is no actual ballpark figure on the cost of renovations. However, they might be able to find some ideas on cost from the Tennessee Titans. The Nashville outfit is currently in the process of trying to move on from the Nissan Stadium, which also opened in 1999. This would cost anything from $1.8 to $2.2 billion to renovate. 

That being said, the Los Angeles-based SoFi stadium came in at over $5 billion for renovations. By contrast, the Buffalo Bills have agreed on a new stadium for $1.4 billion.

However, the current lease on the FirstEnergy Stadium runs until 2028 so it would be hard to break the lease. Given construction times, though, a new stadium would be unlikely to be ready by then. The hope is that some form of agreement can be made between the Browns and the stadium ownership to help fund the new renovations.

Though the stadium is seen as iconic by many fans in the league, renovations are needed. With close to 23 years of usage, FirstEnergy is beginning to look a touch dated in design and usage. Renovations, then, seem to be the way forward for the Browns. 

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