Cleveland rejects $1.12 million Browns stadium repair payment

Cleveland City Council voted 7-6 against a proposed $1,122,824.02 reimbursement to the Browns’ stadium company for emergency repairs at the city-owned Huntington Bank Field. The Oct. 26 vote was six in favor and seven opposed.

The council’s Legistar file lists Ordinance 931-2026 as Failed, with a final-action date of Oct. 26, 2026, but does not display the vote tally. Independent reports give the result as 7-6 against.

The ordinance would have authorized city Parks and Recreation and/or Capital Projects officials to make a reimbursement agreement with Cleveland Browns Stadium Company LLC. Its defeat means this ordinance did not authorize the proposed payment.

Cleveland 19 reported $650,000 of the request was for concrete and joint repairs, about 58% of the total. The remaining itemized work included plumbing and pump work, failed pipe insulation, an overhead-door repair and an electrical-device replacement. Ideastream reported the Browns had completed the repairs before the NFL season.

The request was about 30% of the roughly $3.7 million Cleveland typically spends in a year on emergency stadium repairs, according to Ideastream, which also reported $36 million in such repairs since 2016. Those figures put the request in context; they do not show that rejecting it reduced repair costs. Signal Cleveland reported that stadium repair costs are paid from the city’s share of the county tax on alcohol and cigarettes.

The vote leaves the lease question open i

The council’s action did not determine whether Cleveland owes the reimbursement under its lease. The Bibb administration and council members who supported the measure argued that the lease required payment and warned of possible legal or financial consequences. Those were arguments and warnings, not a court ruling or a settled outcome.

Some council members opposed the payment amid frustration over the Browns’ planned move to Brook Park and the city’s broader dealings with the team. Council President Blaine Griffin told Spectrum News 1 that council might reconsider the vote at its Nov. 9 meeting, or the administration could reintroduce the ordinance. Neither option was confirmed as scheduled as of Oct. 29.