Huntington Bank Field

• 1. Demolition And Demise

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  Cleveland Stadium stood on the site from 1931 to 1996. During the 1995 season, owner Art Modell announced his plans to move the team to Baltimore. This announcement resulted in legal action from the city of Cleveland and Browns season ticket holders. The day after the announcement was made, voters in Cuyahoga County approved an extension of the original 1990 sin tax on alcohol and tobacco products. These funds were designated for renovations to Cleveland Stadium. Eventually, as part of the agreement between Modell, the city of Cleveland, and the NFL, the city agreed to tear down Cleveland Stadium. They planned to build a new stadium on the same site using the sin tax funds. Modell agreed to leave the Browns name, colors, and history in Cleveland. He created a new identity for his franchise, which eventually became the Baltimore Ravens. The NFL agreed to reactivate the Browns by 1999 through expansion or relocation of another team. Demolition on the old stadium began in November 1996 and was completed in early 1997. Debris from the former stadium was submerged in Lake Erie and now serves as an artificial reef.

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• 2. Concrete And Glass Structure

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  Ground was broken for the new stadium on the 15th of May 1997. It opened in July 1999. The first event was a preseason game between the Browns and the Minnesota Vikings on August 21. This was followed the next week by a preseason game against the Chicago Bears. The first regular-season Browns game at the stadium was played the evening of the 12th of September 1999. A 43, 0 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers marked this occasion. The stadium was designed by Populous, which was known at the time as the Sport Venue Event Division of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK). Indianapolis-based Huber, Hunt & Nichols served as the construction manager. The stadium is a concrete and glass structure using precast concrete and cast in-place for the upper concourse. Natural stone accents were used at the base of the stadium. The construction of the concrete superstructure took more than 6,000 truckloads of concrete. This volume weighed approximately 180,000 tons. The playing surface is a Kentucky Bluegrass irrigated field with a sand-soil root zone. An underground heating system involves nine boilers and miles of underground piping. This heating system prevents the field from freezing and extends the growing season of the turf.

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• 3. Naming Rights And Scandals

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  The city specifically chose not to sell the naming rights to the stadium itself. It instead sold the naming rights to each of the facility's four main entrance gates. Originally, the gates were named for National City Bank, Steris Corp., CoreComm Inc., and the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health. Randy Lerner sold the Browns to Jimmy Haslam, CEO of truck stop chain Pilot Flying J, in August 2012. Before the deal officially closed in October 2012, Haslam announced he would sell the stadium's naming rights. On the 14th of January 2013, it was reported that the naming rights were sold to FirstEnergy Corporation. The Akron-based electric utility serves most of northeastern Ohio. The Browns announced the following day that the stadium would be renamed FirstEnergy Stadium. The deal got official Cleveland City Council approval on the 15th of February 2013. Because of the Ohio nuclear bribery scandal and FirstEnergy's involvement in it, Cleveland City Council passed a resolution in June 2022. They urged FirstEnergy to relinquish its naming rights. The Browns then announced on the 13th of April 2023, that the team and FirstEnergy had come to an agreement to immediately terminate the naming rights deal. This restored the stadium's original moniker. Haslam Sports Group announced on the 3rd of September 2024, they had sold naming rights to Huntington Bank. This is based in Columbus, Ohio, in a 20-year partnership agreement.

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• 4. Renovations And Capacity

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  In 2013, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam announced a modernization project for the stadium. The project included two phases that took place during the NFL offseasons in 2014 and 2015. Phase one included improving the audio system and installing new scoreboards three times the size of the original scoreboards. These were at the time the fourth largest in an NFL stadium. Phase two included concession improvements and upgrades to technology connectivity. Graphics throughout the stadium were enhanced along with premium suites. The renovations reduced the stadium's capacity to approximately 68,000. The total cost of the renovations was estimated at $120 million. The city of Cleveland paid $30 million over 15 years while the Browns covered the rest of the cost. When Huntington Bank Field opened in 1999, the Dawg Pound was a 10,644 double-deck area. During stadium renovations in 2014, the upper level of the Dawg Pound was reduced to make way for a new larger scoreboard. The bleacher seating in the upper level was replaced with chairbacks. The initial seating capacity was listed at 73,200 people but following the first phase of a two-year renovation project in 2014, it was reduced to the current capacity of 67,431.

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• 5. Playoff Absence And Future

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  Through the 2023 season, Huntington Bank Field is the only NFL venue that has yet to host a postseason game of any kind. The Browns are one of five teams who have yet to host a home playoff game in their current stadium. They join the Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, and New York Jets. Those facilities have each hosted the Super Bowl. The Browns lease at the stadium is set to expire at the end of the 2028 season. Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and the Browns announced in October 2024 that the team plans to construct a new indoor stadium in suburban Brook Park. This site is adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. It aims to be ready in time for the 2029 season. The city of Cleveland objected to the project saying such a move would violate Ohio's Modell Law. In response, the team sued the city in October 2024 for clarification on the Modell Law. The city countersued in January 2025 to enforce the Modell Law. Dennis Kucinich filed a lawsuit in late August 2025 against the Browns on behalf of taxpayers for enforcement of the Modell Law. Public funding for the stadium was approved by the Ohio legislature on the 30th of June 2025.

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• 6. Concerts And Other Events

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  The first concert held in the stadium was George Strait in 2000. NSYNC performed there in 2001 as part of their PopOdyssey Tour. Kenny Chesney has performed at the stadium on three occasions. U2 performed at Huntington Bank Field the 1st of July 2017 as part of The Joshua Tree Tour 2017. Tickets went on sale January 17 and were sold out the following day. Concerts held at the stadium in 2018 included Taylor Swift as part of her Reputation Stadium Tour on July 17. Beyoncé and Jay-Z appeared on July 25 as part of their On the Run II Tour. Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe continued their The Stadium Tour on July 14 in front of 34,815 people. Machine Gun Kelly held the last US stop of his Mainstream Sellout Tour on August 13 playing in front of 42,086 fans. The Rolling Stones performed to a sold-out crowd at the stadium on the 15th of June 2024. Billy Joel and Rod Stewart performed at the stadium the 13th of September 2024. Monster Jam has been held at the stadium on two occasions, the first being the 2nd of July 2022, and then again on the 3rd of June 2023.

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