Browns stadium thread: To dome or not to dome

[AZ_]

Twitter usage is at an all time high.

Masterful gambit by Elon his team to outshine the legacy media industrial complex.

 

[inliner311]

I live over 2 hours away. I usually go to 1 or 2 games a season in Cleveland. Went to Houston to watch a playoff game before I die. Stay in a hotel downtown and hit the casino while there. So with everything it's a $2,000 weekend. I always go the first 2 months of the season. So September and October. I won't take the chance and sit in the cold the rest of the season. I doubt even if it's the playoffs will I sit outside. If we play in Detroit or Indy I will got to there instead just so I don't have to work about weather. I might even consider Nashville/Chicago when/if they get a dome.

I think a dome is the better option to make more money and have more events but is it really worth the extra billion or so. I even think the cost of tickets would increase in the resale market and the initial market. I would probably always go to Cleveland if they had a dome.

My personal vote is dome.

I don't think many people are really against the dome idea. I think most of us here are on board with that.

I also think most agree that renovating the current stadium makes little to no sense. Whatever you add or restructure in the current stadium won't have the impact of a dome. Really I don't know what they can do to make stuff that much better at the current stadium. People come to watch the Browns, it's not like they come to hang out like with the Guardians and the stuff they changed with progressive field.

I think the debate is really where the new stadium should be. I think it would be bad for the city of Cleveland for it to leave. If the Haslams build in Brookpark it will pull money away from the city of Cleveland. I've said that eastsiders probably won't go to whatever they build around the stadium if it's in Brookpark outside of going to browns game and maybe some concerts. It will be an entertainment complex for the Westside. That being said I think if it's a good entertainment complex, then Westsiders are less likely to go downtown during the weekends. Visitors will be less likely to stay downtown if they are coming for Browns games or events at the new Brookpark complex. It's just unnecessary money being pulled away from the city of Cleveland which they need more than Brookpark does.

 

[Lee]

I’m not one for the bitter cold but domed stadiums entirely make up my least favorite stadiums I’ve been to (Texans, cardinals, colts). I’m not sure why the game just feels a lot different without all the natural light and open stadium

I guess I’m in the heavy minority of not wanting a dome and even heavier minority that it’s not bc “muh football weather”. I’ve just always been disappointed with the dome experiences I’ve had

Sounds like you need good dome then. Because getting dome has always been a good experience to me.

 

[texascavsfan]

Sounds like you need good dome then. Because getting dome has always been a good experience to me.

Is there such a thing as bad dome? I mean some dome is better than others but in the end, dome is dome... I can do this dad joke thing

 

[Sebastian]

Why not a retractable roof?

During the first half of the season it can remain open for the lovely Fall weather.

But they can close it once a temp threshold is reached or it is storming.

Or for the sake of maintaining the illusory Cleveland weather advantage, keep the dome open until game time so the field can get nice and cold and snowy.

 

[FrontPageNews]

Why not a retractable roof?

During the first half of the season it can remain open for the lovely Fall weather.

But they can close it once a temp threshold is reached or it is storming.

Or for the sake of maintaining the illusory Cleveland weather advantage, keep the dome open until game time so the field can get nice and cold and snowy.

It probably will be. I think dome is just a general term.

 

[Lee]

Why not a retractable roof?

During the first half of the season it can remain open for the lovely Fall weather.

But they can close it once a temp threshold is reached or it is storming.

Or for the sake of maintaining the illusory Cleveland weather advantage, keep the dome open until game time so the field can get nice and cold and snowy.

I rather do what AZ did and have the field on a track so they can have natural grass. Also, another advantage is the floor underneath the field is concrete so for concerts and other events you are not ruining the grass and not having to be on the grass. I have been to State Farm for several events and its just like a giant convention center with the concrete floor and the grass getting sunlight outside.

 

[Sharpner]

Is there anything published on the demographics of season ticket holders, specifically, where do most of them live?
Like, what is the % of ticket holders who live on east side, west side, south side, Akron?
There is a lot of open space south (beyond downtown), that would get a big hell yeah for the communities between Akron and Cleveland (and I suppose there is a % of Canton peeps too.)
But ultimately, it looks like west side most likely, so point is just for conversational purposes.

I'm not sure if there's a complete breakdown, but the closest I could find was this Cleveland Scene article that says only 30% of fans at Browns home games live in Cuyahoga county and of that 30%, 15% live in Cleveland. So that's a pretty significant amount of people that travel a minimum of 20 miles or more to get to a game. For me personally, the distance from my house to the stadium at the current location and the proprosed Brook Park site is virtually identical, with Brook Park being closer by .1 miles.

 

[MikeOC33]

I'm not sure if there's a complete breakdown, but the closest I could find was this Cleveland Scene article that says only 30% of fans at Browns home games live in Cuyahoga county and of that 30%, 15% live in Cleveland. So that's a pretty significant amount of people that travel a minimum of 20 miles or more to get to a game. For me personally, the distance from my house to the stadium at the current location and the proprosed Brook Park site is virtually identical, with Brook Park being closer by .1 miles.

Thanks for that Sharpner, appreciate it. That 30% in county is significant, but it also underlines that fans are going to travel, no matter if downtown, east side, west side, south side.

 

[inliner311]

I rather do what AZ did and have the field on a track so they can have natural grass. Also, another advantage is the floor underneath the field is concrete so for concerts and other events you are not ruining the grass and not having to be on the grass. I have been to State Farm for several events and its just like a giant convention center with the concrete floor and the grass getting sunlight outside.

While I wouldn't mind that if it's in Brookpark. I do hate the idea of a stadium and just parking lots around it like the Cardinals stadium is like.

If they can find a site in the city of Cleveland, I would love for them to reimagine how you can build the structure of the stadium and create uses for it the other 365 days out of the year. Like build things into the exterior structure of the stadium that has use for during the week and in the offseason.

Like if I had reimagine the current stadium, I would make decks so you can have bars and restaurant over looking the city and the lakefront. Exterior shops on the ground floor. Office space or a hotel on upper floors. Maybe a museum or something on the end zone structure side to go along with the rock hall and science museum.

 

[browniebob]

I rather do what AZ did and have the field on a track so they can have natural grass. Also, another advantage is the floor underneath the field is concrete so for concerts and other events you are not ruining the grass and not having to be on the grass. I have been to State Farm for several events and its just like a giant convention center with the concrete floor and the grass getting sunlight outside.

I love the idea of the grass tray in Arizona, but for whatever reason players seem to hate the surface there.

 

[Los216]

How many teams are looking for new stadiums right now?

Browns
Chiefs
Titans
Commanders
Bills

 

[Lee]

I love the idea of the grass tray in Arizona, but for whatever reason players seem to hate the surface there.

I have never been on the grass, just the concrete so i really dont know and i dont follow the cardinals that close, 100% you could be correct.

Edit: After research, it was after SB 57 that players complained. The normal field had no complaints, but in the incredible wisdom of the NFL, they installed a new one time use grass field for the super bowl and some players said they couldnt get their footing on the fresh grass. Basically the NFL knew more than the ground keepers in Arizona which grass to install, lol. We only have the most per capita golf courses of any metro area in the nation with tons of experts in the area.

So no problem accept the one time the NFL thought the knew more. He beauty of the giant trey is that it never gets stepped on or hurt for any of the concerts or other events as it roles out, i thought i had heard good things about it.

@browniebob

 

[2 For The Brew]

Because it’s an old city that didn’t take in consideration the car until they put highways right through the city center. Cities are for pedestrians.

I think the big issue with Downtown Cleveland is the river and the high level bridges needed to cross it, plus the lake, which limit growth in three directions. Downtown is quite small in square miles compared to many other cities. There just isn’t a lot of real estate available. The highways don’t really impact pedestrians except for the Innerbelt.

 

[Lee]

I think the big issue with Downtown Cleveland is the river and the high level bridges needed to cross it, plus the lake, which limit growth in three directions. Downtown is quite small in square miles compared to many other cities. There just isn’t a lot of real estate available. The highways don’t really impact pedestrians except for the Innerbelt.

And yet downtown Cleveland feels bigger and more alive to me than downtown Phoenix.

With Phoenix growth coming entirely since 1990 (1 mill to over 5 mill in that time), I think there is something too Cleveland being an older city. I find Cleveland to have an adequate downtown. Obviously you cant compare it to a city like Chicago, but other Midwest cities like Milwaukee and Indianapolis have worse downtowns in my opinion, but my opinion is a bit old (been living out west and downtowns here feel completely different like San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, ect.