Cleveland Browns and downtown Cleveland have a new vision for the future

Cleveland Browns fans, can you just imagine not having to walk down to First Energy Stadium and cross over to the entrances from either East 3rd or 9th Street bridges?

Right now, that’s what many Browns fans do, to cross over old railroad tracks and a highway, as they try and get to the entrances of First Energy Stadium.

Instead, there would be this massive, picturesque land bridge that would be built from the Cleveland Convention Center to the gates of the stadium. The Browns front office and owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam are now supporting this new vision of building a huge land bridge that would filter out toward the shores of Lake Erie.

The Browns and the city of Cleveland came out earlier in the week with these new plans and visions of what the area around the Lake Erie shoreline would look like and it’s got me excited envisioning what this might all look like in the future. What an absolute treat this might become for us Browns fans. Not to mention the accessibility to the stadium becomes instantly more accommodating.

New businesses, retail stores, apartments would all potentially be built along this new weekend destination.

After the recent NFL Draft was held in this same area near First Energy Stadium, the city of Cleveland and the Browns are now considering more strongly using this spot as a real touristy destination.

For years, if you want to get down to the stadium, you have to cross over those 3rd and 9th street bridges. Not exactly an ideal and picturesque view, but now with this new land bridge being considered the entrance to Browns games and all the new developments proposed would seem really majestic.

I remember when the Cleveland Indians opened, then Jacobs Field, now called Progressive Field up in 1994. After decades of watching games at the old Municipal Stadium where past Indians and Browns teams played games, going to my first game at Jacobs Field was mesmerizing.

“This was the Indians new stadium?”, I’d say with a stunned look on my face. Cleveland fans hadn’t seen anything like it and it’s what helped spark a city and baseball team to a run of success including two World Series appearances.

Cleveland is already making waves around the NFL league. They just made the playoffs and will be in Super Bowl contention for the foreseeable future.

The timing of this new futuristic land bridge and new development around First Energy Stadium is perfect for us fans to continue to drool over the prospects of success. I can’t imagine this same excitement would have been generated coming off of the 0-16 season back in 2017, but when business is good, then by all means go ahead and push for more. And the Haslams, despite, some past coaching selection blunders, have certainly gotten it right in so many ways this past year.

Many cities already have used their natural geographical features to become the destinations that they are known for. San Antonio, Texas has the “River Walk” that cuts through the heart of the city and is a huge Texas-sized tourist spot. Cities like Seattle, Chicago, and Miami have all used their waterfronts to their advantage. Cleveland hasn’t used its waterfront to this point to the extent that other cities have.

The city of Cleveland has discussed ideas for such a development over the years but nothing has ever come of those talks. Now, with the support of the Browns, spearheaded by the Haslams, this latest plan really seems to have traction.

After hanging out down at the Lake Erie waterfront area and taking in the NFL Draft a few weeks ago in person, that area all around First Energy Stadium is primed to become something special.

You add in a surging Browns team to the mix, you have a tremendous opportunity for Cleveland and its diehard fan base.

And when this dream of land bridges, high-rise apartments, new retail stores, and beautiful park areas comes to be around the stadium, I’ll probably have that same reaction I did watching that Cleveland Indians game back in 1994 at Jacobs Field, with a simple but excited expression of “Wow.”