Browns fans could be paying a lot of money for a Brook Park dome

The topic of a new stadium for the Cleveland Browns has been broached often this offseason and it's not going to slow down anytime soon.

As of right now, they're still in their lease with the current stadium on the shores of Lake Erie until 2028. Known now as Cleveland Browns Stadium, it was originally opened in 1999 when the league brought the franchise back as an expansion team. Now 25 years old, the calls for an upgrade have grown loud.

First, there was a discussion on whether to renovate the downtown location or find an alternate site where they could build a dome. Politicians got involved, citing the Art Modell law that would keep the team in Cleveland. Even so, plans surrounding a Brook Park Property continue to gain steam and there are even renderings now available.

As has been the case with several other new stadiums, this plan is calling for a massive price tag and the taxpayers could get stuck with a huge portion of the bill.

New Browns stadium has $2.4 billion tag, taxpayers might pay half

The price tag is estimated at a staggering $2.4 billion which is on par with what other stadiums have cost. The Browns, however, might not foot the bill on their own. There's a plan in place to have taxpayers cover half that cost — or half the estimated $1 billion to renovate the current stadium.

Part of the cost in the Brook Park plan has to do with being built 80 feet below ground level to avoid interference with Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

There's still a lot of time to figure things out and in all honesty, a dome would be nice. The idea of Cleveland having an advantage in cold weather should have died when a dome team from the south beat them in the coldest game in recent memory.

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