Ohio Governor Approves $600M in Unclaimed Funds for New Cleveland Browns Stadium

Ohio governor Mike DeWine has approved a two-year, $60 billion budget that includes $600 million to build a new stadium for the Cleveland Browns. 

The Browns owners had requested the state's financial help in building a $2.4 billion domed stadium for the team.

According to ESPN, DeWine had originally sought to use a portion of sports betting taxes to pay for upgrades to facilities owned by the Browns, Bengals and other sports teams in the state. However, in the end, legislators found $600 million in unclaimed funds — small sums left behind from residents' dormant bank accounts and uncashed checks and unclaimed utility security depots. Currently, there's a 10-year time limit before that money reverts to the state.

The Browns issued a statement Tuesday, calling the approval a "tremendous milestone for our organization." 

"This is a win for taxpayers, and it will provide significant money to things that improve the quality of life in Ohio," DeWine said of the stadium money.

Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb called the finalized budget a "disappointment." 

"We are deeply disappointed that the final state budget includes both a $600 million public subsidy for a domed stadium in Brook Park and changes to Ohio's Modell Law -- provisions we strongly opposed and requested be removed," Bibb said in a statement. "Relocating the Browns will divert economic activity from downtown, create a competing entertainment district, and disrupt the momentum of our lakefront redevelopment."

Bibb added, "We also remain firmly opposed to the changes in the Modell Law, which was enacted to protect communities that have made substantial public investments in their sports teams. Undermining this statute sets a troubling precedent and leaves cities like Cleveland with fewer tools to safeguard long-standing public assets."