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Coordinates: 41°30′22″N 81°41′58″W / 41.50611°N 81.69944°W / 41.50611; -81.69944
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| general_contractor = [[Hunt Construction Group|Huber, Hunt & Nichols]]
| general_contractor = [[Hunt Construction Group|Huber, Hunt & Nichols]]
| former_names = Cleveland Browns Stadium (1999–2013)
| former_names = Cleveland Browns Stadium (1999–2013)
| tenants = [[Cleveland Browns]] ([[National Football League|NFL]]) ([[1999 Cleveland Browns season|1999]]–present)
| tenants = [[Cleveland Browns]] ([[National Football League|NFL]]) ([[1999 Cleveland Browns season|1999]]–present)<br> [[Cleveland Fusion]] ([[Women's National Football League|WNFL]]) (2016-Future)
| seating_capacity = 73,200<ref name=ballparks />
| seating_capacity = 73,200<ref name=ballparks />
}}
}}

Revision as of 06:19, 23 November 2013

This article is about the American football stadium in Ohio. For other uses, see FirstEnergy Stadium.
FirstEnergy Stadium
Formerly Known as Cleveland Browns Stadium
Map
Former namesCleveland Browns Stadium (1999–2013)
Location100 Alfred Lerner Way
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Coordinates41°30′22″N 81°41′58″W / 41.50611°N 81.69944°W / 41.50611; -81.69944
OwnerCity of Cleveland
OperatorCleveland Stadium Corp
Capacity73,200[3]
SurfaceKentucky Bluegrass[1]
Construction
Broke groundMay 15, 1997
OpenedSeptember 12, 1999
Construction cost$283 million
($518 million in 2024 dollars[2])[3]
ArchitectHOK Sport (now Populous)[4]
Robert P. Madison International, Inc.[5]
Ralph Tyler Companies[6]
Project managerThe Project Group[7]
Structural engineerOsborn Engineering[8]
Services engineerURS Corporation[9]
General contractorHuber, Hunt & Nichols
Tenants
Cleveland Browns (NFL) (1999–present)
Cleveland Fusion (WNFL) (2016-Future)

FirstEnergy Stadium, officially FirstEnergy Stadium, Home of the Cleveland Browns and previously known as Cleveland Browns Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the home field of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League, and serves as a venue for other events such as college and high school football games, soccer games, and concerts. It opened in 1999 and is located at North Coast Harbor, near the Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The stadium sits on 31 acres (13 ha) of land between Lake Erie and the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, previously the site of Cleveland Municipal Stadium from 1932–1996. The seating capacity is listed at 73,200 making it the 10th largest stadium in the NFL.[10]

History

FirstEnergy Stadium sits on the former site of Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which was the team's home for 49 years. The stadium was built after Browns owner Art Modell relocated to Baltimore and formed the Baltimore Ravens from the personnel of the Browns. As part of the deal with the National Football League to reactivate the Browns, the city of Cleveland tore down Cleveland Municipal Stadium after the 1996 season to make room for the new facility. Debris from the former stadium was submerged in Lake Erie and now serves as an artificial reef.

Ground was broken on May 15, 1997, the stadium opened in July 1999. The first Browns game at the stadium was played on September 12, 1999, a 43-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As of the 2012-13 season, if Super Bowls are included, FirstEnergy Stadium is the only current NFL venue that has yet to host a playoff game. The Detroit Lions have never hosted a playoff game at Ford Field, but the stadium served as the host of Super Bowl XL.

Facility

Drew Carey preparing for a TV broadcast at the stadium's dedication in September 1999

The stadium was designed by the Sport Division of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), which is now known as Populous. Indianapolis-based Huber, Hunt & Nichols was 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 6000 truckloads of concrete, or the equivalent of 60,000 cubic yards ([convert: unit mismatch]), with a weight of approximately 235,000,000 pounds (107,000,000 kg).

The playing surface is a Kentucky Bluegrass irrigated field, with a sand-soil root zone and an underground heating system that involves nine boilers and 40 miles of underground piping. The heating system prevents the field from freezing and extends the growing season of the turf.[1] Although it was designed for football, the playing surface was built large enough to accommodate international soccer matches.

The eastern seating section is the home of the Dawg Pound, a section of 10,644 bleacher seats whose occupants are commonly [by whom?]regarded as some of the most passionate in football. It is similar to the original Dawg Pound in Cleveland Municipal Stadium, although the new iteration contains two levels of bleachers instead of one.

Stadium naming

The city specifically chose not to sell the naming rights to the stadium itself, which is highly unusual for major American stadiums built in recent years. However, it instead sold the naming rights to each of the facility's four entrance gates. Originally, the gates were named for National City Bank, Steris Corp., CoreComm Inc., and the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health.[11] The arrangement was later discontinued, and gates names are now simply intermediate directions where the stadium's gates are located.

In August 2012, Randy Lerner sold the Browns to Knoxville, Tennessee businessman Jimmy Haslam. Before the deal officially closed in October 2012, Haslam announced he would sell the stadium's naming rights. Haslam effectively ruled out his family business, truck stop chain Pilot Flying J, as buying the naming rights, mentioning that he had received offers for the naming rights, and that none of them are based in Tennessee.[12][13] On January 14, 2013, it was reported that the naming rights were sold to FirstEnergy Corporation, the Akron-based electric utility serving most of northeastern Ohio.[14] On January 15, 2013 it was announced Cleveland Browns Stadium would be renamed FirstEnergy Stadium, with the deal getting official Cleveland City Council approval on February 15, 2013.[15]

Services

The stadium does not have public parking facilities. However, there are several adjacent parking facilities: the Port Authority visitors lot, the West 3rd Street parking lot, and the Great Lakes Science Center parking garage. Additionally, the West 3rd Street station of Cleveland's Waterfront light rail line serves the stadium.

Operations

Non-Browns events

The stadium hosts other events. The Ohio Classic college football game was held there in both 2004 and 2005. In September 2006, it hosted the Bowling Green Falcons-Wisconsin Badgers game. In 2007 it began hosting the Patriot Bowl,[16] a season-opening game between Army and Akron. Boston College defeated Kent State in the second Patriot Bowl on August 30, 2008.[17] In 2009, it hosted the Ohio State-Toledo game.[18]

It has hosted numerous high school football games. The stadium has hosted playoff games of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) tournament.[19] In June 2010, the Browns announced that four area powerhouses would play in doubleheader named the High School Football Charity Game. The games were played on August 28, 2010.[20] The stadium also hosted a game between the United States and Venezuela in the run-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It also hosted a women's soccer friendly game between the United States and Germany. It was chosen as the site of the opening and closing ceremonies in the 2014 Gay Games.[21]

Soccer games

May 27, 2006 International Friendly United States  2 – 0  Venezuela Cleveland, Ohio
15:00 UTC-04 Ching 36'
Dempsey 69'		 (Report) Stadium: Cleveland Browns Stadium
Attendance: 29,745
Referee: Mauricio Morales Valle (Mexico)
May 22, 2010 International Friendly United States  4 – 0  Germany Cleveland, Ohio
18:00 EDT/UTC-4 Wambach 29' (pen.), 63'
O'Reilly 35'
Lilly 62'		 Report Stadium: Cleveland Browns Stadium
Attendance: 10,321
Referee: Margaret Domka (USA)
May 29, 2013 International Friendly United States  2 – 4  Belgium Cleveland, Ohio
20:00 UTC-04 Cameron 22'
Dempsey 80' (pen.)		 (Report) Mirallas 6'
Benteke 56,71'
Fellaini 64'		 Stadium: FirstEnergy Stadium
Attendance: 27,720
Referee: TBA
Images of FirstEnergy Stadium

See also

References

  1. ^ a b About the Stadium ClevelandBrowns.com (accessed July 11, 2010)
  2. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Cleveland Browns Stadium". Ballparks.com. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  4. ^ Cleveland Browns Stadium architect, Populous
  5. ^ Cleveland Browns NFL Football Stadium - Robert P. Madison International, Inc.
  6. ^ Ralph Tyler - Cleveland Browns NFL Stadium
  7. ^ PC Sports
  8. ^ Osborn Engineering Co. - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
  9. ^ A strong local presence - BXMagazine.com
  10. ^ Cleveland Browns. Accessed November 11, 2008.
  11. ^ Mitchell, Eric (July 5, 1999). "Browns not selling stadium naming rights, but gates are another story". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  12. ^ "Pilot won't buy naming rights for FirstEnergy Stadium". Newsnet5.com. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  13. ^ "UPDATE: Pilot Flying J's Haslam Buys Cleveland Browns". Cspnet.com. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  14. ^ "Browns to sell stadium naming rights". ESPN. January 14, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  15. ^ Naymik, Mark (March 8, 2013). "Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has spell over football fans and politicians alike". Cleveland.com. Cleveland Live LLC. Retrieved May 6, 2013. Sweeney let the naming-rights deal pass on Feb. 15...
  16. ^ Patriot Bowl. Accessed 2007-06-03.
  17. ^ Blaudschun, Mark (August 31, 2008). "Eagles Flash Their Potential in Opening Win". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  18. ^ Cleveland.com Accessed 2013-10-15
  19. ^ Tilton, Bill (June 10, 2010). High school football: Mentor will play St. Edward at Browns Stadium The News-Herald Accessed July 11, 2010)
  20. ^ Browns to host Charity Game ClevelandBrowns.com June 22, 2010 (Accessed July 11, 2010)
  21. ^ Cleveland, Ohio, USA to host 2014 Gay Games GayGames.com (Accessed July 11, 2010)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to FirstEnergy Stadium (Cleveland).
Preceded by Home of the
Cleveland Browns
1999 – present 		Succeeded by
current
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