Franklin County judge halts $600 million Browns stadium funding

A Franklin County judge temporarily paused Ohio’s funding plan to help the Cleveland Browns build a new stadium in the city’s suburbs on Tuesday, saying that the withdrawal of unclaimed funds is the equivalent of “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

Franklin County Commons Plea Judge Bill Sperlazza’s ruling would prevent the state from accessing $600 million to build the stadium in Brook Park for the next two weeks, according to Cleveland.com.

During an emergency hearing, Sperlazza said that if he had money in the unclaimed fund, he would no longer be able to access that money because it would go toward building the stadium.

“That is a taking from somebody down the line, ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ so to speak.”

According to Sperlazza, that was the reason he granted a temporary restraining order, as he believes the Ohioans would benefit from slowing down and reviewing the details of the case.

“I have read evidence and heard arguments that lead me to believe there is an avenue for success on the merits” of the case, he said. “I believe the plaintiff could suffer irreparable harm if the Jan. 1 transaction is allowed to occur.”

At the beginning of this month, U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. ruled that Ohio will pay $600 million toward building the new Cleveland Browns’ stadium, which is a part of the $1.9 billion in unclaimed funds that Ohio was expected to begin transferring into a new fund on Jan. 1, 2026.

Sargus Jr. also rejected Ohio’s request for a dismissal of the lawsuit that was filed by Democratic former state lawmakers Jeffrey Crossman and Marc Dann, who sought a temporary restraining order to halt the transfer.
Dann said that people who believe they are the owners of unclaimed funds can still file claims until 2036.

Cleveland officials previously celebrated the Browns’ and the city’s agreement to a $100 million exit settlement.

“This is really a win for the city. We think what we have here is a deal that is historic,” Law Director Mark Griffin previously said, Ideastream reported. “Instead of us paying to subsidize professional football, they’re going to pay us.”

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibbs said that he followed the Cleveland City Council’s direction to ensure Cleveland would not leave empty-handed.

“For the last three years, this administration has worked hard to deliver a deal we believe works for the taxpayers in all of your wards, all our wards,” Bradford Davy, the mayor’s chief of staff, previously said, WOSU reported.

However, members of the council, even the ones who voted for the relocation of the team, said they didn’t like their final decision.