Ohio House Democrats propose redirecting the contested $600 million earmarked as a grant for the Cleveland Browns’ new Brook Park stadium to Ohio’s Department of Transportation to fund a gas tax holiday and lower fuel prices. The money, drawn from the Division of Unclaimed Funds and currently tied up in litigation, would instead backfill road and infrastructure funding that typically comes from gas taxes, forcing a political choice between stadium aid and cheaper gas.
(Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images There are plenty of reasons not to go to a Cleveland Browns game: The stadium is old, the team isn’t good, the quarterback is reprehensible, there’s always construction on the way, and have you seen how expensive gas is recently! Well, lawmakers in Ohio have a solution to at least one of those issues, and it basically boils down to just not giving the Browns money. Specifically, using the $600 million earmarked for the Browns new stadium to instead backfill the coffers while instituting a gas tax holiday across Ohio. It’s a little convoluted, but it successfully brings together two wildly popular concepts in politics; cheaper gas and not giving billionaires money. The $600 million has been a point of contention for more than a year now in Ohio. In the summer of 2025 Ohio lawmakers approved the money to be given to the team in the form of a grant for the new Brook Park stadium, which broke ground last spring. The money was pulled from Ohio’s Division of Unclaimed Funds, which is a pool of money made up by “forgotten bank accounts, utility deposits, uncashed checks and more,” according to Ohio Capital Journal. A lawsuit looking to block that grant from happening was filed, and in December of 2025, a judge blocked the state from handing over the money. Since then it’s been in legal limbo even as the team moves forward with construction. Fast-forward to this week when both major political candidates in the Ohio gubernatorial race proposed a gas tax holiday in an effort to fight ever-rising gas prices. The gas tax typically is used to fund public works like road repairs and other projects done by the Ohio Department of Transportation. Which kind of begs the question of how much money is actually available for those projects. Well, one Ohio Democrat has a solution. Use that $600 million to fund the Department of Transportation instead of the Browns and give Ohioans cheaper gas. Oh hell yes: Ohio House Democrats want to pay for Vivek Ramaswamy's gas tax holiday nonsense by repatriating the $600 million handout to the Cleveland Browns. — The Rooster (@rooster.info) 2026-09-23T13:01:58.310Z It is obviously political posturing, but it is a pretty good posture to take. It would force lawmakers to decide in relatively clear terms between giving money to an unpopular billionaire or make gas cheaper. To put it in a different way, the state of Ohio could keep a little more than double the total of Deshaun Watson’s contract to fill in potholes and fix bridges. The new Browns stadium is planned to open for the 2029 season in Brook Park, Ohio; a southwest suburb of Cleveland and about 13 miles from the current lakefront stadium. It would, technically, be the second time the Browns would move out of the city of Cleveland. When Art Modell first tried to relocate the organization, a law was passed, known as the “Modell Law” that prevented professional sports teams from leaving the city if the organization accepts state funding. Current Ohio governor Mike DeWine helped fix that problem for Haslam by getting the law changed to prevent teams from moving out of the state, not just the city of Cleveland. For now, the Browns continue to play in Huntington Bank Field. The team will host it’s home opener this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: www.sbnation.com
Cleveland Browns, Division of Unclaimed Funds, Ohio Department of Transportation, Ohio House Democrats, Rooster, Brook Park, Huntington Bank Field, Carolina Panthers, Ohio, Ohio gubernatorial race, Ohio House, Diamond Images/Getty Images, Haslam
Cleveland Browns: The Cleveland Browns are an NFL team that were slated to receive a $600 million grant for a new stadium and continue to play in Huntington Bank Field.
Division of Unclaimed Funds: Ohio's Division of Unclaimed Funds is the state pool of money made up by forgotten bank accounts, utility deposits, uncashed checks and more that was the source of the $600 million earmarked for the Browns' stadium.
Ohio Department of Transportation: The Ohio Department of Transportation is the state agency that typically uses gas tax revenue to fund public works like road repairs and other projects.
Ohio House Democrats: Ohio House Democrats are the Democratic members of the Ohio state House who proposed repatriating the $600 million planned for the Browns to fund a gas tax holiday and transportation projects.
Rooster: Rooster is a media account (tweet source) that posted a summary remark about Ohio House Democrats wanting to repatriate the $600 million handout to the Cleveland Browns.
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