Browns Win Approval

The Browns won approval from the Cleveland City Planning Commission on Friday for a $50 million upgrade to FirstEnergy Stadium.

The commission voted 6-0 to approve plans authored by the respected architecture firm of Gensler, which will primarily address the interior of the stadium.

The 68,000-seat facility, originally designed by HOK Sport Facilities Group in Kansas City, Missouri, now known as Populous, was completed in 1999 at a cost of $282.5 million, or roughly $400 million in 2014 dollars. Nearly 75 percent of the original construction was publicly funded.

David Jenkins, the Browns' chief financial officer, said at Friday's meeting that the new improvements, to be completed by the summer, constitute the second phase of $125 million in renovations that had planned by the Browns.

The first round, completed earlier this year, included two new video boards, a new audio system, increased lower bowl seating capacity in the corners and two new escalators at the east and west gates.

The next phase will include:

- The new All Access field-level club, located adjacent to the Browns locker room so patrons can watch players coming on and off the field.

- Renovations to Brownstown, an 11,000-square-foot banquet area, plus enhancements to the team store and ticketing areas.

- New concourse-level VIP entries for club ticket holders, which will be emblazoned with sponsors' names and provide direct interior access to escalators.

- New Browns graphics, lighting and concessions on the main and upper concourses.

The city's Downtown/Flats Design Review Committee voted to endorse the design partially in a way that would have allowed the Browns to proceed with foundation work on an expansion of the concourse-level club on the south side of the stadium.

Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer