Huntington Bank Field

Huntington Bank Field

Huntington Bank Field is a stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is where the Cleveland Browns play. The National Football League (NFL) team uses this field for their games. The stadium also holds other events like college football, high school football, soccer, hockey, and concerts.

The stadium opened in 1999 as Cleveland Browns Stadium. It was called FirstEnergy Stadium from 2013 to 2023. In 2024, it became Huntington Bank Field. After work was done on the stadium in 2014, it could hold 67,431 people.

The stadium is on 31 acres of land between Lake Erie and the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway in the North Coast Harbor area of downtown Cleveland. It is next to the Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Before this stadium was built, another stadium named Cleveland Stadium was there from 1931 to 1996.

History

Huntington Bank Field was built where an old stadium, Cleveland Municipal Stadium, used to be. That old stadium was home to the Browns from 1946 until 1995. In 1995, the team's owner wanted to move them to Baltimore, but fans and the city fought back. They agreed to tear down the old stadium and build a new one right in the same spot.

The new stadium opened in 1999, and the Browns played their first game there that year. It has been called different names over time, but today it is known as Huntington Bank Field. The Browns plan to build a new indoor stadium nearby starting in 2026, and they hope to move there by 2029. The city of Cleveland and the team have been discussing the plans and working out details.

Facility

The stadium was designed by Populous, which was part of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum at the time. Huber, Hunt & Nichols from Indianapolis managed the building. It is made of concrete and glass, with special concrete used for the top part. Natural stone adds beauty at the bottom.

The field is covered with Kentucky Bluegrass and has a system to stop it from freezing. It is big enough for football and soccer games.

The east side has the Dawg Pound, a special area with bleacher seats. It opened in 1999 and got new scoreboards and seats in 2014.

Renovations

In 2013, the Browns owner Jimmy Haslam shared plans to improve the stadium. These changes happened in 2014 and 2015. They made the sound better, added bigger scoreboards, and did other things to help fans. After these changes, the stadium could hold about 68,000 people.

Stadium naming

The city did not sell the name of the whole stadium but sold the names for each of the four main gates. In 2013, it was called "FirstEnergy Stadium, Home of the Cleveland Browns" because of a deal with FirstEnergy Corporation. But in 2023, this deal ended, and the stadium went back to its old name. In 2024, Huntington Bank bought the naming rights for 20 years.

Services

The stadium does not have its own parking, but there is parking nearby and a light rail station close by.

Other events

Huntington Bank Field is not just for football games. It also hosts many other events throughout the year, including college and high school football games, international soccer matches, concerts, and ice hockey games.

The stadium has been the venue for special college football games, such as the Ohio Classic. It has welcomed teams from across the country for exciting matches. It has also hosted concerts with famous musicians and artists from around the world.

The stadium sometimes hosts soccer games for the United States men's and women's national teams. It has been the site of important matches in international tournaments and friendly games between top teams.

In a unique twist, the stadium has also been turned into an ice rink for outdoor hockey games. This included college hockey matchups and events for local teams, drawing large crowds to watch ice hockey in an unexpected setting.