{"id":241412,"date":"2025-10-21T16:31:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T16:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/241412\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T16:31:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T16:31:08","slug":"will-browns-fans-have-to-buy-pricey-seat-licenses-for-the-new-stadium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/241412\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Browns fans have to buy pricey seat licenses for the new stadium?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"YOMIWRODUNDGFPYU4ZACIEZWPQ\">BROOK PARK, Ohio &#8211; The Cleveland Browns aren\u2019t saying if fans will have to pay one-time permanent seat license fees to secure spots in the new stadium, but if trends elsewhere are any indication, expect to fork over more than $1,000 a seat for all but the most remote locations. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"ZEUIPEK7F5HO5AOECBBLNQQSFU\">PSL pricing for new stadiums under construction in Buffalo and Nashville start at $750, comparable to the starting points for newer stadiums in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlantafalcons.com\/tickets\/psl-information\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.atlantafalcons.com\/tickets\/psl-information\">Atlanta <\/a>($750) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vikings.com\/tickets\/waitlist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.vikings.com\/tickets\/waitlist\">Minneapolis<\/a> ($500). And they go up &#8211; way up &#8211; from there, to north of $10,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"OJWOR7DPM5HF5BRGAAJ2LDCSEM\">This is money paid out for long-time \u201crights\u201d to a seat &#8211; before adding in the cost of season tickets that increase as teams see fit from year to year. (Elsewhere in the NFL they\u2019re sometimes called personal seat licenses.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"4ZXFSNSCQ5FNBN55RHA3AINX4Y\">PSLs are not a new concept for long-time Browns fans. They were part of the existing stadium on the lakefront &#8211; ranging in price from $250 to $1,500 a seat. There were no PSL charges for the 10,000 Dawg Pound seats.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"YPVHRSWHBVEJBA62CYAC73NFLU\">Previous season ticket holders were given discounts of 10% to 50%. About 57,000 PSLs were sold by opening day in 1999.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"PSLs, Cleveland Browns, 1996\" class=\"hero-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/FEYKXJBZC5BL7NEZ5UYNQ73IYM.png\"\/>As shown by this 1996 story in The Plain Dealer, previous Browns season ticket holders received discounts when the NFL announced its PSL plan for the new stadium. Those PSLs will expire with the last game in the stadium.The Plain DealerWill current Cleveland PSLs have value?<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"ERGACOBOPJEXBPKKOL744V2P5I\">The Browns <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/browns\/2013\/04\/cleveland_browns_and_their_fan.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/browns\/2013\/04\/cleveland_browns_and_their_fan.html\">quit selling PSLs by 2013<\/a>, after demand had fallen off for tickets. But an undisclosed number of Browns fans still own them. Others transferred their rights or lost those rights when they quit renewing tickets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"MVRI6CXTLRAFRJC3BXT7FDDGBY\">Under rules spelled out in the PSL terms, the remaining PSLs will <a href=\"https:\/\/static.clubs.nfl.com\/image\/upload\/browns\/skeugvvqmep8kxpycmgo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/static.clubs.nfl.com\/image\/upload\/browns\/skeugvvqmep8kxpycmgo\">expire with the last game in the downtown stadium<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"5O7GHCTUMZF3PBBRLVF6G5HY5M\">Among the unanswered questions is whether long-time Browns patrons will receive discounts off new PSL pricing, should the Browns make PSLs part of the formula to recover some of their $1.5 billion investment in the $2.4 billion stadium (with the state and Brook Park site-generated taxes expected to pay the rest).<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"QQVA3H6GBNGBHHHJCXKWDRBSIU\">\u201cWe haven\u2019t finalized our ticket pricing structure as we are still gathering information necessary to make those decisions,\u201d Browns spokesperson Peter John-Baptiste said when asked about PSLs. \u201cBut we do intend to offer a variety of pricing options and payment structures to accommodate as many of our fans as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"RWQL5F7DSRDNXBC5T2D7OCZRSI\">Individual ticket prices for the new stadium also have not been determined. But they are almost certain to be higher. Tickets have gone up from an average of $33 a ticket the last year of the old stadium in 1995 to close to $180 currently.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"ZVP4IBKUMFG7HCUXIG34S3LIVE\">John-Baptiste said the new stadium will provide the opportunity to offer \u201cstanding room\u201d areas &#8211; among other options &#8211; and that the club will work on pricing \u201cto accommodate all our fans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PSL pricing elsewhere<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"AVCCAJCF65CL7CETLZ724FLE2U\">The NFL said back in 1996 that the emerging concept of PSLs was a way to recoup part of the league\u2019s investment in the stadium as it was involved in the process of returning football to Cleveland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"SPXMDMO6RNFEZOKIYQKBGE3CSI\">PSLs had been first used in Charlotte as a way to recover construction costs for the Carolina Panthers\u2019 stadium that opened in 1996. They\u2019ve since become a routine way for NFL teams to raise money in building new stadiums.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"EXZDSHO72NETBGYD25XCZC6UV4\">PSLs were used for each of the four new NFL stadiums that opened over the past decade &#8211; in Minneapolis, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. And in the next two stadiums slated to open, PSLs break down this way, according to club officials:<\/p>\n<p>Buffalo, opening 2026: About 45,000 of the 60,000 seats are earmarked for PSLs, ranging in price from $750 to $50,000. An unofficial seating map circulating on the internet shows upper deck mid-field PSLs priced at $2,500, with those at mid-field in the lower deck at $15,000. Total cost for the stadium in suburban Orchard Park is $2.2 billion &#8211; $1.35 billion from the team, $600 million from the state and $250 million from the county. Tennessee, opening 2027: PSLs range from $750 to $75,000, with the team reporting 72% sold. The high-end at $75,000 is for an \u201cultra-premium, all-inclusive food and beverage, luxury club experience.\u201d The club said 40% of the \u201cseat memberships\u201d would be below $3,500. Estimated cost of the Nashville stadium is $2.2 billion &#8211; $940 million from the team, $760 million from the city and $500 million from the state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"J4FJY44G2BBJ7O3TDJ65N3WB4U\">The one current exception does not involve a new stadium, but rather the massive $1.4 billion Jacksonville renovation underway and due to be completed in 2028. The Jaguars are kicking in $625 million, with the city covering the rest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"FZKEOF2GDVC65LEKGSCBZZUF4A\">\u201cAs for PSLs, this is not part of the math here in Jacksonville. Never was,\u201d spokesperson John Dever said by email.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"7YL6T6NPQ5GTLFM2DEVXOQAXX4\">The Tennessee Titans, however, offer a middle ground of sorts &#8211; even with their PSLs. They claim to be the \u201cfirst NFL team to offer existing season ticket members a credit towards their PSL in a new building.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"F5EO6C62INBVPIHCQJU5MGHTNY\">The Browns were on hiatus in 1996 when the PSL plan was announced here. And there weren\u2019t PSLs in the original lakefront stadium before then. But season ticket holders did get a break when they committed to the new Browns stadium that opened 26 years ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"2KCKQZX67JDWXI5KEXOULATLKY\">Stay tuned on whether that will be part of the Browns\u2019 plan for Brook Park, where the team is aiming to begin play in 2029.<\/p>\n<p>If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/user-agreement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/privacy-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BROOK PARK, Ohio &#8211; The Cleveland Browns aren\u2019t saying if fans will have to pay one-time permanent seat&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":241413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":["post-241412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}