If the city of Cleveland had a dome, not only would the stadium benefit the Browns on the field, but it would also allow the 216 to attract marquee events. A dome would give the Browns the ability to potentially have more than the approximately 68,000 people allowed in FirstEnergy Stadium. When the Dawg Pound is full of passionate fans decked out in orange and brown, it becomes one of the more intimidating stadiums in the NFL, and more fans would only amplify the loudness in a closed environment.
Since FirstEnergy Stadium is an outdoor stadium and sits on Lake Erie, you never know what mother nature is going to cook up on gameday. When the Browns and Raiders played in Week 8 in 2020, the two teams played in a precipitation called graupel. According to weareiowa.com, graupel is a snowflake coated with ice. It is not very common, but does occasionally fall in Iowa.
One could look at this situation as both an advantage and a disadvantage. The unpredictable and bizarre weather conditions are an advantage because it makes things challenging for those teams who play in warm weather places or domes. The disadvantage is when the Browns have a home game in mid-December, there could be a foot of snow on the ground, and it's bitterly cold. The players can’t put on winter gear, nor can they leave the playing area to go inside to get warm. If Cleveland built a dome, this wouldn’t be an issue.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve had to practice social distancing. Since 1967, just three years after Cleveland won the NFL championship, the Browns have been social distancing from the Super Bowl. They are one of only four franchises to have never played in the big game. Cleveland has never hosted the final game of the NFL season since the first Super Bowl was played in 1967.
if Cleveland had a dome, they just might be able to convince the NFL to bring the Super Bowl to Northeast Ohio. Over the last 15 years, the Super Bowl has been held at a domed stadium or an outdoor stadium with warm weather, the only exception being Super Bowl 48, which was held at a cold weather outdoor stadium (MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey).
Being that the Pro Football Hall Of Fame is just down the road in Canton, Ohio, you would think that the Super Bowl would have been played in Cleveland by now. However, it hasn’t happened yet.
If the Super Bowl were to come to town, it would bring millions of football fans worldwide to the city and boost the economy. When the Cleveland Cavaliers had their 2016 championship parade, there was an estimated 1.3 million people downtown. The Super Bowl would more than likely surpass that number during the weekend.
There’s a second Super Bowl that would most likely come to Cleveland if the Browns had a domed stadium. It would be the Super Bowl of wrestling, WrestleMania. Cleveland seems to always show up when a WWE event comes to town, so if WrestleMania were to come to Cleveland, it would reek the same benefits as the Super Bowl.
WrestleMania brings in WWE fans from all over the world, which brings in tourist money for the host city. With WrestleMania now being a two-night event, it means more people are going to purchase tickets to see the show.
Cleveland building a dome gives a better opportunity for the Browns to have more fans in the building and showcase its city with famous events.
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