Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome into building Brownstown, and today we're going to focus
on the fan experience, and who better to talk about
that than our guests Whitney and J. W. Johnson. It's
great to be with you guys, Jathan, Thank you. This
is an exciting time and I think it's an exciting
time for our fans. When you kind of think about
fan experience, that's a core tenant you walk around this building,
it's on the walls. Give the fans the best experience.
What are you guys excited about in this new enclosed
(00:27):
stadium Huntington, bank Field and brook Park. What that fan
experience is going to be?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Like, I guess I'll just start off and saying we're
so excited about building this new dome stadium in Broke Park.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
We've been working for a really long.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Time, a lot of different processes and vendors to go
out and find the best people to help build the stadium.
We went through a very rigorous process to find HKS,
our architect, and we're really excited about the work they
put in thus far. We still have a ton of
work to do, but this stadium is going to be
one and be kind.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
It's going to be incredible.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
It's going to be the best in the NFL, and
we're going to bring the very best to the Cleveland
Browns fans, and we're so excited about what it's going
to offer.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
Yeah, I mean, I think listen, you go around the
country and go to different NFL stadiums and you get
the chance to kind of glean from different things, and
I think we've learned a lot from the different venues.
But we're going to make a lot of things are
going to be very unique for our fans. And you know,
most importantly, what we want our fans to do is
to come in and have a joy, a winning experience.
(01:31):
It's the first and foremost that we're going to continue
to focus on. But we also want to make sure
that they have the comforts and everything they need, and
you know, having tons of food offerings, plenty of bar opportunities,
wider concourses, parking, quality of video boards, you name it.
There's going to be so much that we're going to
have and we can kind of dive more into that
here shortly, but we're fired up to get this thing done.
(01:52):
It's gonna be fantastic.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
You talked about partnering with the architect and some of
the things you said was make this the best for
the fans. So what are some of those fan first
experiences and maybe whether it's integrated in the stadium, the
concourses that you guys are really excited for people to
know about.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, I mean, first of all, we've been listening to
our fans for a long time. In our current stadium,
we have a lot of issues we know we want
and need to solve, and with this new Dome Stadium,
we can solve them. So starting with parking, we're going
to make sure it's easy to get in and out
of the stadium. We have access from multiple interstates, so
(02:28):
it should be much easier.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
For our fans.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I think starting with that, it'll be so much easier
to get.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
In and out of the stadium.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
And then we're going to have an unbelievable entertainment district.
We've partnered with Lincoln Development Partners, so we want our
fans to come stay for the day. We're going to
have restaurants, bars, other entertainment type activity retail that our
fans will be able to come in earlier in the
day and then be able to stay all day.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
So we're really excited about that.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Yeah, I think, and now were we get in the building,
the seats are gonna be by far the closest to
anything in any other NFL stadium, So the fans are
gonna feel like you're really right on top of them,
you know, from the first row to the last row.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Is that something that's like regulated by the league because
it varies so widely. Haven't been around the league to
be able to have that though, is gonna.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Be Yeah, there are certain sections and things we need
to work with, but we want to make sure that,
like depending on the rake of the seats, that you're
gonna be right there as close as you can. Is
to the limit. We're gonna push it to the limits.
You can work with the league as best we can
to get there. I think you'll see the new dog Pound,
which is gonna be unbelievable. I think if you think
of the world of soccer, the Dortmund has the big Wall,
(03:38):
I think we're gonna have a wall similar to that
that's gonna be very intimidating and impressive. That the rake
of the seats, the proximity to the field, the dog
Paan will have its people have its own entrance, their
own parking area, so you're literally having your feel of
the Communi lot now at brook Park, and then you're
gonna walk right into your seats and you have your own,
you know, amenities there. It's gonna be great. There'll be
(03:59):
plenty of room for people to enjoy themselves and have
a good time. And scoreboards. Yeah, so we're actually looking
at that right now that we would have some of
the largest indoor boards in the league. I think if
you look at what the Patriots have, I'm not exactly
sure how many feet, but we're going to greatly enhance
our video boards within the building. Unfortunately, now if you
are in a suite or certain areas, you have a
(04:21):
hard time seeing the boards. So we're gonna eliminate that
so anybody that's in the stadium can see the boards
and see all the great stuff that we have, whether
that's from the game footage to content, et cetera. But
between that, the proximity of the seats the club levels
are going to be able to offer. It'll be and
you know, I think the food offerings, there's gonna be
tons of different food offerings that we're working on for
people that they'll enjoy.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
One of the things when you think about an enclosed
stadium is that the sound is going to stay in
the building. And so you're talking about closer seats, you're
talking about people in there having a great time the
sound saying it. So, what kind of a home field
you know advantage do you think this can be at
that enclosed stadium?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Yeah, Look, I mean we have one of the we
have the best fans in the NFL period. I mean,
they're highly passionate, they care, they they love their browns,
they they live in Breeze with his team, and we
appreciate that, and we know that we have to provide
a product on the field that they're going to be
continued to be proud of. I mean that's first and foremost.
We do think that, you know, we have a great
home field advantage currently at Hunting the Bank Field, and
(05:21):
we hope with the new building you'll just amplify that.
I mean, from the level of the pitch, from the roof,
the angles that we have, I mean, we're doing everything
we can to make this a intimidating environment for people,
and that's as rightfully should be. And our fans are
going to bring it no matter as long as we're
playing well. No matter what.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
It's so fun.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
The things that you get to think about though in
designing this, how if we have this pitch and we
have this angle up here, it's going to keep the
sound right there on them. And building that fan wall,
you know, hopefully by the visitors tunnel. I know that
was something that had been bandied about. So I think
it's it's very exciting. And so you guys talk about fans,
and in this organization, it's about fans, it's about community
because the fans are the community of the Cleveland Brownson
(06:00):
in this area, and so fans are gonna have a
great time of game day and staying in the entertainment
district and all of that. But this is also gonna
have a big effect on the community at large. What
kind of community impact you think that this Brook Park
Stadium and everything around it that goes into it can
have in this region.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Yeah, I mean you said it.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
We are building this for our fans and for this community,
and we couldn't be more excited. It's going to be bold,
it's going to be innovative, and it's going to be transformative.
We are planning to have all sorts of events at
this stadium, it's not going to be just about the
nine home games a year.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
We're going to have that's right.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Yeah, hopefully hopefully.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Hopefully a lot more.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
But we're going to have We're going to bring the
best of the best concerts in the final four big
time soccer events. So we're talking about having, you know,
fifty plus events and awesome events. So it's going to
be great for the community. It's going to be great
for downtown. When people come in, they're going to still
want to stay downtown. People come to downtown. So I
(07:02):
think as far as the events and being able to
have a year round facility that will bring great things
for this region.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
Yeah, I think to that point of the community aspect.
I mean, you know what you mentioned the big events,
but we're also going to have You could have like
a farmer's market, you could have like a big outdoor
you know, yoga gathering or whatever it may be. You
could do all these different other We could have youth
sporting events and the plaza that we're going to have.
We could put pop up basketball courts, we could do pickleball.
(07:31):
There's so much things that we can do that we
don't have the ability to do unfortunately. At our location
that this provides us with tons of opportunities to amplify
Brook Park. To Whitney's point, seventy percent of our people
come outside of Cuyahoga County, So how do we give
them a place for them to have a different destination
as well as Look, we want downtown to thrive and
(07:52):
be successful. And that's good for us, and that's good
for the teams. It's good for everybody if we have
great downtowns.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
World class because you want them to have the best
experience on people to go in. One thing that we
haven't really touched on, but as a benefit of an
enclosed stadium, it's once you're in there, you're comfortable. You're
not worried about that. In December, all it's twenty degrees.
We had the game against the Saints a couple of
years ago that was a tough watch for anybody sitting there.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Last year, we had the snow Globe Game, as we
like you to call it. Okay, that was amazing and
it was against the Steelers and we found a way
to win and it was fantastic. But that really doesn't
happen that often. I mean, Buffalo occasionally has a handful
of games here. Things are there, But to be honest
with you, like, I think the elements are a big
part of football, but it's also like if you really
want to see who's going to be the better team.
And so if you're playing in a neutral environment where
(08:39):
you're enclosed, you are going to see who the better
team is. You know somebody, Oh they slept through, fumbled.
Now there's no excuses. So I mean, look, plus, if
it's cold and it's tough here, who's going to come?
If it rains, it's a challenge whether you're good or bad.
It's a lot, you know, and I want people to
enjoy a cold beer and I have to wear mittens,
you know, or having chicken wings and they're comfortable.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
So I will say though, one of the great benefits
is the roof is going to be this translucent roof.
It's kind of a newer material and it's going to
feel like you're outdoors. And then our concourses are these
contrary to what we have today. There are these wide open, massive,
super tall ceilings. And so when you're moving throughout the building,
(09:23):
both on the concourses and then sitting in your seats
and looking through this kind of see through roof.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
I really think you're going to have the best of
both worlds.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
You're going to be able to feel like you're outside,
but you're not in the elements of the weather, and
with the seats the way they are, you're going to
be closer. So I think the all around environment is
going to be incredible.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
You guys talked a little bit earlier about how this
is going to be. It's the newest, going to be
the best in the NFL. Quite frankly, it's probably gonna
be the greatest stadium on planet Earth for a period
of time, you know, as it always goes. But you
mentioned being able to take things from other places. But
there's also new stuff, new technologies that can be utilized
in stadiums, and that's going to be at the forefront
of Huntington Bankfield.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
Yeah. I mean, look, I mean obviously talked a little
bit about the video boards. I mean those are going
to continue to evolve. I mean we still have, you know,
for four and a half five years before we move
into this new building, right, so things will change. But
video boards are going to be key, like the sound
system is going to be is going to be key.
And look, I think like wayfinding and things for our fans. Right, So,
like you know, AI is a big part of our
(10:25):
lives right now, and in five years it's going to
be way much bigger part of everybody's lives, right So,
I mean, look, we all use Ciri on our phones occasionally,
but now, could you have an opportunity to go, hey, brownie,
where is the closest place to get the best brought
worst in the building, or to get chicken wings? Or
how do you find the different things? Where's the closest restroom.
(10:45):
There are things that we want to kind of continue
to evolve to make sure the fans and everybody that's
there has the best experience because the technology in our
world is going to continue to change. And when you
come to our building, we want you to feel like
you're at your home and you can do the same
things you do at home, and now you have the
lady to do at Hunting bank Field.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
I can't wait. It's gonna be awesome. It's gona be
great for our fans. Thank you guys so much for
the time today.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Well thanks, We just also want to say thank you
to our fans and all the people that have worked
so hard on this project. We've got a long way
to go, but we are greatly excited. We cannot wait
to get in the new building, and it's a new
era for Cleveland Browns football