Cleveland Browns Stadium Cleveland Browns Stadium is a stadium in Cleveland , Ohio , USA , and is the home of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League . It is located at North Coast Harbor , near the Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . The stadium sits on of land between Lake Erie and Cleveland Memorial Shoreway ( Ohio State Route 2 ) . It has a capacity of over 73 , 200 . The stadium hosts other events , such as college and high school football games , soccer games , and concerts . History . Cleveland Browns Stadium sits on the former site of Cleveland Municipal Stadium , which was the team ' s home for 49 years . Ironically , Browns owner Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore ( and ultimately became the Baltimore Ravens ) because he said the city would not refurbish Cleveland Municipal Stadium , which caused the city to build the new stadium . As part of the deal with the National Football League to reactivate the Browns , the city of Cleveland tore down Cleveland Stadium after the 1996 season to make room for the new facility . Debris from the former stadium was submerged in Lake Erie and now serves as an artificial reef . Ground was broken on May 15 , 1997 , the stadium opened in July 1999 . The first Browns game at the stadium was played on September 12 , 1999 , a 43 - 0 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers . Facility . The stadium was designed by the Sport Division of Hellmuth , Obata & Kassabaum ( HOK ) , which is now known as Populous . Dallas - based Huber , Hunt & Nichols was the construction manager . The stadium is a concrete and glass structure , using precast concrete and cast in - place for the upper concourse . Natural stone accents were used at the base of the stadium . The construction of the concrete superstructure took more than 6000 truckloads of concrete , or the equivalent of , with a weight of approximately . The playing surface is a Kentucky Bluegrass irrigated field , with a sand - soil root zone and an underground heating system that involves nine boilers and 40 miles of underground piping . The heating system prevents the field from freezing and extends the growing season of the turf . Although it was designed for football , the playing surface was built large enough to accommodate international soccer matches . The eastern seating section is the home of the Dawg Pound , a section of 10 , 644 bleacher seats whose occupants are commonly regarded as some of the most passionate in football . It is similar to the original Dawg Pound in Cleveland Municipal Stadium , although the new iteration contains two levels of bleachers instead of one . Stadium naming . The city chose not to sell the naming rights to the stadium itself , which is unorthodox for major American stadiums built in recent years . However , it sold the naming rights to each of the facility ' s four entrance gates . Originally , the gates were named for National City Bank , Steris Corp . , CoreComm Inc . , and the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health . Since the acquisition of National City by PNC Financial Services , Cleveland Browns Stadium does not today have naming rights to any of the gates . The gates names are now intermediate directions where the stadium ' s gates are located . Services . The stadium does not have public parking facilities . However , there are several adjacent parking facilities : the Port Authority visitors lot , the West 3rd Street parking lot , and the Great Lakes Science Center parking garage . Additionally , the West 3rd Street station of Cleveland ' s Waterfront light rail line serves the stadium . Operations . Non - Browns events . The stadium hosts other events . The Ohio Classic college football game was held there in both 2004 and 2005 . In September 2006 , it hosted the Bowling Green Falcons - Wisconsin Badgers game . In 2007 it began hosting the Patriot Bowl , a season - opening game between Army and Akron . Boston College defeated Kent State in the second Patriot Bowl on August 30 , 2008 . In 2009 , it hosted the Ohio State - Toledo game . It has hosted numerous high school football games . The stadium has hosted playoff games of the Ohio High School Athletic Association ( OHSAA ) tournament . In June 2010 , the Browns announced that four area powerhouses would play in doubleheader named the " High School Football Charity Game " . The games were played on August 28 , 2010 . The stadium also hosted a game between the United States and Venezuela in the run - up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup . It also hosted a women ' s soccer friendly game between the United States and Germany . It was chosen as the site of the opening and closing ceremonies in the 2014 Gay Games .