CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Browns plan to leave the city of Cleveland for a new stadium in Brook Park, according to Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb.

Bibb made the announcement during a news conference Thursday afternoon at City Hall. It comes after more than a year of negotiations in which Bibb and Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam failed to agree on a deal to renovate the Browns’ current home at City Stadium on the lake in downtown Cleveland .

If the Browns leave Cleveland, it will be the second time in three decades that Cleveland’s home team has fled the city limits.

Cleveland.com has reached out to the team for comment on Bibb’s announcement.

If the Haslams succeed in realizing their plans to build a $2.4 billion domed stadium in suburban Brook Park, it is unclear how much the public would pay. The Haslams have long sought to have taxpayers cover half the costs.

The team owners have declined to share with the public a potential financing plan for the Brook Park idea, but they would likely prefer some level of money from Cuyahoga County.

Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne and Council President Pernel Jones Jr. seemed to have already closed that possibility at a news conference in August, saying provincial subsidies for a Brook Park stadium don’t make fiscal sense for residents or taxpayers.

Cleveland.com has contacted the county for comment.

So far, the Haslams have said they were eyeing two options for the Browns’ future home once the current lease expires in 2028. Their first option was a $1 billion makeover of the current stadium, and the second was a new domed stadium at Brook Park near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

Bibb was unwilling to agree to the Haslams’ desire to have the public pay for half of the $1 billion renovation of downtown Cleveland. The mayor offered the city $367 million in money to renovate the lakefront stadium, plus additional money for future maintenance. When Bibb made the offer public on Aug. 1, his staff said they were focused on what Cleveland could responsibly afford to give up.

One loose end in the move to Brook Park is the enforceability of Ohio’s so-called “Art Modell Law,” which the state passed after the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996. The law requires sports teams to give their respective cities six months. before leaving town – and to give the residents of the town or area the opportunity to purchase the team first. The courts have yet to rule definitively on the constitutionality of the law.

This is a current news item and will be updated.