COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOIO) – The Ohio Senate voted Wednesday in favor of its portion of the 2026-2027 biennial budget, which includes funding for the Cleveland Browns’ Brook Park Project.

While the budget covers many areas, including education, mental health, and environmental issues, the stadium funding was front and center.

As expected, the majority of Senate Republicans voted for the bill, while Democrats voted against it.

Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, 24-9.

The Senate’s plan, which is much different from the House’s, is to use money from Ohio’s unclaimed funds to create the Sports and Cultural Facility fund.

There is currently $3.7 billion in unclaimed funds that belong to Ohio residents who may not even know they are owed money.

These funds are from multiple sources, like lapsed bank accounts, insurance claims, or class action lawsuits and are generally less than $100.

Of the $3.7 billion, the plan is to take $1.7 billion of the funds that have sat for 10 years or more, and create the Sports and Cultural Facilities fund.

$600 million will instantly be earmarked for the Browns stadium project, and the rest can be applied for by teams, museums and cultural projects from around the state.

The $600 million will be paid back over the course of 16 years with the increase in tax revenues brought in by the massive Brook Park project.

Just in case the revenue estimates fall short, the Haslam Sports Group is required to put $50 million in an escrow account and have another $50 million in a line of credit that can make up for missed payments.

In April, the Ohio House approved a $600 million bond for the project, which is taking out a loan against the state’s credit.

Now that there are two competing plans, in the coming weeks, a committee made up of both House and Senate members will have to debate and negotiate out a compromise.

That compromise will make it in the final House Bill 96, which will then have to be voted on again by the House and the Senate, and end up on Governor Mike DeWine’s desk by June 30th.

Once the Governor has the budget, he has the right to veto any line in the budget, which could include the plan to fund the Browns.

DeWine has said in the past he does support state funding, but he has not said if he would veto either bonds or the use of unclaimed funds.

Copyright 2025 WOIO. All rights reserved.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were already in a bind at the point guard position before the team announced that Darius Garland had to undergo surgery to repair his toe injury, which forced him to miss multiple playoff games.

With Garland’s injury and the possibility that he could miss the start of next season, it’s obvious the front office must now make one critical move: re-signing Ty Jerome.

Jerome is fresh off a season where he averaged 12.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor and 43.9 percent from behind the arc.

If someone has to start in place of Garland in the starting lineup at the start of next season, Jerome is the perfect candidate.

Not only did he produce with the Cavaliers, but Jerome already knows and has thrived in Kenny Atkinson’s system and can easily slot into the starting lineup while DG gets healthy.

It’s also not like Cleveland has a surplus of players ready to take over for Garland. If the Cavaliers don’t bring back Ty, the next man up is Craig Porter Jr.

Jerome will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and he has reportedly already garnered interest from multiple teams.

With the breakout season, he had last year, it’s no surprise that teams in need of a point guard would have an interest in the 27-year-old.

Jerome won’t be cheap, and the Cavaliers might have to trade away one or two players to make his contract fit within their current salary cap situation.

However, all of this would be worth it if we could bring back a reliable guard who has already proven he can lead the Cavaliers’ offense.

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The Cincinnati Reds clinched the Ohio Cup on Monday with a 7-4 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.

It was the fourth straight win for Cincinnati. Reds outfielder Jake Fraley led the way with three hits, including his fifth home run of the season.

“Oh man, it’s huge,” Fraley said. “This is my fourth year here and we’ve never been able to do it. We were excited about it coming in knowing it was possible and we took care of business.”

Wade Miley recorded his first win since coming back from Tommy John surgery. He gave up three runs over five innings and kept the Reds in the game.

“It feels good to just get back out there and compete,” Miley said. Fortunately, it gave the guys the chance to win the game. Great job by them. When the Guardians came back, our offense answered right back.”

The Reds are 4-0 this season against the Cleveland Guardians. Reds manager Terry Francona managed Cleveland for 11 seasons and won American League Manager of the Year three times.

“I had a really good time here,” Francona said. “People were so nice to me, but I am here now and I love being here. I just really wanted us to win.”

You can listen to Francona, Fraley, and Miley’s full postgame interviews below:

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