The Cleveland Browns broke ground on Thursday for their $2.6 billion domed stadium project in Brook Park, which is set to open for the 2029 NFL season. Gov. Mike DeWine joined team owner Jimmy Haslam, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and others to celebrate construction on the project, which actually began last month.

The three shared the stage at the groundbreaking to take questions about the project. Haslam said he sat down with DeWine’s team two years ago to talk through what the state’s role might be in funding the project.

“I’ll be quite honest, my goal was to be supportive of this and do what we could at the state level because we needed state money. But you also have the Haslam organization putting a ton of money into this thing as well, and that’s sometimes something that is forgotten,” DeWine said. “The state for the last 30 to 35, 40 years has participated in in the building of new stadiums, new ballparks. We’ve also participated in renovations. We were as clear we’re going to do that, and it’s the right thing for us to do.”

The state kicked in $600 million toward the stadium through the budget signed last year, with the Haslam Sports Group promising to repay the money over 30 years. DeWine’s initial idea had been to raise the money for the Browns’ stadium and other sports facilities projects through a tax on sports gambling operators.

“The legislature didn’t go along with that. But what they did do is they came up with another plan, and it’s a plan that also does not interfere with the money we need for education and all the other things that we want. So that’s what makes this work,” DeWine said.

Republican lawmakers replaced DeWine’s idea of taxing sports gambling companies with a plan to use unclaimed funds. Several of those lawmakers were also at the groundbreaking.

“We came up with a plan that’s going to ensure that Ohio will will continue to be number one in sports for decades and decades and decades,” DeWine said. “That money is going to be there to help not only build this stadium, it’s going to be there to help other our other sports facilities around the state.”

DeWine said the stadium project will bring jobs and economic development, and the domed facility will bring more entertainment to contribute to the quality of life in Ohio.

“We do not currently have a covered stadium in the state of Ohio. We don’t have anything like this in the state of Ohio. We needed this in the state of Ohio. It was about time. And we’re moving forward,” DeWine said. “It’s a great win for the state of Ohio.”

A state and federal court battle is holding up the transfer of $1 billion of those unclaimed funds into a sports and cultural facilities fund, to pay the $600 million pledged to the Browns and $400 million for 14 sports operations that have applied for a share of the fund. The Haslam Sports Group could pay the money during the legal fight to keep construction on track.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Ohio’s term limits are set to create turnover in state government, but as the state heads toward November elections with open seats across the top offices, many of the same political figures are positioning themselves to stay in power by moving into different roles.

In 2027, Ohio will have a new governor as Gov. Mike DeWine reaches the end of his second term. With term limits affecting multiple statewide offices, the upcoming election cycle is shaping up as a round of political musical chairs.

The Ohio Constitution mandates term limits for state officeholders such as governor and attorney general. Voters also approved term limits in 1992 for state representatives and state senators. But instead of consistently producing new faces in Columbus, the limits have often led to officeholders shifting from one position to another.

• Several prominent Republicans are already lined up for new races:
• Republican Keith Faber, term-limited as auditor, is running for attorney general.
• Frank LaRose, term-limited as secretary of state, is running for auditor.
• Robert Sprague, term-limited as treasurer, is running for secretary of state.
• Two term-limited legislators — former state Rep. Jay Edwards and term-limited state Sen. Kristina Roegner — are facing off in the primary for treasurer.

Catherine Turcer of Common Cause Ohio said the original intent behind term limits was to bring new lawmakers into the Statehouse.

“When we thought about the need for term limits, there was the sense, hey, we want to refresh the Statehouse,” Turcer said. “And that doesn’t happen when legislators go from one chamber to the other.”

Republican strategist Terry Casey said the current dynamic reflects competing voter preferences.

“The public wants people experienced, but they also want turnover and change,” Casey said. “So this is kind of an unusual quirk that hasn’t happened previously in history. But again, do you want experience or do you want fresh faces? In reality, the public wants both.”

Turcer said experience can be valuable, but she argued voters also wanted to prevent long-term consolidation of political influence.

“One of the things that voters really didn’t want was the accumulation of power,” Turcer said.

She pointed to Matt Huffman as an example. Huffman served as president of the Senate, and when he was term-limited there, he ran for the Ohio House in 2024. He won and then became House speaker.

“So that’s not just jumping from one chamber to the other,” Turcer said. “That’s bringing along the political power and the long-term career that you have.”

While proposals occasionally surface to change Ohio’s term-limit rules, there are no active efforts underway, meaning the pattern of candidates moving from one office to another is likely to continue.

Hamilton County has two judicial primaries this Election Day, including one that prompted an endorsement from Afroman, an Ohio-based rapper.

Incumbent Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Chris Wagner will face defense lawyer Bill Gallagher on May 5. There is no Republican challenger, so the winner of the primary will serve as judge.

Wagner was first elected to the bench in 2020, defeating Republican former judge Curt Hartman with 58% of the vote, according to the Hamilton County Board of Elections. He cited jury service reform as one of his achievements on his campaign website and said jurors now serve half the number of days that they used to, and their pay has been increased.

He has been endorsed by the Hamilton County Democratic Party, Commissioner Denise Driehaus and Prosecutor Connie Pillich, among other county and city officials. Wagner was also endorsed by Clyde Bennett, a high-profile defense lawyer who’s represented former judge Tracie Hunter and more recently Rodney Hinton, who is charged with killing a Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy.