A joint-venture of AECOM Hunt and Turner Construction has scored one of construction’s most high-profile project types: a new NFL Stadium.
The pair has landed the construction manager contract for the Cleveland Browns’ $2.4 billion New Huntington Bank Field in Brook Park, Ohio, according to a news release shared with Construction Dive. Funding will consist of $1.2 billion in private investment, along with $600 million each from state and local sources, according to the project’s website.
The 67,500-seat enclosed stadium will feature a translucent roof and the capability to expand capacity to 75,000 people for large-scale events beyond Browns games. Other potential uses include international soccer matches, concerts and NCAA Final Four tournament games, according to the release.
Designed by Dallas-based architectural firm HKS, the stadium will boast seating that brings fans closer to the field of play than any other NFL stadium, according to the release, including a modernized “Dawg Pound,” a seating area for the team’s most fanatical supporters.
The translucent roof will mark Ohio’s first enclosed stadium while bringing natural light to the field and amplifying the sound level of hometown fans that visiting teams will endure on game day, according to the stadium’s project page.
The roof will also stand out from a building and construction perspective as the first long-span roof of its kind that won’t feature a truss. The absence of that long, structural framework will translate into enhanced sightlines within the venue.
Jason Jones, senior vice president at Turner, said work would begin this month, with groundbreaking slated for early 2026. “We’re proud to involve local people and businesses while drawing on our expertise in complex sports venues,” Jones said in the release.
Haslam Sports Group, the company founded by Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, tapped the AECOM Hunt-Turner JV for the job due to the companies’ deep bench of stadium building expertise, according to the release. The contracting pair worked on the $5.5 billion SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, which opened in 2022. The JV is also currently teaming up on the $2.1 billion New Nissan Stadium for the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.
Each company had a hand in construction of the Browns’ current stadium in downtown Cleveland as well: AECOM Hunt was the original builder in 1999, and Turner renovated it in 2014.
New York City-based Turner has worked with 18 NFL teams, according to a separate news release. Notable projects include the Philadelphia Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field and the San Francisco 49ers Levi’s Stadium. The firm is also working on the $2.1 billion Buffalo Bills’ New Highmark Stadium, topping out on the project in April, along with partner Gilbane Building Company.
Indianapolis-based AECOM Hunt is currently working on the $1.45 billion renovation of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ EverBank Stadium in Florida in a JV with Barton Malow. AECOM Hunt also built the $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Atlanta Falcons as part of a JV with Holder Construction, C.D. Moody Construction and H.J. Russell & Co.
Beyond Turner and AECOM Hunt, the project will also tap local Ohio firms, according to the release.
Brecksville, Ohio-based Independence Construction will serve as an active member of the construction management team, and sister firm Independence Excavating will perform enabling sitework to prepare for construction. Cleveland’s DiGeronimo Companies, a development, construction and financing firm, owns both companies.
Use of local partners has widely become table stakes for high-profile projects, and an aspect that can draw controversy. In Buffalo, Turner and Gilbane briefly took heat on the Bills stadium job in 2023 when a local legislator called out the JV for unfulfilled goals for minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses. The group quickly redoubled outreach efforts and later reported 40% workforce diversity on the job.
The New Huntington Bank Field will create more than 6,000 construction jobs, according to the release.
The stadium is scheduled to open in 2029 in time for the NFL season
