Our guide to Huntington Bank Field includes information on events, tickets, parking, public transportation, nearby hotels and restaurants, seating and more. Read on to find out how to get the most out of your gameday experience.

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Despite Cleveland’s long history of sports heartbreak — or, perhaps, because of it — the city’s fans have gained a well-deserved reputation for being among the most loyal around.

And of the city’s three franchises in major professional sports, the Browns are the team whose fans perhaps demonstrate this the best, as a visit to Huntington Bank Field will quickly reveal.

While the Cavaliers and Guardians have experienced moments of glory over the last 20 years, no matter how fleeting, the Browns’ recent history has been mired in futility and pain, from the original franchise’s abrupt move to Baltimore after the 1995 season to its seemingly never-ending quarterback carousel to its blown lead in a 2002 playoff game.

And through all that, fans still flock to Huntington Bank Field. In fact, the Browns’ stadium is itself a symbol of the franchise’s rebirth — it was built on the site of the old Municipal Stadium, a new venue having been a condition of the NFL returning the Browns to existence as an expansion team for the 1999 season.

Despite Huntington Bank Field’s unofficial nickname, the “Factory of Sadness,” Browns fans got a taste of success thanks to the 2020 team that won a playoff game for the first time since the franchise’s return. In good times and in bad, they’ve made the stadium their own, with the vaunted “Dawg Pound” in the east end zone setting the tone for the team’s rambunctious fan base.

Huntington Bank Field is also a regular host of other large-scale events such as concerts and international soccer matches.

The stadium received a new name for the 2024 season after going without a naming sponsor for a couple years, thus its previous name of Cleveland Browns Stadium.

No matter what it’s called, its days might be numbered if the team has its way. The Browns have revealed plans to build a new stadium near the Cleveland Airport, though so far they have been met with opposition.

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Getting to Huntington Bank Field

Situated on the shore of Lake Erie, across the way from Cleveland City Hall and right next to two of the city’s main attractions (more on those later), Huntington Bank Field is easy to reach — but it does have its challenges.

Drivers can link up with the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway (Ohio Route 2), which links up with Interstate 90 (the main artery through downtown Cleveland) about a mile east of the stadium. East 9th Street and West 3rd Street are the closest exits to the venue.

Because of the lake, the majority of traffic will be heading south to get of downtown following events at Huntington Bank Field. So expect hordes of traffic heading toward the highways afterward, and pack some patience.

If you don’t have a car, you have an alternative. Cleveland’s RTA Rail system has a line called the Waterfront line that runs by the stadium, with the stop at West 3rd Street. Due to service restrictions, the line is operational only for Browns home games.

Riders can get on a Waterfront line train at Tower City, a hub station for the system’s other lines. It costs $5 for an all-day pass, which is well worth it to avoid the hassle of not jockeying to pay for a return ticket at a station kiosk.

For those visiting Cleveland, most downtown hotels are within reasonable walking distance of Huntington Bank Field. Just follow West 3rd or East 9th northbound, toward the lake.

If you’re staying at a hotel outside the downtown core, finding one close to an RTA station will help immensely with ease of getting to Huntington Bank Field.

Parking at Huntington Bank Field

Because event parking is somewhat limited in the area around Huntington Bank Field, the Browns encourage fans to utilize downtown parking structures and lots, so many fans — not just those staying in hotels — will be walking from the downtown core to Huntington Bank Field.

Though the building is separated from downtown by a series of train tracks, there are several bridges — some closed off to vehicles close to kickoff and for postgame — for fans to cross.

Undoubtedly the most popular general-admission spot for fans without permits to park for games at Huntington Bank Field is the Lakefront Municipal Parking Lot, known affectionately to Browns fans as simply the “Muni Lot.”

Located about a half-mile east of the stadium, the lot costs $40 per car to enter and is very large, but you’ll still be met with plenty of competition, as thousands of longtime die-hards have made pregaming at the Muni Lot a tradition (more on that below).

Otherwise, you’ll need permits to access the parking areas closest to the stadium, along the lakefront. These are divided into color-coded lots, so if you do have a permit, pay attention to the color, but your spot is likely either just north or west of the stadium grounds.

Looking for parking at Huntington Bank Field? Buy parking on SpotHero.

Cleveland hotels near Huntington Bank Field

• Hilton Cleveland Downtown – 0.2 miles away
• Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Tower – 0.4 miles away
• Westin Cleveland Downtown – 0.4 miles away
Search for more Cleveland hotels on Booking.com.

Map of the Cleveland lakefront area

Check out rates for hotels near Huntington Bank Field below.

Things to do around Huntington Bank Field

Directly to the east of Huntington Bank Field are two of Cleveland’s prime attractions, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Great Lakes Science Center. If kickoff is at 1 p.m. local time, as many Browns home games are, you won’t have much time to spend at either place before the game. But since they’re right there, at least you’ll know where they are so that you can budget some time for one or the other at some point during your visit.

For more traditional sports-fan pregame merriment, look to the Warehouse District, an up-and-coming neighborhood directly south of the stadium, and the area near Public Square, another five blocks away.

A couple blocks further, there’s East 4th Street, a favorite haunt for Cavs and Guardians fans since both Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and Progressive Field are down the street, but just as lively on football Sundays or other days when events are going on at Huntington Bank Field.

But you’ll likely want to find time to check out some of the tailgating scene in the parking lots around Huntington Bank Field. Since they’re permit-only, they’re full of long-time Browns diehards who have been around for the tough times and come to the games with hardened — but welcoming — attitudes, as well as sophisticated tailgating rigs.

The best place to take in this scene is the aforementioned Muni Lot, where long rows of tricked-out buses and RVs camp out in the hours before games. The die-hards here are certainly rabid (pardon the pun) but many are friendly and happily willing to share some of their tailgate bounty with others who are nice to them — and yes, this often includes fans of the visiting team.

Beyond that, you can try walking west of the stadium, where the West 3rd Street lot and adjacent Dock 20 lot are located, or head about half a mile east to the Burke Lakefront Airport, where many diehards are known to park.

Or, simply head to Alfred Lerner Way just south of the stadium, as it is closed off on gamedays to form “Dawg Pound Drive,” which features live music, food stands and family-friendly activities.

For more on visiting Cleveland, check out our Cleveland sports travel guide.

Cleveland restaurants near the stadium

• Bar 32 – American, 0.3 miles away
• The Burnham Restaurant – American, 0.3 miles away
• Nuevo Modern Mexican and Tequila Bar – Mexican, 0.5 miles away
Search for more Cleveland restaurants on Tripadvisor.

Watching a game at Huntington Bank Field

Easily the feature that sets Huntington Bank Field apart among NFL venues is the presence of the Dawg Pound, the seating area for the Browns’ most fervent fans — those who wear bulldog masks and dog collars.

Their sections can be found on Huntington Bank Field’s east side, in the lower bowl, and are distinguishable by the fact their seats are bleacher-style (the rest of the stadium is fitted with individual seats) and painted brown, white and dark orange, as opposed to the light orange seats in the rest of the bowl.

The Dawg Pound, which began during the team’s 1980s heyday at Municipal Stadium, is so ingrained in the team’s consciousness that the seating sections in which those fans sit at Huntington Bank Field are specifically labeled “Dawg Pound,” and they can be among the toughest tickets to get depending on the game.

You’ll hear the Browns faithful barking at nearly every important moment during the game, particularly after the stadium breaks into the fan base’s signature chant: “Here we go Brownies, here we go!”

Another element the new stadium adopted from the old one is, well, the elements. Municipal Stadium was notorious for the winds that whipped into it from Lake Erie, and late-season games at Huntington Bank Field can bring a chill into the seating bowl also — that is, more so than can be expected even for a winter day in Cleveland.

Otherwise, Huntington Bank Field is a fairly standard-issue football stadium, with good sightlines — though the highest seating rows can feel removed from the action — and wide concourses. A recent renovation brought new, high-definition videoboards behind each end zone.

Get to your seating area early at Huntington Bank Field to catch the team’s pregame ritual — a special guest is called in each game to smash a guitar, a nod to the nearby Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Interested in a suite at Huntington Bank Field? Buy suite tickets on SuiteHop.

Food and drink at Huntington Bank Field

The Browns have also revamped their concessions offerings over the last few seasons, bringing in more “foodie” fare. Cleveland native and celebrity chef Michael Symon has a presence in the form of his B Spot stands offering gourmet burgers and brats.

Two other Cleveland celebrity chefs, Rocco Whalen and Jonathon Sawyer, operate food stands around the stadium. You can also find more standard stadium fare at the numerous C-Town Eats and Meat & Cleaver Grill stands.

Among Huntington Bank Field’s beer choices, you can find brews from regionally based Platform Beer and Phoenix Brewing Company.

Original publish date: February 4, 2016
Most recent update: September 3, 2024

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