Two days after a Northeast Side resident lobbied Columbus City Council to make the soccer fields at Kilbourne Run Sports Park accessible to neighbors, Mayor Andrew Ginther told The Dispatch he will do something about it.
“I’m really frustrated,” Ginther told The Dispatch on April 29. “This was a key element of our commitment around community benefit for Save the Crew.”
The city park was built in collaboration with the Crew as part of a 2018 public-private deal to keep the soccer team in Columbus. The park hasn’t officially opened but its fields have been in use for several months. The brand-new turf fields are fenced off and rented out at at $250 for two hours. Mohamed Ali told council that neighbors of the park can’t afford to rent the fields.
Columbus Recreation and Parks officials told The Dispatch on April 28 that the department had no plans to open up the turf fields for free because they are expensive to maintain. The park will eventually include grass soccer fields for community use on a first-come, first-served basis, but that won’t be ready until 2027.
A day later, after The Dispatch’s story on the topic published, Ginther had a different message.
“That’s not good enough,” Ginther told The Dispatch. “I’m going to fix it and I’m going to address it and I’ll have more to share with you soon.”
When Ali testified at council earlier in the week, he asked for some open hours on the turf fields.
“If a child can walk past a field every day but never step onto it, then we have not delivered on what was promised,” Ali said.
At that meeting, City Councilmember Melissa Green vowed to advocate for access at the park.
“I feel firmly the same amenities we allow people to come in and access also should be accessible to our residents, and they should be affordable for our residents,” Green told The Dispatch.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ginther says Kilbourne fields, a key piece of Save the Crew deal, must be more accessible
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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