(This story was updated to clarify the legislation before council.)
Columbus’ plan for a professional women’s soccer training facility at McCoy Park has sparked more neighborhood opposition after the city Department of Development proposed including nearby land with a map that confused and alarmed residents.
The deal, initiated by Mayor Andrew Ginther with billionaire investors Dee and Jimmy Haslam and other investors in a National Women’s Soccer League franchise, has previously drawn criticism from residents who were promised a renovated park in one of the city’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Southwest Side neighbors say that land north of McCoy Park that was purchased in 2024 to expand the park should be kept for public use, not a private facility.
Legislation on first-read before Columbus City Council on May 11 would set a June 24th hearing on adding McCoy Park and other city-owned land to the district controlled by the Confluence Community Authority, an entity created in 2019 by the city and Franklin County to help manage the Crew’s stadium deal. The authority is now involved in the National Women’s Soccer League deal, which the city council and Franklin County Commissioners approved last month just before the league awarded Columbus its 18th expansion franchise.
Council does not usually discuss or vote on first-read legislation but votes when that legislation comes up on second-read at a later meeting. Two Southwest Side advocates testifying at City Council’s meeting asked the council to table the legislation, but the council did not. Council President Shannon Hardin said the legislation can still be tabled on second reading.
Residents were alarmed by a map included with the legislation, underscoring ongoing distrust of city officials. Initially, residents mistakenly interpreted the map as using a parcel containing a privately-owned mobile home park. The parcel ID is not listed in the legislation among the affected parcels, and Department of Development spokesperson Christine Reedy confirmed to The Dispatch that the legislation does not touch that mobile home park land.
The Dispatch verified this after Jennifer Crayton of the McCoy Park Community Coalition put out a media release urging City Council to stop the measure at this stage and prevent the displacement of mobile home residents.
“Once again, nothing is clear, and nothing is transparent,” Crayton told The Dispatch later. “They could’ve outlined it in red. Once again, they’re leading us to confusion and we don’t understand what’s going on.”
The legislation does include the approximately 20-acre McCoy Park parcel and about 10 acres of adjacent parcels to the north. One of those northern adjacent parcels previously contained manufactured homes.
Responding to council questions during the meeting, Development Director Michael Stevens said there is urgency to move forward to get a facility ready for a team scheduled to start play in 2028. Stevens also said this legislation does not prevent the working group formed to find a replacement for McCoy Park from recommending a different use for those northern parcels.
Liz Reed, chair of the Southwest Area Commission, has argued that those northern parcels can be used for a public park, including an adaptive sports field for people with disabilities, while the NWSL franchise builds a private facility on the current McCoy Park.
Reed, who testified at the council meeting, said officials with Ginther’s office were dishonest for not mentioning this legislation at recent meetings of the work group established to find a replacement for McCoy Park. The group was formed by a City Council amendment to the deal that tied funding for the facility to the quick replacement of McCoy Park. The group is required to come up with a plan within 60 days.
Columbus City Council President Pro Tempore Rob Dorans told Stevens that he is frustrated that working group members were blindsided by this legislation.
Reed said that instead of the working group pursuing a shared mission, their first two meetings have become negotiations between the community and city officials.
“We are negotiating and fighting tooth and nail with that group to make your amendment come true within the next 49 days,” Reed told the council.
If this legislation moves forward, Reed said she has no faith that all the parcels will be used for anything besides NWSL facilities.
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: McCoy Park legislation before council reignites backlash to NWSL deal
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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