Jimmy and Dee Haslam, the billionaire majority owners of the Columbus Crew and the Cleveland Browns, are asking Columbus and Franklin County to put public dollars, around $50 million, into facilities in an effort to lure a professional women’s soccer team to Columbus.
Mayor Andrew Ginther’s administration has pitched the investment to Columbus City Council in recent weeks as he pushes hard for the Haslams’ bid for a National Women’s Soccer League expansion franchise.
Council members said they were briefed on a plan that called for $25 million each from the city and Franklin County. The money could help build a proposed training facility at the city’s McCoy Park on the Southwest Side and upgrade ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.
The Columbus City Council would have to vote on any city expenditure. A majority of council members told The Dispatch they are opposed to a deal that involves using city capital dollars, especially given the city’s tight budget in 2026.
“I do not believe that we should be giving taxpayer dollars to billionaires,” Councilmember Nancy Day-Achauer told The Dispatch.
In deciding later this year which city should get a team, the NWSL will be looking for a city ready to support the team with a public-private partnership, according to a Haslams Sports Group spokesperson.
All of the council members who spoke with The Dispatch said they support women’s sports and bringing an NWSL team here. Several said they’re more open to creative solutions to support a team, such as levying an admissions tax on tickets at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.
Members are also more open to striking a deal for the use of McCoy Park. Day-Achauer said she wants the neighborhood to still have access to part of the park and for the public to benefit from the new facilities, too.
“As a Columbus Crew fan and as someone who helped to save the Crew, I’m really excited about the possibility of bringing a women’s team to Columbus,” Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin said. “But anything that takes away from our ability to build rec centers and fire stations and gives it to a billionaire-owned team is a nonstarter for me.”
The local funding pitch comes after the Republican-controlled Ohio General Assembly gave $600 million from unclaimed funds to the Haslams in 2025 toward the Cleveland Browns’ new domed stadium, a $2.4-billion project. A Franklin County judge has blocked the transfer of that money for now.
Democrats railed against the public handout for the Haslams then. Now, Ginther is pushing a local investment of public dollars at Democrat-controlled Columbus City Hall.
Ginther declared in his State of the City address a year ago that he aspires to make Columbus the nation’s capital for women’s sports.
“I’ve been unapologetic and a big advocate for that – anything we can be doing in that spirit of public-private partnerships to continue to lift up girls and women,” Ginther told The Dispatch.
The Haslams are among Ginther’s biggest campaign donors. They’ve donated more than $146,000 to Ginther’s campaigns over the years, according to available records going back to 2017.
Rob McBurnett, a Haslams Sports Group spokesperson, said in an emailed statement that all of the potential NWSL team owners – the Haslam Sports Group, Nationwide, Dr. Chris Edwards and Dr. Pete Edwards – are passionate about bringing a team to Columbus.
McBurnett said that sports leagues assess markets seeking a franchise in a highly competitive process.
“Having the full support of public-private partnership is among the key factors,” he said. “Our community has seen the benefits of public-private collaboration within and beyond sports in our region, and we recognize that same unified approach further strengthens our position to secure a professional women’s soccer team in central Ohio.”
McBurnett said the group has engaged with local government officials to identify the best structure for the city, county and community to support the bid for an NWSL club.
In 2025, Columbus City Council narrowly passed a $500,000 grant for the Fury matched by a $500,000 grant approved by the Franklin County Commissioners. In 2018 and 2019, the city and county put up money to keep the Crew from leaving Columbus, including about $50 million in county direct investment and $50 million in city investment in infrastructure around the stadium.
“This community has a great track record and success of public-private partnerships,” Ginther said. “Whether it’s the arena for the Jackets, the ‘Save the Crew’ movement and the support we have given for the only professional women’s sports team in Ohio, the Columbus Fury.”
Columbus and Franklin County weigh Haslams’ $50M pitch
Whether this new pitch from the Haslams for local investment in a women’s pro soccer team facilities has enough political will to make it across the finish line remains to be seen.
On the county side of things, Franklin County Administrator Kenneth Wilson confirmed in an email to The Dispatch that the Haslams Sports Group has informally asked the county for funding for a training facility and stadium improvements.
“Whether the administration brings this to the Board of Commissioners for official consideration will depend on the financial implications associated with county involvement,” Wilson said. “It would require significant material public benefit to the county’s economic vitality, workforce development, advancing gender equity, and contributions to important health and human services initiatives.”
Ginther said any city investment would come from Columbus’ capital budget, not the operating budget.
Of the nine Columbus City Council members, five told The Dispatch they are opposed to using capital dollars for soccer facilities: Hardin, Day-Achauer, Rob Dorans, Melissa Green and Tiara Ross. Three council members, Christopher Wyche, Emmanuel Remy and Lourdes Barroso de Padilla said they need more information before making a decision on any proposal. The Dispatch could not reach Councilmember Nick Bankston, who was out of town.
Dorans pointed out the capital budget is tighter this year after the city had to move everything it could from the general fund to the capital fund.
“That means that pot of money that is incredibly important for paving streets, building sidewalks, building fire stations – that pot of money is smaller,” Dorans said. “I’m not sure in this kind of budget environment, building a practice facility for a team should be that high on the list of priorities.”
It was Dorans’ first year as a council member when the council voted to invest in infrastructure around a new Crew stadium. Dorans supported the Save the Crew movement and voted for city investment then.
“We are in a different budget environment in 2026 than we were in 2019,” Dorans said. “Times are different now.”
Hardin said he will meet with Crew leadership later this week about other opportunities to support Columbus’ bid for a women’s pro soccer team.
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: Columbus council balks at Haslams’ ask for millions for NWSL facilities
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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