Jennifer Crayton and her family had been looking forward to the revamping of McCoy Park on Columbus’ Southwest Side. Her husband Brian, an Iraq War veteran who was injured during his service, hadn’t been able to play with his three kids for years as his mobility declined.
“That is what was so important that they have these memories with their dad,” Jennifer Crayton said.
Under the city’s original plans, McCoy Park would have been upgraded by early 2027 to include adaptive sports fields for residents with disabilities, playgrounds, a pond, a splashpad and more. That all changed when Mayor Andrew Ginther and a group of wealthy investors said they wanted to bring a National Women’s Soccer League franchise to Columbus and build a team training facility at McCoy Park.
Columbus City Council approved the NWSL deal on April 20, with the stipulation that the city form a working group to quickly replace McCoy Park.
Crayton, other residents, and the Columbus Education Association – which represents more than 4,500 teachers, librarians, nurses, counselors, and psychologists in Columbus City Schools – plan to rally and picnic at McCoy Park on May 1 to protest the NWSL deal.
Crayton, who is leading community opposition to the NWSL deal, is skeptical the city will follow through on its promise. The only available sites on the Southwest Side are brownfield sites, locations that have to be developed into green spaces over the course of years, Crayton said.
“By that time, a whole generation has lost the ability to have green space in an area where the life expectancy is 60 years,” she said of the neighborhood around McCoy Park, located on the west side of Interstate 71, across the highway from the numerous sports fields at Berliner Park.
Ginther said in early April that the city had to move fast to secure an NWSL team for the city. He promised to make it up to the residents on the Southwest Side who are losing a park.
“I want the neighbors of the Southwest Side to know I’m committed to providing them with the recreation opportunities that they desire and they deserve,” he said.
Crayton is singlehandedly leading an effort to collect over 20,000 signatures to force City Council to repeal the NWSL deal or put it to voters.
The Columbus City Charter allows citizens to initiate a referendum on City Council ordinances within 30 days of the ordinance’s passing. At least 5% of the number of voters who voted in the last city mayoral election have to sign the referendum petition. In this case, that would require around 11,000 signatures to bring the matter to a public vote.
Crayton said she wants at least double that amount, but acknowledged that reaching that goal would likely be nearly impossible. So far, she’s collected only 10 signatures, she said.
“I would love to build that network, but people are tired, they don’t have the capacity, they don’t feel like even that would be honored in good faith. But I’m going to try. I like tilting at windmills,” Crayton said.
Another Columbus resident, Amanda Runyon Lynch of the North Side, said her family was also looking forward to the new and improved McCoy Park, despite not living nearby. Her daughter, Iris, has several disabilities, she said, calling their options for adaptive equipment at Columbus’ existing parks are limited.
Lynch would like to see the city go back on its NWSL deal and ask the team’s investors, which include billionaires Jimmy and Dee Haslam, to choose a new site.
“The reason that we remember the names of Carnegie and Rockefeller are because they were philanthropists. as well as billionaires, and they’ve invested in art and public libraries. So, it’s really weird that in today’s world, we only know billionaires because they don’t pay taxes and get stuff for free,” Lynch said.
Transportation and neighborhoods reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@dispatch.com, @NathanRHart on X and nathanhart.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus residents plan protest, ballot referendum to oppose McCoy Park giveaway
Reporting by Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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