The Southwest Area Commission has passed a resolution opposing Columbus’ proposed National Women’s Soccer League deal that would use McCoy Park for a training facility.
The commission is opposed not just to the deal the City Council is considering but any ordinance, proposal or action that would give away, trade or diminish the existing footprint of McCoy Park, according to the resolution adopted at its April 14 meeting.
“McCoy Park is a critical and limited community asset within an area already lacking adequate green space, and any effort to reduce or repurpose this land without clear, direct and meaningful community support constitutes a failure to uphold prior commitments and an unacceptable disregard for the needs of Southwest Columbus residents,” the commission wrote in the resolution.
Area commissions are advisory bodies, and their resolutions do not change city policy.
Supporters of the NWSL deal, which include Mayor Andrew Ginther, City Councilmember Nick Bankston and a group of wealthy investors, said they had to move fast on the NWSL deal. On April 9, Ginther promised to create a new Southwest Side park, invest in adaptive sports elsewhere and work with investors in the potential team to set aside some of McCoy Park for public use.
“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,” Ginther previously told The Dispatch.
The potential training facility at the park would be paid for in part by $25 million from each the city and Franklin County governments. The city aims to finance this money through a tax on tickets at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, where the Columbus Crew and a potential NWSL team would play. Neither government has voted to make such financing official. The NWSL has not yet announced whether Columbus would get an expansion franchise.
Elizabeth Reed, the chair of the Southwest Area Commission, said she wants the City Council to reject the deal and continue with the original plans for McCoy Park.
In 2023 and 2024, the council approved $1.6 million for a contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. to design improvements for McCoy Park and Gender Road Park. These improvements included a basketball court, tennis court, pickleball courts, two playgrounds for different age groups, a splash pad, walking trails, an adaptive softball field, a special soccer field for use by people who are blind or use crutches; a pond with overlooks; and a therapeutic garden.
Columbus Recreation & Parks’ plan was to complete these renovations in early 2027, according to its website.
“We were told that It was shovel ready,” Reed said.
Reed said she was concerned Ginther’s pledge to build another park to make up for the loss of McCoy would end up like the sports park he pledged to build at Historic Crew Stadium. The Ohio Expositions Commission refused to give up the Historic Crew Stadium’s land, so the city built the Kilbourne Run Sports Park near Westerville instead.
“So, I’m concerned the same kind of thing might happen here. ‘Well, we couldn’t do this, so we’re going to do this instead somewhere way over here and not really address the real concerns that are happening in the southwest area,'” Reed said.
While city leaders and the group of investors seeking an NWSL team have been working on the deal for months, the Southwest Area Commission did not find out that one of its neighborhood parks would be affected until The Dispatch first reported on the deal in March, Reed said.
The city administration has not directly communicated with commission members since, Reed said. Instead, they’ve heard from City Council members.
Columbus City Council is expected to vote on the NWSL deal at its April 20 meeting.
Dispatch reporter Jordan Laird contributed to this report.
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: Southwest Area Commission opposes McCoy Park giveaway in NWSL deal
Reporting by Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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