Nationwide Insurance’s CEO said young girls in Columbus need more athletes to look up to, and a professional women’s soccer team is the way to give them that.
The 100-year-old insurance company is seeking part-ownership of a NWSL team with Jimmy and Dee Haslam, the billionaire majority owners of the Columbus Crew and the Cleveland Browns, along with Dr. Chris Edwards and Dr. Pete Edwards.
The group is asking the city and Franklin County to invest $25 million each for a total of $50 million in taxpayer dollars for facilities to lure a yet-to be-determined team to central Ohio, The Dispatch first reported.
“We want to have girls and young ladies to be able to celebrate heroes as well,” Kirt Walker, CEO of Nationwide Insurance since 2019, said in a March 25 interview. Columbus has plenty of male sports teams for boys to admire, he noted, but there’s something “really unique” about having female role models for young female athletes.
Nationwide Insurance has been a principal sponsor of the Columbus Crew since 2020, and has supported the NWSL since 2021.
Another professional sports team would also be economically smart for the region, Walker said. Quality facilities create jobs, and make Columbus a desirable place for state, national and international sports tournaments.
The ownership would be split between the Haslam Sports Group, Nationwide Insurance and the Edwards family. Walker would not disclose the ownership percentage level the company is seeking.
City Council wants an NWSL team, but not with public money
Mayor Andrew Ginther’s administration has pitched the $25-million investment to Columbus City Council in recent weeks as he pushes hard for the Haslams’ bid for the franchise.
However, councilmembers aren’t sold on the idea of giving millions in public money to help a bid from billionaires, which could be used to build a training facility at the city’s McCoy Park on the Southwest Side.
The Columbus City Council would have to vote on any city expenditure. The majority of council members told The Dispatch that while they want the NWSL to pick Columbus for its next team, they are against giving $25 million for such a deal, especially since the city’s 2026 budget is tight.
“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 told The Dispatch. “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.”
Business and consumer issues reporter Samantha Hendrickson can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Why financial giant Nationwide wants to be part of Columbus’ NWSL push
Reporting by Samantha Hendrickson, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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