Columbus City Council members are talking with the Haslam Sports Group about a ticket tax on Columbus Crew games that would fund a training facility for a potential National Women's Soccer League franchise.
Council members balked at using $25 million in city capital dollars to pay for the facility at McCoy Park on the southwest side.
Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin told WOSU on Wednesday that a ticket tax is a better way to fund the facility.
"There's no reason we can't build this world class training facility while preserving our city's capital budget for things like rec centers, fire stations and sidewalks. And that's the deal that council is trying to strike right now," Hardin said.
Hardin said it makes sense that people attending soccer games would help pay for the new facility.
"And what we are hopeful we can get to is having the facility be backed by the city using the ticket fee that would come from folks who are actually attending the games," Hardin said.
The Haslam Sports Group is the Crew's majority owner and has asked Columbus and Franklin County to invest $25 million each. Hardin said the women's team would play its games at Scotts Miracle-Gro Field where the Crew plays. The Haslam family also is the majority owner of the Cleveland Browns.
A Haslam Sports Group spokesperson said in an email Wednesday: “We continue to have positive discussions with local government officials to determine the best structure of an investment that will create long-term benefits for our City, County and community, in addition to accomplishing our shared goal of bringing an NWSL club to Ohio.”
