Columbus plans $50M in taxpayer funds to lure women’s pro soccer

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(The Center Square) – The city of Columbus and Franklin County plan to spend $50 million in taxpayer funds to lure a women’s professional soccer team to join the Crew in the capitol city.

Plans call for the city to convert McCoy Park on the southwest side into a training facility and make improvements to downtown’s Scotts Miracle-Gro Field.

If a team comes, it would be the sixth professional sports team to call Columbus home – joining the Crew, the NHL’s Blue Jackets, Cleveland Guardian affiliate Columbus Clippers, women’s volleyball’s Columbus Fury and the new United Football League’s Columbus Aviators.

“We intend to support a professional women’s team with the same seriousness we’ve afforded to the Columbus Crew and Columbus Blue Jackets in the past,” Jennifer Fening, Columbus deputy chief of staff told The Center Square. “We want girls and women here to see women take to the pitch at Scotts Miracle-Gro Field and be inspired to lead on the field, in the classroom, in the boardroom and in our community. Our investment is a signal that their city believes in them, in their potential and in their dreams.”

Under the proposal, a private ownership team would invest $300 million in the National Women's Soccer League franchise.

The city hopes public funds would be repaid with a ticket fee charged at all events at Scotts Miracle-Gro Field, which would generate $2-3 million each year by 2032, Fening said.

After the public investment is repaid, the ticket fee would then “create a revenue stream for human services, early childhood education, or other community needs, said Fenig.

The ownership team has also pledged “philanthropic support” for early childhood education, workforce development and food insecurity, she added.

At a public hearing on the team proposal this week, Maggie Oliphint, three-time captain of Whetstone High School girls soccer team, believes a women’s pro team in the city could inspire young girls.

“I’ve played soccer since I was 4 years old,” she told council members. ”Soccer touches every aspect of my life. My family has season tickets to the Columbus Crew and has for years. In Columbus City schools, many girls end up quitting soccer once they reach middle school.”

Out of 16 high schools in the school district, only five have a girls soccer team, she told the council.

“All 16 of those schools have boys soccer teams,” she said. “This disparity is not because of the lack of interest. It’s because of the lack of infrastructure and inspiration to see what’s possible for women in soccer in our city.”

A professional women’s soccer team in Columbus would provide role models for female soccer players, she added.

“Bringing an NWSL team to Columbus could change the landscape for women’s athletics for the better by allowing young girls to see themselves reflected in the athletes and create a community that doesn’t just passively allow women’s sports to be played in the background but to empower and support them.”