Mayor Ginther Announces New Location for Community Sports Park
Mayor Andrew J. Ginther
announced the Community Sports Park promised as part of the city’s commitment
to keep the Crew in Columbus will be located at Kilbourne Run in Northeast
Columbus. The 69-acre site will feature natural and synthetic turf fields,
mini-pitches and a championship field with spectator stands, a locker room and
lights, and co-branding with the Columbus Crew.
“When we announced our
support for the Columbus Crew, we were committed not only to soccer but to
affordable housing around the new Downtown stadium, infrastructure in the Arena
District to bring in new jobs, historic minority investment in the building of
the stadium, assurance that Historic Crew Stadium did not become an abandoned
facility in the middle of our neighborhoods, and a community sports park that
would serve as a destination for youth and adult sports,” said Mayor Ginther.
“We have delivered on every aspect, except the sports park, and I am excited
that today we are able to advance this component that is so important to our
residents.”
Original plans called for
the sports park to be located on fairground property near Historic Crew
Stadium. The City has worked in earnest
to secure a lease to the site, but the Ohio Expositions Commission refused to
grant a lease.
“While we leave the door
open for negotiations with the state and remain prepared to invest in recreation
facilities on the fairgrounds site, the community has waited long enough,” said
Mayor Ginther.
The City of Columbus
already owns and maintains Kilbourne Run, a soccer-specific facility, and will
be investing millions of dollars to enhance it. In partnership with the Crew,
who will use some of the fields for their Crew Academy, it will deliver fields
and facilities that will increase access to soccer and other field sports for
Columbus kids, and position Columbus as a destination for regional tournaments
– far more than what could have been accomplished at the fairgrounds.
“At the Crew, we want to
introduce the global sport of soccer to as many young people in the city as we
can,” said Kristen Bernert, Columbus Crew President of Business Operations. “As
we work to impactfully connect with the Columbus community, we want students to
engage in physical activity in addition to their academic endeavors, to truly
stay in the game. We take great pleasure in knowing that they, along with other
residents of our community, will benefit from having an area to gather at the
Community Sports Park and at our mini pitches throughout Central Ohio. We are
excited about the City’s plans and we look forward to connecting more deeply
with Columbus Recreation and Parks on programming here to bring the physical space
to life.”
Investments in recreation
and sports will go far beyond Kilbourne Run, Mayor Ginther announced. In
addition, the City will begin work on a three-season pickleball tournament
facility at Mock Park just three miles from Historic Crew Stadium and outdoor
pickelball courts at:
- Krumm Park located in east Columbus
- McCoy Park in southwest Columbus
- Gender Road Park in southeast Columbus
- Anheuser-Busch Park in northwest Columbus
In addition, the City will
begin work on a new East Broad Street campus focused on arts and senior programing
featuring a 2-story, 40,000 square foot building that will house much of the
programming originally held at Martin Janis Senior Center as well as the Golden
Hobby Shop.
“As we focus on increasing
amenities throughout the City of Columbus, this provides opportunity for all
residents,” said Bernita A. Reese, CPRP, director of Columbus Recreation and
Parks Department. “We look forward to bringing to the community state-of-the-art
facilities that meet a variety of needs.”
The city’s 2022 capital
budget and the proposed bond package this fall will prioritize investments in
recreational facilities in underserved neighborhoods including:
- the potential for a new aquatics facility near Howard
Community Center
- new park improvements at Case Road Sheep Farm to serve
the Northwest
- additional phased improvements of Anheuser-Busch Park
- updates to Maloney Park in Linden
“By almost all accounts, the City’s commitment
to keeping the Crew has paid off for much more than soccer fans – from infrastructure
for office space and affordable housing near Lower.com field to updates for
parks and community facilities from right here at Kilbourne Run all the way to
the South Side,” said City Councilmember Emmanuel Remy.
“Whether for keeping young
people safe, or attracting families, or accommodating our growing city, more
recreation opportunities are a critical investment to make across Columbus. And
residents are eager for it,” said City Council President Pro Tem Liz Brown, who
chairs the Recreation and Parks Committee. “These investments in all parts of
the city are an exciting part of the future of Columbus Recreation and Parks.”
For more information,
visit columbusrecparks.com/communitysportspark