Ohio’s agriculture industry wants the state of Ohio and the Columbus city government to know they don’t want the state fairgrounds to get smaller or to move to another location.
Nine organizations representing nearly every corner of Ohio’s agriculture industry have released a wide-ranging set of recommendations. The groups said they want the fairgrounds to remain in the 360-acre campus on the North Side near the Historic Crew Stadium, and asked city and state officials not to take any land from the property.
The recommendations don’t mention a sports and recreation facility that Columbus officials are planning to build on fairgrounds land in the coming years. But that planned complex is the only proposal on the table that involves taking property away from the fairgrounds and Ohio Expo Center.
Proposed sports park at Historic Crew Stadium would reduce fairgrounds size
The city wants to lease part of the grounds from the state for the proposed 17-acre park, which would include several indoor and outdoor athletic fields and basketball courts and a parking lot.
“The city remains committed to the planned community sports park and is encouraged by ongoing conversations with the Expo Commission and members of Ohio’s agricultural community,” Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther’s spokesperson said in a statement. “The city is a champion of the state fair, and our investment in the sports park can leverage additional investment in the fairgrounds, and will enhance the Expo Commission’s ability to deliver a world-class fair.”
