DCMP on 
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If Issue 3 passes, it appears the State of Ohio may have unknowingly spent $750,000 to clean up a piece of land that may be home to a new casino. Originally, Plaza Properties planned to use the former site of Jaeger Machine just west of Huntington Park for condominiums, retail space, and a small park.
Last year, the Ohio Department of Development awarded a $750,000 Clean Ohio Assistance Fund grant to demolish the tool factory and clean up pollution from more than 70 years of manufacturing on the brownfield site.
The city of Columbus, believing such a project to be an asset to the developing neighborhood near the new baseball stadium, supported the bid for the cleanup grant. In fact, the city was the applicant.
Then along came Penn National Gaming, a major backer of Issue 3.
That was before Penn National Gaming and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert hatched their proposal for casinos in Ohio’s four largest cities. Early this year, Penn National reached a deal with Plaza Properties to buy the Columbus site for a casino if the ballot measure passes in November.
Here is the state running away from Issue 3.
“Sometimes the end use is something determined to be specific (in a grant application), and sometimes it is not,” spokeswoman Amanda Wurst said. “The end use is not something that is funded by the state.”
And here is the city running from Issue 3 as well.
Deputy Development Director Michael Stevens wouldn’t say whether city officials would have vied for the cleanup grant if the casino had been the plan at the time. The question is hypothetical, he said.
Meaning. It was a poorly written grant that did not lay out the specific uses for the money.
This is great. We could possibly have a new family friendly baseball park which U.S. News and World Report called stunning sitting beside a place full of good-fellas and gamblers. And who cleaned up the site to put it there? The great State of Ohio and the City of Columbus.
Source: State agreed to prepare factory site for condos, but gamers in line to buy it
My wife and I are empty nesters in Hilliard and want to move to downtown, Short North or Arena District. We WILL NOT live next to a casino. If a casino moves into the Arena District, it will kill it.
Thanks for passing this on. This one really ticks me off.
Thanks for commenting J.C.
I agree that a casino will kill what has become a rebirth of downtown. When I was growing up, nobody went downtown after 5:00pm. It was a wasteland.
Now downtown Columbus is home to a vibrant and eclectic community. Gambling interests will destroy that.
how exactly do you think that a casino will “kill” the arena district?
first of all it isnt 1970 and the mob doesnt run casions….second….what is going to happen when the bluejackets inevitably get shipped out of columbus and nationwide arena is empty 80% of the year? will huntington park carry the arena district single-handedly?
myopic opinions and uninformed random bloggers just show the ignorance of the general public.
a casino will INCREASE tourism and convention buisiness (which is suffering badly in columbus) and there is no study in the past 15 years that show casinos increase crime in any area they are built.
do some actual research and maybe try going to a new casino in a town that recently built one and you will see how it can properly be incorporated into a city. Check out St Louis…columbus would be lucky to have a downtown like that town….casinos…sports venues…restaurants and bars…entertainment all working in harmony and tourism hasnt been better for the city.
kk thanks for commenting.
I do not believe I posted that the crime rate would be higher if Issue 3 was passed.
While there may be no study that states crime rates will be higher (and I’m not sure that’s true), there is one by Hiram College that refutes the study by UC. That’s how I think it could hurt the Arena District by taking money away from other businesses.
As for myopic, I think accepting a constitutional amendment that has a tax rate lower than most states, written by the two entities who are the main beneficiaries, and lacks little oversight or unclear oversight, all because of a bad economy is myopic.
Want casino’s? Fine. But the idea that this was the only way to accomplish that was a farce.
Been a while since I’ve been to St. Louis. But, I do know what downtown Columbus looked like 10 years ago and I’m not willing to take a chance on a poorly written constitutional amendment that will take another one to change if there are problems.
Regarding personal rather than academic research into casino’s, I don’t think so. I do not like games in which the odds are not in my favor. I understand math. Still, I will admit that casino’s do have a higher payout than the biggest scam of all, the Ohio Lottery.
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