ABSTRACT
I.. Introduction In May 1997, voters in Franklin County-home to Ohio’s capital city Columbusrejected a referendum to increase the local sales tax to pay for a new arena and create the Downtown Family and Sports Entertainment District. The new arena, pro jected to cost $203.5 million, was touted as the linchpin for a public/private partnership to bring an NHL team to the city. The private sector partner was willing to pay the franchise fee to the league; the public sector was to be responsible for the full cost of the new arena. Had the sales tax increment been approved,
Columbus would have had a team from one of the four major leagues for the first time in its history. Columbus was home to the Crew soccer team, but some civic leaders had longed for a baseball, basketball, football, or hockey team. The voters’ decision seemed to bring to an end Columbus’ dream for a team from one of the major sports leagues.
