Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien is reviewing the purchase contract for the Nationwide Arena in Ohio. He says he will push to make sure the taxpayer-owned facility is operated transparently.
O’Brien is reviewing this because even though taxpayers paid for the stadium the County Commissioners, Columbus City Council and the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority were considering having it be run by a private non-profit.
This switch would mean the authority would no longer be subject to the state’s FOIA and Open Meetings Law.
“Trade secrets is an exception to the public-records law, so that kind of information would be exempt from disclosure, but all other aspects should be as open and available as if the city/county were doing it,” O’Brien said in an email.
Thus far the government has ponied up $260 purchase and maintain the building until 2039.
“In my opinion, if anyone thought this would be private, well then I don’t know what they are thinking,” Columbus City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. said.
I say “public dollars, public information.” If a non-profit must run the stadium, O’Brien is right to make sure it’ll still be held to Ohio’s transparency laws.