DeWine Proposes Significantly Raising Gaming Tax to Help Fund Ohio Sports Stadiums

Gov. Mike DeWine is proposing to increase Ohio’s sports gaming tax to help pay for major and minor league stadium projects and youth sports programs.

The governor announced the proposal during his press conference on the new budget Monday. The governor’s proposal would raise the tax from 20% to 40%. The governor said the increase would raise up $180 million more per year. The money could be used for professional sports stadium projects and youth sports.

Dave Jenkins, COO of the Haslam Sports Group, released the following statement to the FOX 8 I-TEAM Monday night:

“We appreciate Gov. DeWine’s commitment to looking at creative ways to solve sports facilities development while positively impacting youth sports throughout Ohio. We look forward to learning more about the options this legislation may provide. At the same time, we continue to work with the appropriate stakeholders and other experienced experts to develop alternative funding mechanisms for an enclosed Huntington Bank Field in Brook Park, knowing the importance of not tapping into existing taxpayer funds that go to other pressing community needs. The model we’ve proposed on the state level would leverage only the incremental tax revenues from within the development itself to enable the project. The Brook Park Huntington Bank Field project is more than just a stadium. Combined with the adjacent mixed-use development, which would be enabled by approximately $2B in private investments, this $3B+ economic development project would be among the largest ever in Northeast Ohio. It truly is a generational opportunity to create a robust, revenue-generating district that will bring in new jobs and new visitors to our region and significantly impact our economy.”

The Cleveland Browns plan to build an enclosed stadium with development around it in Brook Park.

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Meantime, the city of Cleveland is enforcing the so-called Modell Law restricting sports teams from moving. The city has filed a lawsuit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court hoping to keep the Browns playing on the lakefront.

Under the Modell Law, if a pro sports team wants to move, the city must, first, have a chance to find new owners. The Browns, though, are fighting that in federal court asking a judge to rule that law unconstitutional.