Executive
Waste of the Day: Ohio State Fair Renovation Costs $386 Million — And That’s Just Phase One
Ohio has spent $386 million to renovate its State Fairgrounds for an event that brings in onlyh $12 million in revenue at the gate.
Topline: A ticket for the legendary Ohio State Fair only costs $12, but local taxpayers will spend far more, whether or not they actually attend.
Millions of dollars for the Ohio State Fair grounds
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has already secured $386 million for his “master plan” to renovate the fairground, and Cleveland.com says the project “could conceivably cost billions” before its completion in 2050.
Key facts: The Ohio Expo Center is mainly known for the state fair that has been held since 1850 and drew visitors from all 50 states this year, but the center is open year-round for events.
Taxpayers will help transform the center with renovations that include a new “Town Square” to showcase Ohio’s “agriculture and natural resources.” The “Multi-Purpose Agricultural Education Facility” will feature 24 pickleball courts and dozens of other amenities. And more funds will go toward “vital unseen underground improvements.”
It’s a huge jump from previous funding. The state legislature allocated just over $10 million to fund the fair this year, and even that was twice as high as 2022.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Tickets don’t begin to cover the cost
Background: Over 1 million people visited the Ohio State Fair in 2023, meaning it would take about $386 from each of them to fund the state’s grand construction plans for the fairground.
The state’s Exposition Commission sent paychecks to 660 people last year.
Most of those were seasonal workers for the fair, but there were still 51 employees who made between $40,000 and $172,000 last year, according to records at OpenTheBooks.com.
Summary: Axios Columbus joked in 2022 that DeWine “loves fairs more than (former Ohio State football coach) Woody Hayes loved winning.” That’s fine, but DeWine should leave taxpayers’ wallets out of it.
This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.
Adam Andrzejewski (say: Angie-eff-ski) was the CEO/founder of OpenTheBooks.com. Before dedicating his life to public service, Adam co-founded HomePages Directories, a $20 million publishing company (1997-2007). His works have been featured on the BBC, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, C-SPAN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, FOX News, CNN, National Public Radio (NPR), Forbes, Newsweek, and many other national media.
Today, OpenTheBooks.com is the largest private repository of U.S. public-sector spending. Mission: post "every dime, online, in real time." In 2022, OpenTheBooks.com captured nearly all public expenditures in the country, including nearly all disclosed federal government spending; 50 of 50 state checkbooks; and 25 million public employee salary and pension records from 50,000 public bodies across America.
The group's aggressive transparency and forensic auditing of government spending has led to the assembly of grand juries, indictments, and successful prosecutions; congressional briefings, hearings, and subpoenas; Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits; Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports; federal legislation; and much more.
Our Honorary Chairman - In Memoriam is U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, MD.
Andrzejewski's federal oversight work was included in the President's Budget To Congress FY2021. The budget cited his organization by name, bullet-pointed their findings, and footnoted/hyperlinked to their report.
Posted on YouTube, Andrzejewski's presentation, The Depth of the Swamp, at the Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar 2020 in Naples, Florida received 3.8 million views.
Andrzejewski has spoken at the Columbia School of Journalism, Harvard Law School and the law schools at Georgetown and George Washington regarding big data journalism. As a senior policy contributor at Forbes, Adam had nearly 20 million pageviews on 206 published investigations. In 2022, investigative fact-finding on Dr. Fauci's finances led to his cancellation at Forbes.
In 2022, Andrzejewski did 473 live television and radio interviews across broadcast, major cable platforms, and radio shows. Andrzejewski is the author of The Waste of the Day column at Real Clear Policy. The column is syndicated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of nearly 200 ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates across USA.
Andrzejewski passed away in his sleep at his home in in Hinsdale, Illinois, on August 18, 2024. He is survived by his wife Kerry and three daughters. He also served as a lector at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church and finished the Chicago Marathon eight times (PR 3:58.49 in 2022).
Waste of the Day articles published after August 18, 2024 are considered posthumous publications.
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