Downturn seen adding challenge to reuse of Cooper Stadium property - Business First of Columbus:

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The 77-year-old stadium’s team, the , is movin g to Huntington Park in theArena District. That leavews the Coop with memories from seasons past and as many question aboutits future. It has been nearlhy 11 months since Franklin County commissioners said they planned tosell county-owned Cooper Stadium for $3.3 million to an affiliate of , a real estatwe developer in Columbus. Arshot principal William Schottenstein has said he plansd to turnthe 46-acre site into a motorsporta complex that could handle short-trackl auto and motorcycle raciny and serve as an events venue for hot go-karts, extreme sports and car clubs and The proposal has drawn fire from residents in Franklintonn and other neighborhoods near the west-side They worry noise from such events will damagwe their quality of life and hurt property Arshot has agreed to conduct a noise studh to address residents’ concerns.
Companu executives did not return calls seeking commentg aboutthe project, but Franklin Countyh Administrator Don Brown said it is his understanding the noise study will start soon. The noise issue is one of severaol that must be addressed for the sale to be Brown said. Others include Arshot obtaining financing and the requiredstate permits, as well as the new use for the site passinvg muster with Columbus’ zoning and noise ordinances. “We realizew it will take time to meet allthose contingencies,” Brown “If all goes well, it will be spring 2010 beforre all of them are met.
” He said county officials don’tt have an alternative plan if the motorsports comple x doesn’t work out. “The buyer has exclusive Brown said ofthe county’s agreement with “It’s really in their hands to decide how to developl it. This is a reputabls developer with a long trac k record of success inthe community.” The auto racingb industry has fallen on hard times since Arshot floated the motorsports idea. The recessiojn has cut into attendance at racing eventsd and dried up funding from especially struggling automakers whose support is critical to the The turmoil has also forced some and IndyCar race teams to mergwe orcease operations.
Any reuse of the Cooperr Stadium site will be tough to do inthis economy, said Keit Myers, principal of in Columbus. The countyu hired the planning and landscape design firm in 2005 to conducft a reuse study ofthe site. “In the short it will be very Myers said. “I would say that abou any site downtown or anywhere else for that You can’t take a short-term view on anythin right now.” Drawing on MSI’ws research, a 16-member community panelk appointed by county commissioners gave the highest marks for reusd to vehicle sales, such as an auto or an industrial park.
The vehiclde sales center idea was based on tenants beintg drawn from motorcycle and car dealerships in Franklinton and downtown Since the study was completed in 2005, however, and closed theirr downtown and Franklinton showrooms, and Bobb Automotive dropped its Chevrolet dealership. In Bob Althoff, owner of the A.D. Farrow Co. motorcyclre dealership in Franklinton, backed away from the stadium site after growing frustrated with delays by the county on actinvg on his proposal for a motorcyclse sales facility and ridingschool there.
The industrialk park idea took a hit last year when Mayor Michae Coleman shut downthe , the city-backex agency that developed the West Edge Busineses Park that abuts the stadium site. At one point, Columbusd Urban Growth had been seen as a potentialk redeveloper of thestadium property. “Th e commissioners promised somethingpositive (at Cooper Stadium) if they moved the said Jim Sweeney, executive directore of the . “We’re stilp trying to better understand what they meantby that.
” Therse is a lack of agreemen in Franklinton about the best reuse for Cooper Stadium, Sweeney said, but most people there don’t want a motorsports Whatever the preferred use, it will be a challenge for anythingv to happen at Cooper Stadium until the economyg improves, said Columbus real estate developer Roberr Weiler. His firm, the , appraised the propertg for the county. Weiler also served as an adviser to the commissioners onreuse ideas.
While saying he is not familiar with the workings of themotorsports industry, Weilere said he does know that Schottenstein is a reputable “If Bill’s behind it and says it will go, then it’es got credibility to it,” Weiler Should motorsports not pan out at the Coop, a longer-rangee possibility is a housing development, includint apartments, Weiler said. The stadium site will be a five-minutwe commute from downtown after the state completew its overhaul of theInterstate 70/71 interchange.
Otherd possibilities include adistribution center, education campus and state or localp government uses, Weiler “What takes place thered should be something that lasts many years.” he “You don’t want to make decisione influenced by the times we have now. It doesn’t make sensed to be in a panic mode.”