COLUMBUS – A 20-member task force has been assigned the job of coming up with a long-range plan for hundreds of acres of land on the Northeast Side of Columbus that is currently home to the Ohio Expo Center and Mapfre Stadium, home of the Columbus Crew SC.
During a meeting of the Ohio Expositions Commission on Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine announced the formation of the task force, known as “Expo 2050,” for the purpose of developing and recommending a long-term vision for the Ohio Expo Center, as well as nearby attractions including the Ohio History Connection and the current Mapfre Stadium.
The panel has been assigned to review what DeWine terms “the Expo experience,” including the assets and activities of the 360-acre Expo Center, which has been home to the Ohio State Fair since 1886, the Ohio History Connection and the stadium and come up with ideas for getting the most use out of the land in the future.
One of the ideas already on the table is a plan by the City of Columbus to use the stadium as a practice site for the Crew, as well as a city recreational facility. Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin is one of the members of the committee.
As part of the process, DeWine has asked task force members to attend the state fair, which runs from July 24 to Aug. 4, attend a Crew game, tour the Ohio History Connection, and attend the All American Quarter Horse Congress at the Expo Center in October.
The committee will be co-chaired by former Columbus Dispatch editor and state lawmaker Mike Curtin and Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Development Services Agency.
In addition to Hardin, other members of the task force include Col. Richard Fambro, superintendent of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which maintains a training facility on 17th Avenue, adjacent to the Expo Center; Robert Lorimer, president of the Arnold Sports Festival, which holds events at the center; Dr. Scott Myers, CEO of the All American Quarter Horse Congress, state agriculture director Dorothy Pelanda, and Virgil Strickler, general manager of the Ohio Exposition Center and State Fair.