A campaign to pass a constitutional amendment that would allow the location of a casino in Columbus, Ohio to be moved from the Arena District to a former auto parts plant on the city's west side has begun. The election will be held in May.

Proponents of Issue 2 have hired two consulting firms based in the city: Griffin Communications and Strategic Public Partners Group.

Lisa Griffin, of Griffin Communications helped organize the group Stand Up Columbus that pushed the state legislature to put the amendment on the ballot, and which successfully lobbied Penn National, which is building the casino, to agree to the move.

The second consulting firm was hired by Penn National to push Issue 3, which voters approved last November, and which authorizes four casino resorts in Ohio's largest cities.

Businesses in the city will be solicited to fund the up to $5 million election campaign that proponents envision for the May election.

That's a tenth of what Penn National and its partner spent last year to approve Issue 3, however no organized opposition is expected this time.

Since it's going to be inherently difficult to get the rest of the state interested in an issue that just affects the residents of Columbus, one part of the campaign will be to hype how much better the casino can be if it is allowed to move.

Penn National has said it is prepared to spend up to $400 million on the casino in the new location, because that would allow it to add a hotel. It had only committed itself to $250 million for the Arena District site.

By Staff