Cleveland, OH
Cleveland could get women's pro soccer stadium under proposed Ohio House spending bill – Ohio Capital Journal
The Cleveland soccer community is thrilled that the Ohio House passed a spending bill that includes a million dollars to create a pro women’s stadium downtown.
Helena, Maia and Chloe Murphy love being on the field, and dad Michael loves soccer, too. He runs the Cleveland Soccer Group, an organization trying to get a National Women’s Soccer League team to the 216.
“It’s so critical that our young girls, including my three daughters, have ‘sheroes,’” Murphy said.
His dreams may become a reality.
The Ohio House passed a part of a spending bill, one that gives $1 million to create the women’s soccer stadium.
“It’s really a chance for Ohio and Cleveland and Cuyahoga County to step up and say, ‘We’ve been very fair in funding men’s professional sports facilities in the state for a long time; we haven’t done anything for women,’” he said. “Here’s a chance for equity, inclusion and really to grab lightning in a bottle.”
Right now, Ohio is competing with several other states for the next pro women’s team in the country.
Cleveland Democratic state representatives Bride Rose Sweeney and Terrence Upchurch fought for this funding.
“I’m really proud of the work that we did to put people over politics and to put money back into the hands of our constituents and our communities that we represent,” Sweeney said.
The building of this stadium could show the league that the state is serious about the bid, Upchurch added.
“This is just another sports team that will just be an economic driver, hopefully a community partner and an asset to the city of Cleveland — along with our many other assets we have,” he said.
But it’s possible that the Senate will take out this money.
This spending bill, House Bill 2, contains two different aspects so far. There is the $350 million one-time funding that came from a surplus from the last operating budget, and there is $1.65 billion in other bondable appropriations — totaling about $2 billion.
This is confusing, which the lawmakers acknowledge.
In plain English — the projects slated to receive the $1.65 billion are typically in the capital budget — however, the House Finance leaders wanted to get the projects done before the full and extensive capital budget comes out.
There are concerns with the amount of funds given, though, Murphy said.
“There has to be substantially more dollars,” he said.
That being said, he and Sweeney share the belief that this is just the starting point of the conversation.
“We love our Cavs, our Browns, our Guardians — our NWSL club would be the fourth major league team in the same breath,” Murphy said.
The bill is headed over to the Senate.
Chamber drama
It would be an understatement to say that House Speaker Jason Stephens and Senate President Matt Huffman have a contentious relationship.
The pair make polite jabs at each other during press gaggles, but behind the scenes seem content with not working with each other.
For example, the Senate passed a proposal dealing with marijuana policy — restricting marijuana possession, lowering THC levels and making it more expensive. The House refuses to take it up because they believe the Senate is “going against the will of the people.”
The Senate passed S.B. 83, a controversial bill overhauling the higher education system. House leadership has continued to let it stall, saying there are problems with it — angering Senate Republicans.
The House passed the previous two-year operating budget in a bipartisan manner, like they did with the portion of H.B. 2. However, the Senate basically decimated the House’s proposal last year — causing them to go into conference committee for an extended amount of time to bargain for their needs.
Huffman is expected to challenge Stephens for House speakership next January. He has a faction of supporters within the House currently, and candidates have told WEWS/OCJ that Huffman has helped support their bid to knock out the Stephens’ team incumbents.
Moving back to the budget:
That one-time funding amount is $700 million total. According to House Finance Chair Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville), the House and the Senate agreed that each chamber would get to decide on half of it — or $350 million.
That was repeatedly echoed throughout the budget process by the representatives. Then, Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) released a statement Wednesday, potentially killing all of the project proposals.
“To be clear, there is no such agreement,” Huffman wrote in a memo to the Senate members. “The bill passed by the House did not include negotiations or discussions with members of the Senate or with the Senate President.”
Huffman never agreed not to touch the House’s half, he seemed to say.
“Approving a large spending bill without additional debate would be irresponsible and an abdication of the duties of the Senate,” he added. “Normally, both chambers work together to create an agreed upon bill. For unknown reasons, the House chose to break from that process.”
House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) seemed annoyed at the president’s claims — and addressed the memo to reporters after the session.
“It was widely published that the House was going to deal with $350 million, the Senate was going to deal with $350 million — which is exactly what we did,” Stephens said.
Edwards said the reason why the House moved ahead of the Senate was because the other chamber was “ready with their projects,” and had asked the House finance leadership. The Senate finance leadership asked the House to put their projects and money up now, he said.
“It was also agreed upon at that time that our $350 wouldn’t be touched by them,” Edwards continued. “Their $350 wouldn’t be touched by us — they get to spend their $350 however they want.”
Huffman doesn’t seem interested.
“The Senate will continue to follow its timeline announced in December for this year’s Capital Budget process which includes the additional $700 million for the One Time Strategic Community Investment Fund, with the goal of both chambers passing a single agreed upon bill later in May or early June,” he said.
Upchurch took a swing at the Senate, as well — preparing for if the other chamber tries to take out the soccer stadium.
“These folks claim that they care about women’s sports; I think that supporting this project is a way to do that,” the Democrat said.
He is referencing H.B. 68, legislation that banned transgender middle and high schoolers, plus college, from participating in athletics with cisgender peers. Advocates for the bill said this would protect the integrity of women’s sports. Opponents argued that supporters have never cared about women’s sports before.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers were crowned NBA champions for the first time in their franchise’s history ten years ago. The 2016 NBA Finals seems like it was just yesterday.
The memories of LeBron James pouncing on a vulnerable Andre Iguodala to swat away his layup attempt is still fresh in the memory of Cavs fans watching at the time.
Kyrie Irving’s stepback three-point shot over Stephen Curry is a moment in time that will be replayed in NBA documentaries and compilations for decades to come. This period of time was truly a magical time for the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio.
The city had never experienced anything similar to what the 2016 Cavs did for Cleveland. The star duo of Mark Price and Brad Daugherty from the late 1980s and early 1990s got far into the playoffs routinely, but never into the NBA Finals, largely because of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
The Cavaliers toppled the mighty record-breaking 73-win Golden State Warriors in 2016 and now the organization is keeping that memory alive in a huge way.
A professional-sized basketball court
Plans to advance development of “Meet Me Here” Park went through City of Cleveland this past Friday. Developers are speeding up plans to revamp the park in order to have it ready by the 10th anniversary of the championship victory later this summer.
The #Cavs have unveiled development plans for a space on the corner of E 4th St. and Huron Rd. to commemorate the Cavs 2016 NBA Championship.
The project will feature a professional-size basketball court, seating, active greenspace and artwork. pic.twitter.com/aRwPLnwGjA
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 10, 2026
The space where this development will be built is in Downtown Cleveland. A NBA-sized basketball court will dominate the space, but benches for spectators and artwork is slated to be included as well. The design of the court will be based on the 2016 NBA championship victory. There’s room for additional mobile hoops to be inserted for specific community events.
The space is temporary and has room to grow
The current plans unveiled last Friday are set to be a temporary solution due to the 10th anniversary approaching. There could be more grand plans to revamp the surrounding area beyond the one professional-sized basketball court. The current space will feature grass areas, trees, and a fence to block basketball from wildly rolling into the street.
A nearby parking garage will also hang a banner with LeBron James famous “Cleveland, this is for you” quote after winning game seven of the 2016 NBA Finals.
This development is one of many recent advancements geared toward building up the surrounding areas of Rocket Arena. A riverfront park that supports residences is being developed near Rocket Arena.
The Cavaliers are opening a brand new practice, training, and sports medicine facility in 2027 called the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center. On top of these developments and the new basketball court, a riverfront amphitheater fit to seat about 6,200 people is set to open around 2028. Cleveland is developing right before the eyes of nearby residents and it’s the consistent success of the Cavaliers that have contributed heavily to these possibilities.
CLEVELAND — Ohio’s plan to use unclaimed funds to help fund construction of a new domed stadium for the Cleveland Browns was temporarily blocked in court on Monday.
In her preliminary injunction, Franklin County Magistrate Jennifer Hunt found that plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann are substantially likely to win their case on the merits. Her order pauses the plan while the case is heard.
The class-action lawsuit argues that provisions of Ohio’s two-year, $60 billion budget that took $1 billion from the state’s Unclaimed Funds Account to pay for the stadium that Haslam Sports Group is planning for suburban Brook Park, south of Cleveland, violate constitutional prohibitions against taking people’s private property for government use, as well as citizens’ due process rights.
The strategy was among several hotly debated topics during Ohio’s budget planning last year.
Dann and former state Rep. Jeffrey Crossman, both Democrats, filed the legal action on behalf of three named Ohio residents, as well as all other individuals whose unclaimed funds were being held by the state as of June 30, 2025.
The litigation challenges specific budget provisions that diverted more than $1 billion in unclaimed funds to create an Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility Performance Grant Fund and designate $600 million for the Browns as its first grant.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office said it was reviewing the decision and determining next steps.
Before ending his bid for governor last year, the Republican spoke out against using unclaimed funds for such a purpose, having gone so far as to urge DeWine to veto it. However, the state’s top lawyer has further said that he believed the plan was legally sound.
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland mother accused of burying daughters in suitcases prompts new focus on parenting bill
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A Cleveland mother was charged with two counts of murder after her daughters were found in suitcases partially buried in a park near E. 165th and Midland Ave last week.
In the days that followed, we spoke with DeShaun Chatman, who is the father of 8-year-old Mila Chatman.
He said he’s been trying for years to get access to his daughter but felt the courts and Child Protective Services (CPS) weren’t working with him.
There is a law in Columbus working its way through the process trying to clarify parenting roles and rights.
Senate Bill 174 (SB174) was passed in November and is currently sitting waiting in a House committee.
At the time the bill was passed one of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) said, “No one is a winner in parenting disputes. But if anyone is, it should be the kids. By passing this legislation, the Ohio Senate is taking the first step toward encouraging cooperation between separated parents.”
The bill has a number of provisions looking to make it easier for a judge to give equal rights to both the mother and father.
For example, it would prohibit a judge from giving preference to a father or a mother based on a person’s financial status or gender.
It also requires a parenting plan be filed that shows parenting and decisions will be a shared responsibility regardless of marital status.
There is also a prevision that would allow unmarried parents to file a complaint at no charge, requesting the allocation of parenting rights and responsibilities upon the father establishing parentage and provides an expedited hearing and temporary orders.
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