Gov. John Kasich pays $25K to rent Ohio Stadium for ad

Alex Drummer
Tue, 04 Nov 2014 05:49:29 +0000
Area, Campus, News, Politics, governor, john kasich, Ohio governor, Ohio Stadium, Ohio Stadium advertisement, ohio state, osu

Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks to about 280 attendees at the OSU College Republicans Campaign Kickoff Event on Sept. 8 at the Ohio Union. Kasich is running for re-election in November. Credit: Mark Batke / Photo editor

Ohio Gov. John Kasich paid $25,000 — the standard rental fee — to shoot a recent advertisement, called “Halftime in Ohio,” in Ohio Stadium.

And he wasn’t given preferential treatment, an Ohio State spokesman said.

“All prospective renters of the space are treated the same,” Ohio State spokesman Chris Davey said in an email.

Kasich, a Republican who has been in office since 2011, is running for re-election Tuesday. Cuyahoga County executive Ed FitzGerald is the Democratic candidate running against him.

Kasich had fundraised nearly $4.6 million as of Oct. 23, while FitzGerald had raised less than $250,000.

Kasich was ahead by 21 points in the polls as of Oct. 31.

Davey said OSU does not have a specific policy about political candidates shooting advertisements on campus, “but if you look closely at the ad, you will see that we required them to not include any of the university’s logos or insignia,” he said.

Davey said he was unsure whether it was the first time a political candidate or governor had filmed an advertisement in the stadium. He said, however, a politician has “probably” shot an advertisement on some part of OSU’s campus in the past.

“Ohio State has a long history of welcoming people of diverse political views to express themselves in our public venues. For example, for decades candidates, presidents and governors of both parties have held political rallies on the Oval and in various venues throughout campus,” Davey said.

During the 2012 election cycle, Ohio Stadium saw political candidates from across America.

Three visited for OSU football games: Susan Rice, the then-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who also spoke at Spring Commencement 2012, Democratic Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer and then-Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan who shared the presidential ticket with Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor.

Kasich Taylor for Ohio spokeswoman Connie Wehrkamp did not immediately return a call Monday evening requesting comment.