Ohio bill would ban lawmakers from accepting free professional sports tickets

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – After Ohio lawmakers approved a plan to designate $600 million to a new Cleveland Browns stadium, a recently introduced bill would bar them from accepting free tickets to professional sporting events. 

Under House Bill 409, introduced on Aug. 7 by Reps. Sean Brennan (D-Parma) and Karen Brownlee (D-Symmes Township), lawmakers could only accept free or discounted tickets to professional sports games if the tickets are part of a promotion that is also available to the public.

Brownlee said lawmakers receiving free tickets could raise ethical concerns after legislators passed a controversial provision in the state budget that allocated millions from the state’s pool of unclaimed funds – money that many residents may be unaware they possess from sources such as inactive bank accounts and uncashed checks – to help the Cleveland Browns pay for a new stadium. See NBC4’s previous coverage in the video player above. 

“When it comes to the way our system is funded, and by that I mean our political system and how it intersects with the way that elected officials decide to fund certain special interests and organizations, there really should not be any overlap whatsoever,” Brownlee said. “It’s just not fair to our voters.”

Ohio lawmakers must report gifts valued at more than $75 to the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee, an oversight board of bipartisan state lawmakers. They also must disclose free access to events if the cost of admission exceeds $25.

According to public filings, several lawmakers have accepted complimentary tickets to professional sports events in recent years. Rep. Adam Bird (R-New Richmond) and Rep. Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) each accepted a free ticket, valued at $100 apiece, to watch FC Cincinnati take on New England in March, records show.

Terrence Upchurch (D-Cleveland) received a free ticket for a suite at the Cleveland Guardians’ April home opener, valued at $556. Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) also received Guardians suite tickets in 2023 and 2024, both valued at more than $500.

Public filings do not indicate lawmakers have received any free Cleveland Browns tickets since at least 2020. However, the Haslam family, which owns the Browns, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to state lawmakers — primarily Republicans — in recent years, according to records from the Secretary of State’s office. The plan to fund the stadium included in the budget drew most of its support from statehouse Republicans. 

“There’s a real concern, especially with our current budget, about how much or how little a role ethics is playing in the decision-making of legislators,” Brownlee said. “After seeing what passed this year, I am extremely concerned with the over-involvement of special interests in our decision-making, and voters should be, too.”

The legislation does not apply to college sports. The bill defines professional sporting events as those involving teams from the NFL, NHL, MLB, MLS and NBA. This means lawmakers could not accept free tickets to games for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Cincinnati Reds or Cleveland Browns, as well as other professional teams.

Brownlee said she believes including a ban on accepting tickets to college games in the bill could “muddy the waters,” since there is already an expectation that the state is funding educational institutions. 

“Historically and constitutionally, the state is required to provide funding to public institutions of education,” she said. “We are not required to provide funding to professional athletics.”

If the bill were to pass, the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee could fine lawmakers who break the rule up to $1,000.

HB 409 currently has three Democrat cosponsors, including Reps. Juanita Brent (Cleveland), Chris Glassburn (North Olmsted) and Lauren McNally (Youngstown). The bill awaits a committee assignment and its first hearing.