Ohio fairgoers find $675,000 in unclaimed money as Browns stadium funding fight continues
Ohio State Fair visitors initiated claims for more than $675,000 in unclaimed funds during this year’s 12-day event as a legal fight continues over Ohio’s plan to use a portion of its unclaimed funds for professional sports facilities, including the Cleveland Browns’ planned stadium in Brook Park.
Approximately 1,561 fairgoers initiated claims totaling $675,451.70 with help from the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Unclaimed Funds, according to the department. The average amount discovered was $432.70.
Some visitors found considerably more. One fairgoer discovered $47,000 in unclaimed funds, while another found approximately $40,000.
“The Ohio State Fair gives us a unique opportunity to meet people face-to-face and help them discover money they didn’t know they had,” Division of Unclaimed Funds Superintendent Akil Hardy said in a release. “Seeing the excitement when someone learns they have funds waiting for them is truly meaningful.”
The state maintains unclaimed money from sources such as dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks and other financial assets until the funds are claimed by their owners.
Over the past five years, the division has helped fairgoers identify approximately $2.4 million in unclaimed funds at the Ohio State Fair.
This year’s outreach comes as the state faces an ongoing legal challenge over its plan to transfer a much larger pool of unclaimed funds toward professional sports facilities.
Under a provision included in House Bill 96, state officials planned to transfer approximately $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion from Ohio’s Unclaimed Funds Trust Account for sports facility projects, including $600 million toward the Cleveland Browns’ planned $2.4 billion domed stadium in Brook Park.
A Franklin County Common Pleas Court magistrate previously issued a preliminary injunction in March preventing the state from transferring or spending the disputed funds while litigation over the plan proceeds. The injunction allows the Division of Unclaimed Funds to continue processing claims and returning money to Ohioans who establish ownership.
Former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann and former state Rep. Jeffrey Crossman, who are challenging the funding plan, argue the money remains private property belonging to Ohioans who may come forward and claim it.
“This is a victory for everyday Ohioans and their constitutional rights,” Crossman said following the March ruling. “The injunction ensures that billions of dollars belonging to Ohio citizens remain protected until the constitutional questions we raised are fully resolved.”
Haslam Sports Group, which owns the Browns, has maintained that the legal challenge will not derail plans for the Brook Park development.
“We understood this temporary outcome was a possibility, but remain undeterred and on schedule in delivering this transformative stadium and economic development project for our region and the state as the legal process continues to play out,” spokesman Peter John-Baptiste said following the March ruling.
Meanwhile, the Division of Unclaimed Funds said claims submitted during fiscal year 2026 increased approximately 50% compared with the previous year. The division paid more than 182,000 claims during the fiscal year ending June 30, a 168% increase from the previous year.
Ohioans can continue searching the Division of Unclaimed Funds’ online database and submit claims for money held in their names.
