Governor DeWine signed the $60 billion 2026-2027 state budget just before midnight on Monday and set aside half a million dollars for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers to shape up their stadium.
According to Jordan Taylor, the Scrappers' Executive Vice President, the team's representatives had put in their application for the funds months ago and have been in talks with the administration since.
They collaborated with several different people including Ohio House Representative Nick Santucci (R-Niles), representatives from Youngstown State University, the city of Niles and the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber to support their petition.
Working together to "stress the value of the ballpark and the people that come here," as Taylor put it, they managed to secure the Scrappers' funding.
Now their job is to decide where those funds will best be spent to improve the stadium for their fans.
Taylor says they'll spend the next few months identifying the needs of the stadium before making any final decisions.