Nationwide Arena

Nationwide Arena
The Nat
Location	200 West Nationwide Boulevard Columbus, OH 43215
Coordinates	39°58′9.42″N 83°0′22.00″W / 39.9692833°N 83.00611°W / 39.9692833; -83.00611Coordinates: 39°58′9.42″N 83°0′22.00″W / 39.9692833°N 83.00611°W / 39.9692833; -83.00611
Broke ground	May 26, 1998[1]
Opened	September 9, 2000
Owner	Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
Operator	Columbus Blue Jackets (hockey) The Ohio State University (non-hockey)
Construction cost	$175 million ($223 million in 2011 dollars[2])
Architect	360 Architecture (formerly Heinlein Schrock Stearns) & NBBJ
Project Manager	Miles-McClellan Construction Co.[3]
Structural engineer	Thornton-Tomasetti Group Inc.[3]
Services engineer	M*E Engineers[3]
General Contractor	Turner/Barton Malow[3]
Capacity	Ice hockey: 18,144 Arena football: 17,171 Basketball: 19,500 Concert: 21,000
Tenants
Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) (2000–present) Columbus Destroyers (AFL) (2004–2008) Ohio Junior Blue Jackets (USHL) (2006–2008) Columbus Landsharks (NLL) (2001–2003)

Nationwide Arena Interior

Nationwide Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It opened in 2000 and is the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets, of the NHL.

It is one of three facilities in Columbus (along with Greater Columbus Convention Center and Franklin County Veterans Memorial Auditorium) that hosts events during the annual Arnold Classic, a sports and fitness event hosted by former professional bodybuilder and Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Ownership

The venue is named for the arena's owner, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, whose world headquarters are located across the street. Nationwide's real estate development affiliate, Nationwide Realty Investors, financed and developed the project—making it one of very few privately financed arenas in the nation.

Management

While the overall management responsibilities of the arena fall with the Blue Jackets, the team contracted day to day operational and event booking to venue management giant SMG from the arena's opening until June 30, 2010. On May 12, 2010, the Blue Jackets announced that SMG would not be retained as arena managers and further announced that a one-year, annually renewable, management contract had been signed with The Ohio State University.^[4] The contract calls for the university to take over both day to day arena operations as well as booking non-athletic events, with the Blue Jackets booking athletic events and maintaining overall control of the arena.^[5] This arrangement will make Nationwide Arena a sister venue to the on-campus Value City Arena. The university started booking acts in May 2010 and assumed day to day control of the arena on July 1, 2010.^[6]

Construction

The arena is of a brick design and serves as the center of an entertainment district located about one-half of a mile north of the Ohio State Capitol. Seating capacity is approximately 18,500^[7] for hockey, 17,171 for arena football, 19,500 for basketball, and up to 21,000 for concerts. The death of Brittanie Cecil from injuries sustained from a hockey puck flying into the stands at a Blue Jackets game on March 16, 2002 led to the installation of nylon netting to catch pucks that fly over the acrylic glass at all professional ice hockey arenas in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL.

Location

The area surrounding Nationwide Arena, appropriately called the Arena District, houses bars, clubs and a movie theater. The Columbus Clippers, a AAA baseball team in the International League, play in the newly constructed Huntington Park nearby. Columbus uses the arena as a drawing point for the city with the other establishments feeding off of the foot traffic. The Lifestyle Communities Pavilion concert venue, and Arena Grand Theatre adjacent to the Nationwide Arena property, completes the entertainment complex.

Facilities

Nationwide Arena houses a smaller ice rink called the Dispatch IceHaus (formerly named the CoreComm IceHaus). This facility serves as the practice rink for the Blue Jackets and is also used for youth hockey games and open skating times for the public. This facility makes Nationwide Arena the first NHL arena with an on-site practice facility and one of only two such facilities in NHL (the other being the Prudential Center, home of the New Jersey Devils).

Former Ohio Penitentiary

Nationwide Arena was built at the site of the abandoned Ohio Penitentiary. Although believed to be built over the prison, the arena is actually built over the prison's former parking lot. Nationwide's parking lot is built where the prison formerly stood. Many prisoners were executed at the prison, and a fire on April 21, 1930 killed 322 prisoners locked in their cells.^[8] Some fans and employees who frequent Nationwide claim experiencing paranormal activities.^[9]

Notable events

Sports

• The PBR's Built Ford Tough Series bull riding tour has held an event every year at Nationwide Arena since 2000 (prior to 2000 the event was held at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum, and from 2000 to 2002 the BFTS was called the Bud Light Cup.) It was the last event of the BFTS regular season (not counting the PBR World Finals) between 2000 and 2007.
• The arena hosted the first and second round games of the 2004 and 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament were played there.
• The arena hosted the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
• On Tuesday, April 21, 2009, a record hockey crowd of 19,219 watched the Blue Jackets play their first postseason game at home, where they lost to the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings by a final score of 4-1 in a Western Conference Quarterfinal game.^[10]
• The arena has hosted many noteworthy MMA events including, Gracie Fighting Championships, IFC Caged Combat, UFC 68, UFC 82, UFC 96, WEC 47, and Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson.

It should also be noted that UFC 68 produced a number of attendance records for a mixed martial arts event. For starters, it was the first MMA event outside of Japan, to have at least 15,000 people in attendance. This record has since been outdone on a number of occasions with, the current holder being UFC 129 which had 55,724 people in attendance. However UFC 68 still holds the highest attendance for a MMA event in the United States with just over 19,000 people in attendance. Along with the highest attendance for a MMA event outside of Canada and Japan.

Wrestling

• It hosted the final World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) King of the Ring pay-per-view in 2002.
• It hosted the last WWE Bad Blood in 2004.

Concerts

• Tim McGraw and Faith Hill - September 9–10, 2000 (Opening Nights, attended by 33,565 people), April 21–22, 2006 and July 18, 2007, with Taylor Swift
• KISS - September 29, 2000
• Sarah Brightman - October 13, 2000
• The Barenaked Ladies - October 21, 2000, with Guster
• Tina Turner - November 1, 2000
• Kid Rock - January 25, 2001, with Uncle Kracker, Buckcherry and Fuel
• Neal McCoy - March 3, 2001
• AC/DC - April 4, 2001, with Sinomatic
• U2 - May 7, 2001, with PJ Harvey
• Eric Clapton - June 1, 2001 and July 12, 2004
• Prince & The New Power Generation - June 21, 2001
• The Backstreet Boys - June 22, 2001, with Krystal Harris
• Janet Jackson - July 21, 2001
• Britney Spears - November 1, 2001 and August 20, 2011, with DJ Pauly D and Destinee & Paris
• Bob Dylan - November 10, 2001
• Vince Gill - December 11, 2001 and December 21, 2003, with Amy Grant
• 'N Sync - April 23, 2002
• Def Leppard - June 14, 2002, June 14, 2003 and October 27, 2005
• Cher - June 19, 2002
• The Rolling Stones - October 20, 2002 and September 24, 2005
• American Idol Live! - November 6, 2002, July 11, 2003 and July 27, 2010
• Guns N' Roses - November 25, 2002, with CKY and Mix Master Mike
• Mark Wills - January 18, 2003
• Bon Jovi - February 16, 2003 and May 10, 2011
• Elton John - April 22, 2003, with Billy Joel and March 11 and November 18, 2005
• The Dixie Chicks - June 10, 2003
• Mark Chesnutt - June 14, 2003, with Joe Diffie and Tracy Lawrence
• The Blues Traveler - July 18, 2003, with Shurman
• Bette Midler - December 13, 2003
• Linkin Park - January 25, 2004 and February 15, 2008
• George Strait & The Ace in the Hole - February 21, 2004, with Dierks Bentley and February 17, 2007, with Taylor Swift and Ronnie Milsap
• Keith Urban - November 6, 2004, with Katrina Elam, October 5, 2005, with Nerina Pallot and Richard Winsland, August 14, 2009, with Jason Aldean and July 19, 2011
• The Trans-Siberian Orchestra - December 18, 2004, December 7, 2005, December 6, 2006, December 27, 2007 (2 shows), December 20, 2008 (2 shows) and January 3 (2 shows) and December 28 (2 shows), 2010
• Phil Vassar - January 8, 2005
• Slipknot - March 8, 2005, with Lamb of God and Shadows Fall
• Aerosmith - November 20, 2005, with Lenny Kravitz
• Trick Pony - January 21, 2006
• Tool - September 21, 2006, with Isis
• The Gigantour - September 23, 2006
• The Cheetah Girls - November 9, 2006, with Vanessa Hudgens and Jordan Pruitt and November 28, 2008, with Clique Girlz
• Martina McBride - December 15, 2006, February 1, 2008, with Lady Antebellum and February 21, 2010, with Trace Adkins and Sarah Buxton
• Josh Groban - February 21, 2007
• John Mayer - February 23, 2007 and March 12, 2010
• Christina Aguilera - April 11, 2007
• Genesis - September 22, 2007
• Brad Paisley - December 1, 2007, with Rodney Atkins and Taylor Swift
• Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus - December 11, 2007, with The Jonas Brothers
• Chris Brown and Bow Wow - January 30, 2008
• The Police - May 4, 2008, with Fiction Plane and Elvis Costello & The Imposters
• The Jonas Brothers - August 23, 2008, with Demi Lovato and August 26, 2009, with Honor Society and Wonder Girls
• The Steve Miller Band - November 15, 2008
• Nickelback - March 11, 2009, with Seether and Saving Abel and October 1, 2010, with Three Days Grace and Buckcherry
• New Kids on the Block - April 3, 2009
• Fleetwood Mac - April 18, 2009
• Billy Joel - July 14, 2009, with Elton John
• Miley Cyrus - October 7, 2009
• Styx - November 8, 2009, with REO Speedwagon
• Pearl Jam - May 6, 2010, with The Band of Horses
• Michael Bublé - June 30, 2010, with Naturally 7
• The Uproar Festival - August 24, 2010
• Rush - August 29, 2010
• Sugarland - September 23, 2010, with Randy Montana
• Jason Aldean - February 26, 2011
• Lil Wayne - March 18, 2011, with Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross and Travis Barker
• Taylor Swift - June 7, 2011, with Needtobreathe
• The Foo Fighters - September 22, 2011, with Rise Against and The Bronx

Other events

• The 2007 National Catholic Youth Conference
• The 2011 North American Youth Congress

Reception

ESPN The Magazine declared it “the No. 2 stadium experience in professional sports.”^[11] The Ultimate Sports Road Trip rated it the best arena in the NHL saying "This newer arena in downtown Columbus is the anchor for the emerging Arena District, already burgeoning with shops, restaurants and hotels. The venue is spectacular, from its nostalgic brick and stone veneer to its sweeping concourses with blue mood lighting and modern amenities. The arena bowl has state of the art scoreboards and surround LED graphics boards which look 21st century high tech. With a separate practice rink built right in the facility, theme restaurants and great food selection, not to mention a raucous hockey atmosphere, this NHL venue is a must see!"^[12]

References

1. ^ http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-08-2000/0001307788&EDATE=
2. ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2000/10/20001002/No-Topic-Name/NATIONWIDE-ARENA-FACTS-Amp-FIGURES.aspx
4. ^ Deal signed for OSU to help manage Nationwide Arena
5. ^ OSU to manage Schott, Nationwide; ticket prices likely to fall
6. ^ Deal signed for OSU to help manage Nationwide Arena
7. ^ http://www.nationwidearena.com/arena/quickfacts.php Nationwide Arena Quick Facts
8. ^ http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=558 Ohio Penitentiary Fire - Ohio History Central - A product of the Ohio Historical Society
9. ^ Nationwide Arena
10. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=290421029
11. ^ The Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets
12. ^ Services

External links

• Nationwide Arena
• Arena map and directions