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The Enquirer wrote
Columbus arena a blast
BY DANIEL LEE
Sunday, April 13, 2008
On game nights in Columbus, fans throng the downtown Arena District, a historic section that once held a 19th-century train station and a prison, but which is now reborn with boutique shopping, restaurants, a theater, upscale hotels and a thriving nightlife. A strong police presence is on hand to help with traffic, questions and security, and parking garages just across the street from Nationwide Arena are well-lighted and secure.
Inside, the clean, modern arena is filled with concessions and souvenir stands, paintballs slap against canvas at a target-practice tent, trucks destined to be given away glisten under the lights, and the walls are lined with mementoes of the Destroyers, who won their division last season, and the National Hockey League Columbus Blue Jackets.
But the action isn’t all on the field. Nationwide Arena anchors a bustling retail and entertainment district that gives visitors plenty to do and see without ever hearing that first referee’s whistle. From breakfast specialists Rise & Shine Restaurant to BD’s Mongolian Barbeque, there’s no shortage of dining options.
Comments
- cheap: i highly recommend the Millersport sweet corn festival of course,the cor
- Jimmy Mak: Thanks for the write-up! Just to clarify - this is the third year we've do
- Briana Henry: Well, eventually they plan to add more bands from the region...gotta start
- bucki12: I like the business model, but the internet sales part seems like something
- racheltb: I don't see the Ohio Shrimp Fest on the list. It is truly a good time. h
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Nationwide Arena is a blast, inside and out
By: Walker
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We walked Rufus through the arena district the other day. We let him run around that (surprisingly large) park, and decided to take him home and return for dinner there. I think it’s unfortunate the arena district is only packed on event nights. It’s like park street graduated from college and stopped wearing ed hardy.
After reading that I would think it would be a great place, however, I have been there. Where exactly is the shopping? Are they talking about that store with sport stuff in it? Give us back the train station and prison, they looked alot better.
The shopping comment also confused me a bit as well, but perhaps they poked into the North Market for that.
Either way, this is great press for that part of town in a non-local paper. Our Arena is one of the best in the country in terms of event programming, whether you like the architectural style or not.
Abandoned prisons and train stations aren’t going to help improve the economic state of downtown.
The district is only home to over 600 people. It has the population of a god-damn hamlet of all things. It is almost entirely dependent on visitors to provide the hustle and bustle. Add to that it’s a new community, i.e. they’re from the suburbs and aren’t familiar with the urban lifestyle. Maybe I should offer classes. :lol: But seriously, this is a positive piece for the AD and in turn, Columbus despite the baseless comment on retail. Cincinnati wishes they would get coverage like that from their own paper instead of non-stop negativism. Now if only we could also get attention for the BD, which is an under-appreciated corner of the city.
Is this an article to show what “The Banks” in Cincy will become? Good article, but the direction for the arena district is for more residential units and more events will bring more people. The district is far better than what was there before.
Abandoned prisons and train stations aren’t going to help improve the economic state of downtown.
I have been to an “abandoned” prison that draws 1.5 million tourist a year. Not to mention many other cities and town that have found the public likes to see these things (folsom etc etc)
How many cities have converted their “abandoned” train stations into high end hotels/restaurants/retail? Seen Pittsburgh? St. Louis? yadda yadda yadda
No, Columbus just flattens everything and builds banal buildings. Even the park in the arena district is boring, two lines of trees and grass? Did the developers ever go to another park? Sometimes they put in a ponds or fountain? Maybe some outdoor art? Some parks even put in things for people to do, yikes!
I totally disagree with you. I think that park is beautiful. Sorry it’s only got a huge ***** arch. I appreciate that it doesn’t have all of that other stuff. The simplicity makes it.
I assume you’re talking about Alcatraz for the 1.5 million visitors. Thats just a stupid argument.
I was assuming he meant this.
Tourist destinations are great and all, but I’ll gladly take a development like the Arena District that functions as a place to live, a place for entertainment, a place to work, as well as a place for tourists to visit.
Nope…I’m thinking he actually meant Alcatraz. :roll:
+1..at 1.5 million visitors, it’s gotta be.
Actually the Ohio Pen was a tourist destination in the day. My dad visited it many times and has some souvenirs from it. And in the 80′s and 90′s was used as a Halloween house thing.
Yeah, it was really getting dangerous and even the Haunted Pen thing had stopped by the time it got demolished though. It was VERY creepy inside and had quite a history, including O’Henry writing from inside while an inmate.
Yeah, it was really getting dangerous and even the Haunted Pen thing had stopped by the time it got demolished though. It was VERY creepy inside and had quite a history, including O’Henry writing from inside while an inmate.
Remember Bucky Reinhart’s illicit tours?
Now, HE was a mayor!
A.
Bucky sez: “Man the wrecking ball — it’s coming down!”
I like the McConnel Park — it’s very cool and restful. Very nice to take your shoes off and stroll thru the grass.
If you’re looking for “stuff to do in a park” — a block away North Bank Park has interactive water features, tables with umbrellas, and a glass pavillion. I don’t think every park in the city has to have all that stuff.
I’m just glad it is a park, and not simply the private front lawn of all those condos. (Last time my niece came to town we had a ball prancing in the grass and singing “we are walking in your yard! we didn’t pay a thing and we’re walking in your yard!) and posing like Greek goddesses in the niches at the back of the arch.
And speaking of the arch — how nice that it found a decent home. I used to weep for it everytime I would speed past that little triangle it had, where you swung from Front to Marconi. Who saw it there? It would have been nicer if they’d never torn down the train station in the first place, but at least that little part of the facade has a new life.