Nationwide Arena

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Nationwide Arena <tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">Image:Natwidearenalogo.gif Image:Columbus-ohio-nationwide-arena.jpg </td></tr>
Location	200 W. Nationwide Boulevard Columbus, OH 43215
Opened	2000
Owner	Nationwide Arena LLC <tr><td>Operator</td><td>Columbus Blue Jackets with day to day operations managed by Spectacor Management Group (SMG)</td></tr><tr><td>Construction cost</td><td>$175 million</td></tr><tr><td>Architect</td><td>Heinlein Schrock Stearns (now 360 Architecture) & NBBJ</td></tr>
Tenants
Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) (2000-present) Columbus Destroyers (AFL) (2004-present) Ohio Junior Blue Jackets (USHL) (2006-present) Columbus Landsharks (NLL) (2001-2003)
Seats
Hockey: 18,136 Arena football: 17,171

Nationwide Arena is a sports and entertainment arena in Columbus, Ohio. It opened in 2000 and is the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets, a franchise in the National Hockey League, who were joined for the 2004 season by the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League. It was also home to the Columbus Landsharks of the National Lacrosse League from 2001-2003. Beginning in 2006, it will also host the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets, a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team that is a part of the United States Hockey League (USHL).

The venue is named for the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, whose home office is located nearby. 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.

The arena is of an attractive brick design and serves as the center of an entertainment district located about one half mile north of the Ohio State Capitol. Seating capacity is approximately 18,136 for hockey, 17,171 for arena football, 19,350 for basketball, and up to 20,000 for concerts. The death of 13 year-old Brittanie Cecil from injuries sustained from a hockey puck flying into the stands at a Blue Jackets game in 2002 led to the installation of nylon netting to catch pucks that fly over the plexiglass at all professional ice hockey arenas in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL.

The area surrounding Nationwide Arena, appropriately called the Arena District, houses a variety of bars, clubs and a movie theater. Constructed as a seamless entity, Columbus uses the arena as a drawing point for the city with the various 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.

Nationwide Arena also 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 only NHL arena with an on-site practice facility.

It hosted the final World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) King of the Ring tournament in 2002 and the last WWE Bad Blood in 2004.

In 2007, First and second Round Games of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament will be played here as well.

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Nationwide Arena

Preceded by: first arena	Home of the Columbus Blue Jackets 2000–present	Succeeded by: current

Coordinates: 39°58′9″N, 83°0′22″W

Eastern Conference		Western Conference
Current arenas in the National Hockey League
Air Canada Centre \| BankAtlantic Center \| Bell Centre \| Continental Airlines Arena \| HSBC Arena \| Madison Square Garden \| Mellon Arena \| Nassau Coliseum \| Philips Arena \| RBC Center \| St. Pete Times Forum \| Scotiabank Place \| TD Banknorth Garden \| Verizon Center \| Wachovia Center		American Airlines Center \| Gaylord Entertainment Center \| GM Place \| HP Pavilion \| Honda Center \| Jobing.com Arena \| Joe Louis Arena \| Nationwide Arena \| Pengrowth Saddledome \| Pepsi Center \| Rexall Place \| Scottrade Center \| Staples Center \| United Center \| Xcel Energy Center

American Conference		National Conference
Current arenas in the Arena Football League
Allstate Arena \| EnergySolutions Arena \| Gaylord Entertainment Center \| HP Pavilion \| Pepsi Center \| Staples Center \| Thomas & Mack Center \| US Airways Center \| Van Andel Arena		American Airlines Center \| Frank Erwin Center \| Kemper Arena \| Nassau Coliseum \| Nationwide Arena \| Philips Arena \| St. Pete Times Forum \| The Arena in Orlando \| Wachovia Center¹ \| Wachovia Spectrum²
¹The Philadelphia Soul play Sunday home games only at the Wachovia Center. ²The Philadelphia Soul play Saturday home games only at the Wachovia Spectrum.