Value City Arena is a multi-purpose arena, located on the campus of Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The arena opened in 1998 and is currently the largest by seating capacity in the Big Ten Conference, with 19,049 seats, which is reduced to 18,809 for Ohio State men's and women’s basketball games.[5]

The Schottenstein Center
The Schott
Exterior view in 2014
Map
Full nameValue City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center
Address555 Borror Drive
LocationColumbus, Ohio, U.S.
Coordinates40°00′27″N 83°01′30″W / 40.007511°N 83.025102°W / 40.007511; -83.025102
Public transitBus transport Central Ohio Transit Authority 1
OwnerThe Ohio State University
OperatorColumbus Arena Management
Capacity17,500 (ice hockey)
19,500 (basketball)
20,000+ (concerts)[1]
Construction
Broke groundMarch 2, 1996 (1996-03-02)
OpenedNovember 3, 1998 (1998-11-03)
Construction cost$110 million
($214 million in 2023 dollars[2])[3]
ArchitectSink Combs Dethlefs
Moody Nolan
Project managerGilbane
Structural engineerKorda/Nemeth Engineering Inc.
General contractorP.J. Dick, Inc.[4]
Tenants
Ohio State Buckeyes (NCAA)
Men's basketball (1998–present)
Women's basketball (1998–present)
Men's ice hockey (1998–present)
Website
schottensteincenter.com

It is home to Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball, women's basketball and men's ice hockey teams. Previously, the basketball teams played at St. John Arena, while the ice hockey team played at the OSU Ice Arena. The facility is named the Jerome Schottenstein Center in honor of Jerome Schottenstein, of Columbus, late founder of Schottenstein Stores Corp. and lead benefactor of the project, while the seating bowl is named for Schottenstein's store Value City Furniture.

Relationship to Nationwide Arena

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Prior to July 1, 2010, one of Value City Arena's major event competitors was the downtown Nationwide Arena, which opened in 2000 and is home to the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets. In May 2010, the Blue Jackets and OSU signed a one-year, annually renewable, agreement to turn over day-to-day operations and non-athletic event booking of Nationwide Arena to OSU, effective July 1, 2010.[6] This agreement put both arenas under the same management and made the facilities sister venues. As part of the March 2012 sale of Nationwide Arena to the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority (FCCFA), the non-profit company Columbus Arena Management was created. The company, created by OSU, the Blue Jackets, the FCCFA and Columbus-based Nationwide Insurance, currently manages the day-to-day operations as well as budgeting and event bookings at both arenas.[7]

Buckeye Nuthouse

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Buckeye Nuthouse at Value City Arena

The student section at men's basketball games is known as the Buckeye Nuthouse. From the time when the venue opened to the end of the 2009-2010 season, the students were seated behind the baskets. In response to the criticism for lacking the energy and gameday atmosphere seen in many other college basketball arenas, the athletic department reconfigured the student section in 2010 so that the students would then be seated behind the team benches allowing them to be visible on television broadcasts, as well as behind the basket that the opponent shoots at during the second half. In making this reconfiguration possible, 240 seats are tarped off behind the student section so that spectators seated behind the students could see the game without having to stand up, reducing its capacity to 18,809 during men's basketball games. To compensate for the revenue lost from the tarped-off seats, the student allotment was reduced from 2,000 to 1,400 tickets.[8]

Rankings

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A 2016 ranking of toughest Big Ten arenas to play in by ESPN put Value City Arena tenth out of fourteen in the conference, citing its name as a contributing factor for not being tough.[9] In 2014, a ranking of Big Ten conference arenas by the Chicago Tribune placed it at #11,[10] and Scout.com put it at #99 overall out of 351 venues nationwide, behind Ohio University's Convocation Center, which was ranked #53, and the University of Dayton Arena, ranked at #28.[11] Bleacher Report has called the arena too "generic" for the most expensive tickets in the conference,[12] and The Gazette has opined it is "sterile", "cold", "devoid of charm", and lacks intimacy.[13]

Events

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Value City Arena at The Jerome Schottenstein Center – Ohio State Buckeyes".
  2. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  3. ^ Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center Emporis[usurped]
  4. ^ The Jerome Schottenstein Center - John H. Herrick Archives
  5. ^ "History". Jerome Schottenstein Center. 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  6. ^ Jurich, Jami (May 16, 2010). "OSU to Manage Schott, Nationwide; Ticket Prices Likely to Fall". The Lantern. The Ohio State University. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  7. ^ Blue Jackets pleased with arena oversight by Ohio State-led group.
  8. ^ Rabinowitz, Bill (February 15, 2011). "Value City Arena: A True Nuthouse". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  9. ^ "Which Big Ten venue is the toughest place to win?", Eammon Brennan. ESPN. July 26, 2016. Retrieved 24 jan 2017
  10. ^ "Ranking the Big Ten basketball arenas", Teddy Greenstein, Shannon Ryan. Chicago Tribune. November 13, 2014. Retrieved 24 jan 2017
  11. ^ "College Basketball Arena Rankings", Paul Swaney. Scout.com. April 3, 2014. Retrieved 24 jan 2017
  12. ^ "What Is the Best Big Ten Basketball Arena?", Paul Swaney. BleacherReport.com. January 10, 2017. Retrieved 24 jan 2017
  13. ^ "The best and worst college basketball gyms", Mike Hlas. The Gazette. March 4, 2014. Retrieved 24 jan 2017
  14. ^ "The Rolling Stones Setlist at Value City Arena, Columbus".
  15. ^ Cook, Liz (September 24, 2002). "Jeopardy! Comes to the Ohio State Campus". The Ohio State University. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  16. ^ Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center
  17. ^ "Professional Bull Riders".
  18. ^ "In Concert | CelineDion.com".
  19. ^ Scaled and Icy#Livestream event
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Preceded by Host of the Jeopardy! College Championship
2002
Succeeded by
Preceded by Host of the
Frozen Four

2005
Succeeded by