Exhibit hall located in Columbus, Ohio
Battelle Hall Interactive map of Battelle Hall
Former names Ohio Center Location 400 North High Street Public transit 1 ,2 ,5 ,6 ,9 ,13 ,AirConnect ,CMAX ,Night Owl CoGo Owner Battelle Commons Co. Operator Battelle Commons Co. Capacity 6,864 Construction Broke ground February 1978 Opened September 10, 1980 Construction cost $36.5 million Architect Godwin Böhm NBBJ [ 1] Tenants Columbus Capitals (AISA ) (1984-1986)Columbus Horizon (CBA ) (1993-1994)Columbus Invaders (NPSL ) (1996-1997)Columbus Quest (ABL ) (1996-1998)
Battelle Hall (originally known as theOhio Center ) is a 6,864 seat multi-purpose exhibit hall located inColumbus, Ohio , part of theGreater Columbus Convention Center . It opened as the Ohio Center on September 10, 1980,[ 2] and although sometimes considered awhite elephant because of its small size and seating capacity[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6] [ 7] (concert fans usually found themselves driving to CincinnatiRiverfront Coliseum , IndianapolisMarket Square Arena , DetroitJoe Louis Arena , ClevelandRichfield Coliseum or PittsburghMellon Arena ),[ 8] it has been used for a variety of events, including concerts (Conway Twitty ,[ 9] Devo ,[ 10] Elvis Costello & The Attractions ,[ 11] The Stray Cats ,[ 12] Rick Springfield ,[ 13] Kiss (2/19/84),Culture Club ,[ 14] Ratt ,[ 15] The Pointer Sisters ,[ 16] Cyndi Lauper ,[ 17] Billy Idol ,[ 18] Billy Ocean ,[ 19] Richard Marx ,[ 20] Queensrÿche ),[ 21] trade shows, and sporting events such as the1993 and1994 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournaments. The exhibit hall was also the home ofprofessional wrestling cards from the early 1980s to mid-1990s with monthly visits from theWWE and the occasionalWCW event. The hall totals 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2 ) of exhibit space - 65,000 on the main floor and 25,000 on the balcony, and can be divisible into two halls.
The first entertainment event at the facility was comedianRodney Dangerfield and special guestMcGuffey Lane on September 20, 1980 attended by 6,677 persons.[ 22]
Battelle Hall was also home to theColumbus Quest from 1996-1998, where the team won both championships in the now-defunct American Basketball League. Former players include Katie Smith, Sonja Tate, Tonya Edwards, Andrea Lloyd, Valerie Still, Shannon Johnson, and Nikki McCray.
Entrance Plaque from the building's opening Plaque from the building's opening Unlike arenas, Battelle Hall has no permanent seats.[ 23] Instead, inexpensive plastic seats attached to metal bleachers are positioned into place for scheduled events.
Seating capacities:
Bleacher seats:Main floor - 3,116 Balcony - 3,679 Soccer set - 5,074 Concert set (with obstructed seats) - 7,588 Concert set (without obstructed seats) - 6,400 Concert in the round - 7,918 Basketball - 6,500 Ice Show (Ice Capades ) - 5,464 North Hall set - 3,801 South Hall set - 2,494 Other Dimensions:
With risers set for concerts - 65 ft × 180 ft (20 m × 55 m) Full hall beginning at columns - 141 ft × 240 ft (43 m × 73 m)/33,840 sq ft (3,144 m2 ) Battelle Hall North - 141 ft × 145 ft (43 m × 44 m)/20,445 sq ft (1,899.4 m2 ) Battelle Hall South - 95 ft × 141 ft (29 m × 43 m)/13,395 sq ft (1,244.4 m2 ) Balcony railing to Wall - 33 ft (10 m) From floor to underside balcony - 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) Main floor to underside of hoisting grid - 33 ft (10 m) The exhibit hall features a 32-by-60-foot (9.8 m × 18.3 m) portable stage.
^ Darbee, Jeffrey T.; Recchie, Nancy A. (2008).The AIA Guide to Columbus . Ohio University Press. p. 148.ISBN 9780821416846 . ^ Columbus Dispatch, September 11, 1980, "8,000 Attend Ohio Center Opening", pg. A1 ^ Columbus Citizen-Journal, July 3, 1985, "Poor ticket sales cloud Columbus concert outlook", pg. 12 ^ Columbus Dispatch, September 6, 1987, "Few superstars booked, but pop shows run gamut", pg. 4G ^ Columbus Dispatch, December 27, 1987, "Columbus held own with rock", pg. 6E ^ Columbus Dispatch, May 25, 1986, "Columbus needs more than seats to draw big-name talent" pg. F4 ^ Columbus Dispatch, May 11, 1986, "Progress, growth are not in 'Hicksville' dictionary", pg. B2 ^ Columbus Dispatch, September 7, 1980, "Lillyman Ready To Direct Newly Finished Complex", Supplement pg. 4 ^ Columbus Dispatch, September 29, 1980, "Lewis, Twitty Strictly Country At Ohio Center", pg. C3 ^ Columbus Dispatch, October 19, 1981, "Devo tries for simple, but stays weird", pg. C6 ^ Columbus Dispatch, August 14, 1982, "Elvis is back - Costello, that is", pg A7 ^ Columbus Dispatch, March 21, 1983, "Stray Cats, Busboys full of fun, excitement", pg. C6 ^ Columbus Dispatch, July 9, 1983, "Springfield: More than meets the eye", pg. A9 ^ Columbus Dispatch, April 6, 1984, "Singing not main attraction at Culture Club performance", pg. D7 ^ Columbus Dispatch, October 4, 1984, "Ratt: Loud sounds and a good laugh", pg. D10 ^ Columbus Dispatch, June 21, 1985, "Columbus excited over Pointer Sisters", pg. D9 ^ Columbus Dispatch, December 15, 1986, "Money's show was better", pg. B8 ^ Columbus Dispatch, April 23, 1987, "Despite his appearance, Idol knows how to rock", pg. C6 ^ Columbus Dispatch, June 30, 1988, "City sleeps, Ocean rocks", pg. D8 ^ Columbus Dispatch, October 18, 1989, "Marx sticks to his formula for success", pg. D9 ^ Columbus Dispatch, May 25, 1991, "Queensryche was...well...not as bad as it might have been", pg. H3 ^ Columbus Dispatch, September 22, 1980, "Dangerfield Out Of Place At Ohio Center", pg. C2 ^ Columbus Dispatch, September 7, 1980, "Lillyman Ready To Direct Newly Finished Complex", Supplement pg. 10
39°58′18″N 83°00′02″W / 39.9716°N 83.0005°W /39.9716; -83.0005