Since 2000 the Columbus Blue Jackets have called Nationwide Arena, here in the Arena District, home. This multi-purpose arena, completed in 2000, has served as the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League since that completion. It is also one of two Columbus facilities, alongside the Greater Columbus Convention Center, that hosts events during the annual Arnold Classic, a sports and fitness event hosted by actor, bodybuilder, and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The arena was constructed near the site of the former Ohio Penitentiary: the building itself sits over the prison's former parking lot, and the arena's parking lot and an apartment complex occupy land where the prison formerly stood. That layering of uses - penitentiary to parking lot to arena - is part of the site's history.
You will also find a more somber chapter here. On March 16, 2002, 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil was struck in the head by a deflected puck during a Blue Jackets game against the Calgary Flames at this arena. She died two days later, becoming the only NHL fan to be killed in a game-related accident; in response the NHL mandated safety netting in all its arenas.
Notice the streets and buildings of the Arena District spreading out beyond this arena.