Venue Detail
Columbus Blue Jackets
Revenues From Sports Venues Pro Facilities Report
February, 2012
Columbus Blue Jackets
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200 W. Nationwide Blvd Flr 3 Columbus, OH 43215 Phone: 614-246-4625 Fax: 614-246-4007 URL: www.bluejackets.com Owner: John H. McConnell and other investors League: National Hockey League, Conference C
Venue
Nationwide Arena, 200 W. Nationwide Blvd, Columbus, OH 43215 Owner: Franklin County Managed by: Ohio State University Built: 2000 Capacity: 18,137 Permanent concession stands: 19 Concessionaire: Sportservice Suite caterer: Well Bread Catering Soft drink:
Ticket prices
Season tickets range from $599 to $6,750 Single tickets range from $15.00 to $225.00
Attendance
2009 average attendance: 17,583 2010 average attendance: 15,416 2011 average attendance: 13,350
Suites
Quantity: 52 Term: 5 to 10 years Price: $150,500 to $250,000 Seats: 12 to 18 Includes: Private entrance, tickets to Blue Jackets and all other events, two parking passes, concierge, use of suite for meetings and other events.
Club seats
Quantity: 1,695 Price: $2,700 to $4,005 Includes: For club seat pricing, please see the PSL section.
Financing
The $150 million building was privately financed. Nationwide recouped its investment from sales of seat licenses and a handful of founders suites. The company also gets revenue from an adjacent parking garage the company already used for its employees. The arena simply gave the company a chance to earn money from a structure in the evenings as opposed to only during working hours.
The parking revenue and a nominal lease make up the bulk of the revenues Nationwide gets from the arena. The Blue Jackets get concessions and signage revenue and earnings from the additional suites and club seats.
Nationwide expects to earn a seven percent to eight percent return on its investment.
Seat licenses
Seat licenses were sold for the bulk of the seats in the arena. PSLs are good for as long as the team plays in the Nationwide Arena. The top of the line are the Ticketmaster.com lounge seats featuring in-seat wait service, a parking pass and a private lounge behind the seating area. The cost is $4,000 plus $5,438 for the first set of season tickets. Next are the glass seats that cost $3,000 plus $4,350 for the first year season tickets. These are located around the rink. The more traditional club seats on the club level are $2,000 and $3,000 plus season tickets. A private lounge, the Pizzoti Club, is also available along with a private elevator and in-seat wait service. In the lower and upper bowls, PSL prices range from $750 to $2,750 with season tickets ranging from $860 to $2,580.
Ohio State University officials have agreed to terms for managing Nationwide Arena. The agreement runs through June 30, 2011. The school already manages its own arena, the Schottenstein Center.
The move was made in an effort to help the Bluejackets financially. Other elements of a solution could be months away. The Blue Jackets rent Nationwide Arena from the Nationwide insurance company and other owners for $5 million a year. The team previously paid SMG, a Pennsylvania-based management company, to run the venue.
Under the agreement, the university, which already runs the Schottenstein Center, will handle bookings for concerts and other events at both arenas.
Officials said the deal would save the Blue Jackets about $1 million annually because of lower administrative costs, efficiency savings and better leverage in booking because the two facilities won't be bidding against each other.
By working together as co-promoters, the two facilities can spend more time marketing so they can attract a larger audience and make more money in sponsorships and suite revenue, OSU officials said.
Officials said, tour agents were pitting the two area venues against each other, sometimes wringing out as much as $100,000 to $200,000 from the winning venue to secure a show. Those costs, in turn, were heaped on fans.
The co-management deal was forged amid discussions of how to help the Blue Jackets, which have been losing about $12 million annually, according to team officials.
The Blue Jackets and venue made waves early with new ways of generating venue revenue. The first comes from 15 Founders Suites which cost $2.5 million as part of a one-time fee good for a 25-year lease. Each year the owner buys only tickets for the suites. Revenue from these suites goes to Nationwide Insurance for developing the arena. All other suite revenue goes to the Blue Jackets.
Sales of Founders Suites fell short of expectations. Of the 16 original suites, five are unsold and four have been converted into regular suites.
Buyers of the Founders Suites in the arena are: American Electric Power, Bank One, Cardinal Health, Columbus Dispatch, Huntington Bank, The Limited, John McConnell (owner of the Blue Jackets), Nationwide Insurance (2), Scotts, and Worthington Industries.
Developers have also included 26 loge boxes spanning the south side of the arena along the goal lines. The boxes provide castered chairs, mini-refrigerators, televisions and seating for four to six in an open area. Patrons also have access to a private club behind the loge area, plus in-seat wait service. Loge box prices range from $38,500 to $68,500 including tickets and first right of refusal to other arena events. There are 26 boxes leasing on a 5- to 10-year term.
The venue has a 560-space parking garage as part of an overall neighborhood commercial development plan also being undertaken by Nationwide Insurance.
The Blue Jackets get 16 percent to 48 percent of concession revenue. (Facilities, Financial, Ice Hockey, NHLNHL, Professional Sports)