Forward Together
Celebrating Columbus, the Arena District and the Columbus
Blue Jackets
vacant prison into a vibrant center for business, entertainment and residential life.
Forward Together is a reminder of how far we've come over the past twelve years as a city. It is also
a reminder to each of us that, without a solution to the current problems facing Nationwide Arena and
the Columbus Blue Jackets, a shadow is being cast on the future of the Arena District and its continued
success.
Nobody wants to go back to 1997, a time when the Ohio State Penitentiary laid vacant for more than
a decade, producing little, if any, economic benefit for central Ohio.
Instead, we want to continue the momentum that has been achieved in the Arena District with the
recent additions of Huntington Park, the Arena Grand Theatre, Lifestyle Communities Pavilion,
hundreds of residential lofts and apartments and, of course, its biggest anchor, Nationwide Arena -
home to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
We are committed to coming together as a community to figure it out because we love our city and
we love our team. The bottom line is: we all want to see a solution that works.
Sign our petition
Our petition is simple - we want a solution that retains the jobs, residents, tax revenue and pride
we've gained over the past decade. We don't have a specific recommendation - we'll leave that to
the experts. We are proud of everything that has been achieved since the Ohio State Penitentiary was
demolished to make way for the Arena District and hope to continue to move forward, not backward,
over the next dozen years.
Click HERE to sign our petition.
Why is this important?
Over the past ten years since the abandoned penitentiary was replaced with the arena, property values
have increased 267 percent, attracting $600 million in investment, 170+ businesses and 5,500+ jobs.
We already know what will happen if the Blue Jackets leave. We saw it firsthand in 2004-2005, when
the NHL lockout jeopardized the district's many small businesses that rely on thousands of friends and
families that come to the arena for the 45 home games, as well as many hockey-related activities that
occur there each season.
Forward Together believes that if nothing happens soon, there is a likelihood we could lose the Blue
Jackets and that will be the beginning of a snowball of problems for the Arena District, Columbus and
Franklin County.