Battelle Hall

Battelle Hall (originally known as the Ohio Center) is a 6,864 seat multi-purpose exhibit hall located in Columbus, Ohio, part of the Greater Columbus Convention Center. It opened as the Ohio Center on September 10, 1980,[1] and although sometimes considered a white elephant because of its small size and seating capacity[2][3][4][5][6] (concert fans usually found themselves driving to Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum, Indianapolis Market Square Arena, Detroit Joe Louis Arena, Cleveland Richfield Coliseum or Pittsburgh Mellon Arena),[7] it has been used for a variety of events, including concerts (Conway Twitty,[8] Devo,[9] Elvis Costello & The Attractions,[10] The Stray Cats,[11] Rick Springfield,[12] Kiss (2/19/84), Culture Club,[13] Ratt,[14] The Pointer Sisters,[15] Cyndi Lauper,[16] Billy Idol,[17] Billy Ocean,[18] Richard Marx,[19] Queensrÿche),[20] trade shows, and sporting events such as the 1993 and 1994 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournaments. The exhibit hall was also the home of professional wrestling cards from the early 1980s to mid-1990s with monthly visits from the WWF and the occasional WCW 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.

Battelle Hall
Battelle Hall in Columbus, Ohio 43215
Former namesOhio Center
Location400 North High Street
Public transit 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 13, AirConnect, CBUS, CMAX, Night Owl
CoGo
OwnerBattelle Commons Co.
OperatorBattelle Commons Co.
Capacity6,864
Construction
Broke groundFebruary 1978
OpenedSeptember 10, 1980
Construction cost$36.5 million
Tenants
Columbus Capitals (AISA) (1984-1986)
Columbus Horizon (CBA) (1993-1994)
Columbus Invaders (NPSL) (1996-1997)
Columbus Quest (ABL) (1996-1998)

The first entertainment event at the facility was comedian Rodney Dangerfield and special guest McGuffey Lane on September 20, 1980 attended by 6,677 persons.[21]

Seating
Entrance
Plaque from the building's opening
Plaque from the building's opening

Unlike arenas, Battelle Hall has no permanent seats.[22] 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 seat) - 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.

See also

References
  1. Columbus Dispatch, September 11, 1980, "8,000 Attend Ohio Center Opening", pg. A1
  2. Columbus Citizen-Journal, July 3, 1985, "Poor ticket sales cloud Columbus concert outlook", pg. 12
  3. Columbus Dispatch, September 6, 1987, "Few superstars booked, but pop shows run gamut", pg. 4G
  4. Columbus Dispatch, December 27, 1987, "Columbus held own with rock", pg. 6E
  5. Columbus Dispatch, May 25, 1986, "Columbus needs more than seats to draw big-name talent" pg. F4
  6. Columbus Dispatch, May 11, 1986, "Progress, growth are not in 'Hicksville' dictionary", pg. B2
  7. Columbus Dispatch, September 7, 1980, "Lillyman Ready To Direct Newly Finished Complex", Supplement pg. 4
  8. Columbus Dispatch, September 29, 1980, "Lewis, Twitty Strictly Country At Ohio Center", pg. C3
  9. Columbus Dispatch, October 19, 1981, "Devo tries for simple, but stays weird", pg. C6
  10. Columbus Dispatch, August 14, 1982, "Elvis is back - Costello, that is", pg A7
  11. Columbus Dispatch, March 21, 1983, "Stray Cats, Busboys full of fun, excitement", pg. C6
  12. Columbus Dispatch, July 9, 1983, "Springfield: More than meets the eye", pg. A9
  13. Columbus Dispatch, April 6, 1984, "Singing not main attraction at Culture Club performance", pg. D7
  14. Columbus Dispatch, October 4, 1984, "Ratt: Loud sounds and a good laugh", pg. D10
  15. Columbus Dispatch, June 21, 1985, "Columbus excited over Pointer Sisters", pg. D9
  16. Columbus Dispatch, December 15, 1986, "Money's show was better", pg. B8
  17. Columbus Dispatch, April 23, 1987, "Despite his appearance, Idol knows how to rock", pg. C6
  18. Columbus Dispatch, June 30, 1988, "City sleeps, Ocean rocks", pg. D8
  19. Columbus Dispatch, October 18, 1989, "Marx sticks to his formula for success", pg. D9
  20. Columbus Dispatch, May 25, 1991, "Queensryche was...well...not as bad as it might have been", pg. H3
  21. Columbus Dispatch, September 22, 1980, "Dangerfield Out Of Place At Ohio Center", pg. C2
  22. Columbus Dispatch, September 7, 1980, "Lillyman Ready To Direct Newly Finished Complex", Supplement pg. 10

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