Battelle Hall
| Battelle Hall | |
|---|---|
Battelle Hall in Columbus, Ohio 43215 |
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| Location | 400 North High Street |
| Broke ground | February 1978 |
| Opened | September 10, 1980 |
| Owner | Battelle Commons Co. |
| Operator | Battelle Commons Co. |
| Construction cost | $36.5 million |
| Capacity | 6,864 |
| Tenants | |
| Columbus Capitals (AISA) (1984-1986) Columbus Horizon (CBA) (1993-1994) Columbus Invaders (NPSL) (1996-1997) Columbus Quest (ABL) (1996-1998) |
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Battelle Hall 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] (concert fans usually found themselves driving to Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum, Indianapolis Market Square Arena, Detroit Joe Louis Arena, Cleveland Richfield Coliseum or Pittsburgh Civic Arena[6] - musical acts such as Van Halen, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Boston, John Denver, Bad Company, The J. Geils Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, The Commodores, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Billy Joel, The Charlie Daniels Band, The Police, The Grateful Dead, Diana Ross, Fleetwood Mac, Styx, Electric Light Orchestra, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Genesis, Jethro Tull, The Doobie Brothers, Queen, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Santana, Eric Clapton, Lionel Richie, Eagles, Journey, Neil Diamond, Prince, The Cars, Frank Sinatra, INXS, Motley Crue, Paul McCartney, Janet Jackson, Cher, Whitesnake, Elton John, Alan Jackson, Willie Nelson, R.E.M., Brooks & Dunn, Earth, Wind & Fire, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Celine Dion, Linda Ronstadt and Bob Dylan never played at Battelle Hall), it has been used for a variety of events, including concerts (Conway Twitty, Devo, Todd Rundgren & Utopia, Loverboy, Triumph, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, The Stray Cats, Ratt, Culture Club, The Pointer Sisters, L.T.D., Hall & Oates, Rick Springfield, Billy Idol, Cyndi Lauper, Richard Marx, Queensryche, Billy Ocean, Kenny G, Cameo, Patti LaBelle, The Pretenders), 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 mid-80's to mid-90's with monthly visits from the WWF and the occasional NWA/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.
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[7].
Contents |
[edit] Seating
Unlike arenas, Battelle Hall has no permanent seats[8]. 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 × 180 ft (20 × 55 m)
- Full hall beginning at columns - 141 × 240 ft (43 × 73 m)/33,840 sq ft (3,144 m2)
- Battelle Hall North - 141 × 145 ft (43 × 44 m)/20,445 sq ft (1,899.4 m2)
- Battelle Hall South - 95 × 141 ft (29 × 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 × 18 m) portable stage.
[edit] References
- ^ 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"
- ^ Columbus Dispatch, September 7, 1980, "Lillyman Ready To Direct Newly Finished Complex", Supplement pg. 4
- ^ Columbus Dispatch, September 22, 1980, "Dangerfield Out Of Place At Ohio Center"
- ^ Columbus Dispatch, September 7, 1980, "Lillyman Ready To Direct Newly Finished Complex", Supplement pg. 10
[edit] See Also
- Greater Columbus Convention Center
- Columbus Capitals (indoor soccer)
- Columbus Horizon
- Columbus Invaders
- Columbus Quest
