COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Greater Columbus Sports Commission says 2024 will be the biggest year for sports on record.
The city of Columbus is currently in the spotlight as it hosts the MLS All-Star Game at Lower.com Field. This is just one of many major sporting events taking place in Columbus this year.
The sports commission said in the first six months of this year, major sporting events had generated more than $80 million in visitor spending.
“Not only all the great events that we’ve had here, some Blue Jackets games, some Clippers games, some Crew games, some Ohio State games, but also those special events, that really bring life to the city,” said Jesse Ghiorzi, marketing director for the Greater Columbus Sports Commission. “And I mean, even earlier this year, earlier this month, we had the USA Fencing Championships, which was the largest fencing event in fencing history with 6,300 competitors. It’s a different type of event than this, but they both, at the core, bring a lot of people to Columbus to experience the city, to experience the sporting action that we have here.”
Ghiorzi said the momentum is not going to stop. He said earlier this year, the city had submitted more than a dozen bids to host the NCAA championships from 2026 to 2028.
Columbus has been approved to host the NCAA women’s basketball final four in 2027 and the US Chess Championship in 2029.
Ghiorzi said these are all major events that will bring thousands of people to the city. He said each successful event opens the door to more opportunities.
“As the population and businesses in town grow and things like that, we have more opportunities to host bigger events and host these big events more frequently,” Ghiorzi said.
He said some of the biggest selling points when bidding to host the event were how many Columbus fans come and the arena’s proximity to the airport and hotels.
Since early 2024, the city has hosted the US Figure Skating Championships, fencing championships and more.
Ghiorzi said they learn something from each event to make the next one more desirable.
“So you can always update the playbook, the blueprint, and take some tricks from the last event to apply here,” he said. “So, you know, in the beginning, sometimes when we try to do something and collaborate across the city, it seems a little ambitious. Then a few events later, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s the standard. Now we’ve raised the bar.’”
The sports commission predicts that MLS All-Star Week will add another $20 million to visitor spending figures, and calls this summer the “summer of soccer.”
The action continues on August 3 when two of the Premier League’s top teams – Manchester City and Chelsea – face off at Ohio Stadium. Ghiorzi said there will be around 80,000 people in attendance.
