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
The Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC) is a convention center located in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, United States, along the east side of North High Street.
The convention center was predominantly designed by Peter Eisenman, constructed ...
. It opened as the Ohio Center on September 10, 1980, and although sometimes considered a
white elephant
A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...
because of its small size and seating capacity (concert fans usually found themselves driving to Cincinnati
Riverfront Coliseum
Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cincinnati, next to the Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the fa ...
, Indianapolis
Market Square Arena
Market Square Arena was an indoor arena in Indianapolis. Completed in 1974, at a cost of $23 million, it seated 16,530 for basketball and 15,993 for ice hockey. Seating capacity for concerts and other events was adjusted by the use of large cu ...
, Detroit
Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena was an arena in Downtown Detroit. Completed in 1979 at a cost of US$57 million as a replacement for Olympia Stadium, it sat adjacent to Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and was accessible by the Joe Louis Arena ...
, Cleveland
Richfield Coliseum
Richfield Coliseum, also known as the Coliseum at Richfield, was an indoor arena located in Richfield Township, Summit County, Ohio, Richfield Township, between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. It opened in 1974 as a replacement for the Cleveland Arena ...
or Pittsburgh
Mellon Arena
The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) ...
), it has been used for a variety of events, including concerts (
Conway Twitty,
Devo,
Elvis Costello & The Attractions,
The Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in th ...
,
Rick Springfield
Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...
, Kiss (2/19/84),
Culture Club,
Ratt
Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...
,
The Pointer Sisters
The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, bl ...
,
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...
,
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...
,
Billy Ocean
Leslie Sebastian Charles, (born 21 January 1950), better known by his stage name Billy Ocean, is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-son ...
,
Richard Marx,
Queensrÿche
Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...
), trade shows, and sporting events such as the
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
and
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...
men's basketball tournaments. The exhibit hall was also the home of
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
cards from the early 1980s to mid-1990s with monthly visits from the
WWF and the occasional
WCW
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...
event. The hall totals 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
McGuffey Lane is an American country rock band from Athens, Ohio, and/or Columbus, Ohio, United States. The group was formed in 1972 by Terry Efaw and Steve Reis, who played together under the name Scotch & Soda. After adding songwriter, lead sin ...
on September 20, 1980 attended by 6,677 persons.
Seating
Unlike arenas, Battelle Hall has no permanent seats.
[Columbus Dispatch, September 7, 1980, "Lillyman Ready To Direct Newly Finished Complex", Supplement pg. 10] 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 seats) - 7,588
*Concert set (without obstructed seats) - 6,400
*Concert in the round - 7,918
*Basketball - 6,500
*Ice Show (
Ice Capades
The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Olympic and US National Champion figure skaters who had retired from formal competition. Started in 1940, the Ice Cap ...
) - 5,464
*North Hall set - 3,801
*South Hall set - 2,494
Other Dimensions:
*With risers set for concerts -
*Full hall beginning at columns - /
*Battelle Hall North - /
*Battelle Hall South - /
*Balcony railing to Wall -
*From floor to underside balcony -
*Main floor to underside of hoisting grid -
The exhibit hall features a portable stage.
See also
*
Greater Columbus Convention Center
The Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC) is a convention center located in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, United States, along the east side of North High Street.
The convention center was predominantly designed by Peter Eisenman, constructed ...
*
Columbus Capitals (indoor soccer)
*
Columbus Horizon
The Columbus Horizon is a defunct basketball team from Columbus, Ohio that played for five seasons in the Continental Basketball Association from 1989 to 1994.
History
Plans to bring professional basketball to Columbus were unveiled in Septembe ...
*
Columbus Invaders
*
Columbus Quest
The Columbus Quest was a professional women's basketball franchise located in Columbus, Ohio in the now-defunct American Basketball League (ABL). They were one of the league's original eight teams that started play in 1996. In the league's b ...
References
External links
Greater Columbus Convention Center
{{Coord, 39.9716, -83.0005, region:US-OH_type:landmark, display=title
Convention centers in Ohio
Basketball venues in Columbus, Ohio
Indoor arenas in Columbus, Ohio
Sports venues in Columbus, Ohio