2024 turning into big year for sports business in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Greater Columbus Sports Commission said 2024 will be the biggest year for sports on its record.

The City of Columbus is currently in the spotlight hosting the MLS All-Star game at Lower.com Field. This is just one of many major sporting events calling Columbus home this year.

The sports commission said in the first six months of the year, major sporting events have already brought more than $80 million in visitor spending.

“Not only all the great events that we already have here, a bunch of Blue Jackets games, a bunch of Clippers games, a bunch of Crew games, a bunch of Ohio State games as well, but those special events as well, that really set off the city,” Jesse Ghiorzi, director of marketing for the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, said. “And I mean, just even earlier this year, earlier this month, we had the USA Fencing Championships, which is the biggest fencing event in the history of fencing with 6,300 competitors. So different type of event than this one, but both at the same, at their core, bringing a bunch of people to Columbus to experience the city, get a taste of the sports action that we've got here.”

Ghiorzi said the momentum isn't stopping. He said earlier in the year, the city submitted more than a dozen bids to host NCAA championships from 2026 to 2028.

Columbus is already approved to host the NCAA women's basketball final four in 2027 and the U.S. Chess Championships in 2029.

Ghiorzi said these are all big-ticket events that will bring thousands of people to the city. He said each successful event opens the doors for more opportunities.

“As the city continues to grow in population and businesses being based here and those sorts of things, we have more of an opportunity to host bigger and bigger events and more frequently hosting these big events,” Ghiorzi said

He said some of the biggest selling points when bidding to host these events are how much the Columbus fans show up and the proximity from the arenas to the airport and hotels.

Since the beginning of 2024, the city has hosted the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, fencing championships and more.

Ghiorzi said they learn something from every event to make the next one even more desirable. 

“So you're always able to kind of update your playbook, your blueprint, and take a few tricks from the last event to put it towards here,” he said. “And so, you know, at first, when sometimes we'll try to do something and collaborate across the city, it seems kind of ambitious. And then a couple of events later, it's like, ‘Oh, that's the standard. Now we've raised the standard.’”

The sports commission is predicting the MLS All-Star Week add another $20 million to that visitor spending number, calling this summer “the summer of soccer.”

It continues Aug. 3 when two of the top Premier League teams – Manchester City and Chelsea – will face off at Ohio Stadium. Ghiorzi said there will be around 80,000 people in attendance.