COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — National and international sporting events are bringing fans who wouldn’t normally visit Columbus.
The city glided into 2024 on a strong note, hosting the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Nationwide Arena in January.
Wednesday night, the Columbus Crew took on Monterrey in the first leg of the Concacaf Cup Semi-Finals. Fans are coming from across the U.S. and from outside the country.
“Who would have ever thought it,” said Nannu Singh, a Crew fan. “I grew up an hour north, played soccer since I was five, came down here, played soccer, and I would have never ever thought that Columbus would have gotten to this point, so it’s unbelievable.”
“Columbus is becoming more and more of a city that piques international interest,” said Jesse Ghiorzi,” Director of Marketing for the Columbus Sports Commission. “Soccer is the world’s game, and it’s coming to our city this summer.”
On July 24th, the MLS All-Star Game will be held at Lower.com Field. Then, on July 27, the Crew takes on Aston Villa at Lower.com Field. In August, Manchester City will play Chelsea at the Ohio Stadium.
“That starts to generate interest in people that are maybe not thinking about Columbus, whether it’s coming across the US or even across the globe,” said Ghiorzi. “There will be people at the All-Star Game and this Monterrey match tonight that have never thought about coming to Columbus before, and that’s one of the things that the power of sports is, it brings people together, and it brings people to cities that they may not have thought about previously.”
“The fact that we’ve got teams winning stuff and a really good team, we have passionate games, we fill the stadium every game,” said Terry Quested, a Crew fan.
Ghiorzi said the Columbus Sports Commission already has dates on the calendar up to 2029, including the Women’s Final Four in 2027 at Nationwide Arena.
“We’re always kind of one eye, one foot in the present to help make sure these events are running smoothly when we’re involved but also another eye on the future to make sure that schedule stays packed year after year after year in Columbus,” Ghiorzi said.
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