I have been to many convention centers over the years. While the one I am most familiar with has no hotels connected, the Greater Columbus Convention Center is connected to several hotels including the Hyatt Regency Columbus, Sonesta Columbus Downtown, Drury Inn & Suites, and Hilton Columbus Downtown. There are many other hotels nearby that are not connected. While I spent four years living in Columbus back in the early 2000s, the Downtown area looks completely different and the Greater Columbus Convention Center is a big part of the reason. I finally attended my first convention recently. There is plenty of parking and ground transportation nearby and food options both within the convention center and nearby in the various hotels. There are also many activities from sporting events, live music, performing arts, and dining options all within a short distance including the North Market, Nationwide Arena, COSI, and so much more. The Greater Columbus Convention Center is located in a now-safe and walkable district with hundreds of dining, shopping, and entertainment options nearby. It is currently an award-winning convention center with interactive artwork, local cuisine, and exceptional guest services. It is only 10 minutes from an international airport. The convention center spans a 1.8-million-square-foot facility, including 447,000 square feet of exhibit space, three ballrooms, and 75 meeting rooms. You can learn more about the Greater Columbus Convention Center by going to https://columbusconventions.com. On this website, you can find resources for planning an event, attending an event, exhibiting at an event, events hosted at the convention center, news, and a place to submit a RFP. There is also information for nearby parking and local transportation. You can also find a virtual tour, details about the outdoor event space, sustainability initiatives, the best of Columbus (hotels, dining, nightlife, culture, sports, and entertainment), and more. If you'll be in Columbus at a conference or special event that is based in the Greater Columbus Convention Center, you're in for a treat! read more

Clean and safe environment. Located right in the heart of Columbus Ohio. Multi dining options South Café and marketplace Discover Café AND a hypnotic farm, smart farm, really nice collection of Central Ohio Art. Handicap accessible. Meeting rooms ballroom space. Great recycling program. This location host many large events in the city. Restaurants inside the convention center are pricey, but good read more

Always a great venue for a fantastic event!! Cultivate is held here every year always around the same time in July. I have been coming here for over 20 years and it is one of the best garden shows I go to every year. The facilities and the area are perfect for this. It is a huge hall! They set up concessions all over, there are several hotels attached and the event it's self is spectacular! I look forward to this trip every year! read more

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This is a good convention center for a small to medium sized conference. I liked how the hotels nearby were connected (especially the Hilton). It was great to be able to go from your room to the convention space without stepping outside. In other cities, you're usually braving the heat or rain to make it to your hotel a block or two away. This wasn't a huge convention center, so walking was kept to a minimum in comparison to some others. There are also plenty of restaurants nearby for lunch and/or client dinners. Some are even in the connected hotels, so that's a plus too. read more

Greater Columbus Convention Center - Ceiling in one of the ball rooms - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

In town for the OMEA conference a few weeks ago. This place is vast and easily the biggest building I've ever been to. Plenty of places to eat, hangout and even shop. It's a cool place even to just walk and get your steps in. If you're coming in for your event I highly recommend you arrive at least two hours before it starts to find parking and familiarize yourself with where you're going. Honestly if there's a lot happening that day parking will be scarce within close proximity. Best to reserve your parking before you come. There's several apps you could download to achieve that. If you're staying for a few days there's several hotels physically connected to the convention center. We stayed right across the street at the Hampton. Neat place. read more

Greater Columbus Convention Center - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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Was here for the ASV '24 conference. Lunch and dinner was provided. The conference center itself is massive, so massive it held 2 separate conferences of over 2000 people per conference. I would say for our conference it felt very spread out and difficult to move from one workshop room to another. You might have to run to make your next talk. It was difficult to bump into people I knew because of how spread out it is for 2000 people. My biggest complaint is the food. Every meal needed salt. They didn't over salt and pepper at all. I found that specifically the tortellini pasta really really needed salt. It was bland and hard to swallow. They also served mashed potatoes and of course those needed salt. The summer vegetables had no salt or seasoning. Where they somewhat redeemed themselves, the desserts. They were all vegan friendly and delicious without being overly sweet. I would say this convention center is average. It meets the needs of a large conference. Pro tip: bring your own salt and pepper. read more

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What an amazing conference center. An enormous center in the Short North, there seems to be an infinite number of rooms. The huge halls were carpeted and very clean. It looks beautiful. Don't miss the giant video face mural. At least three hotels (Hyatt, Hilton and Drury) connect to the center for ease of access. In times of inclement weather like the days we were in Columbus, one can walk for city blocks inside then make a short hop outside to one if the many shops or restaurants surrounding the center. You can even head to Nationwide Arena from the center. We encounter med a few employees and everyone was nice and helpful. read more

Greater Columbus Convention Center - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Was here for the Arnold Sports Festival so different from my normal events. I only used one bathroom, but it was clean. Nice as they had a tray of free pads and tampons in the woman's bathroom. He didn't say anything about the mens so I assume unremarkable. It was a crowded event, but it seemed pretty clean. Expo room got a bit hot with all the people yet various places throughout the convention center were cold. Lots of security so no issues there. There was a large digital map, but it was utterly useless. I wish people were more considerate as lots of trash was thrown into the recycling bin. Overall the event center seemed pretty good shape. read more

Stopped in for a work conf. Very nice. I do wish they had more doors open to get it. Had to walk a bit. It's a good location for conf center. Lots of good palces to eat right by read more

What a nice space. I was here for a convention and not only are there tons of rooms but plenty of seating along with chargers in the hall which is crucial. The bathrooms were nice with peppermint soap which smelled amazing. I liked the food court downstairs with their options and seating and the stores upstairs. It was nice to see the hotels linked to it so you don't have to go outside. Very impressive. read more

Walking through and seeing everything this space has to offer. Did the this is us exhibit. read more

Greater Columbus Convention Center - Asweare - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I visited the Columbus Convention Center recently for Columbus Fashion Week and had a great time connecting with local fashion fans. The lobby area that hosted the runway was awesome and they had set up a small temporary bar, runway, and tons of chairs. I loved the backdrop of Goodale and High through the windows behind the runway. There is also a strange LED head that you can view through the window. Staff were nice and helpful greeting guests as they walked in, and the convention center itself is huge. The Columbus Fashion Council only utilized one small space but the convention center itself is absolutely huge with tons of smaller rooms for smaller conferences and events. Parking in the area can be a little nutso but the CCC does have a parking garage nearby. read more

Greater Columbus Convention Center - Fashion week finale 2023 - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I like that the convention is huge and that they have more food options outside the main hall. I'll remember that for next year. What I didn't think this year for Galaxycon was that they had a massive line just to get in and scan your ticket/receive your badge. I went in 2022 and the line was short and more organized. 2023 was a mess. They could have done a better job with organizing some of the lines for the guests. read more

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The first floor entrance smelled strongly of mold. They were able to accommodate a large convention. The signage could have been a bit clearer to guide you around considering the size of the facility. read more

The facility is huge. It's beautifully designed. The staff was helpful. The diversity of the events was interesting. The bathrooms were clean. The parking garage was $20. read more

Nicely built, spacious, convenient, we especially enjoyed the convenient Tesla charging in the garage across. After we Walked around, and noticed the convenient center is very cleanly maintained. Definitely a plus. read more

There is no reason to be here unless you have to. I had too. It's better than most convention centers. Except the are understaffed and it takes forever to get through the entrance for tournaments. There is an incredibly creepy art installation, if I have to call it that. You don't need a ticket to see it because it's in the lobby of the convention center. It's this large structure with faces projected on it and it's crazy looking. read more

Greater Columbus Convention Center - My boo boo killing it. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

If they could add some more amazing ethnic food (perhaps imported from Cleveland) and some of the stunning mountain-city views of Pittsburgh, to the city of Columbus, then it would be an even "Greater Columbus" than it already is. But having said that, Columbus is pretty great... and greatly pretty... especially at this convention centre (UK spelling for once), when the Arnie comes to town as it does annually. This is an amazing Convention Center where they host the Arnold every year and my goodness there are some amazing looking people coming to the Arnold - but I think I've already done this one so let's make sure that I have it before we continue. Oh yeah I have. So here's the original review below. So this is a pretty impressive convention center located in Columbus. I like it and you might like it as well. I'm always across the street from here, for food at North Market, but I rarely come in here... except once a year if I'm in town. The reason I come here is for the Arnold. Once a year the whole place gets filled with absolutely spectacular men and women, and the girls here have some of the most incredible bodies you could ever imagine, I'm in heaven because that's my fave body type, the combo of California fake and California fitness, it's just amazing, they know it, I know it, I'm glad I finally have a physique where I can fit in with them, but certainly not stand out, as there are many Rock lookalikes that make me look tiny. They come from all over the country for this thing and good for them. It's just a great amount of testosterone and so much perfect body on show, from some of the most impressive and sexy people in the world. You have to come at least once to see for yourself unless you hate that sort of thing. In between the shows and what not they're all across the street at North Market eating, so that makes for a great time to be in Columbus. read more

Greater Columbus Convention Center - Convention al wisdom - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I attended a conference at this location. First, it's huge! Like I was averaging 15k steps per day. Not good or bad, just a fact. They have a lot of meeting rooms and are 3 levels from what I can tell. Everyone here was very nice and helpful, even though I was very last minute uploading my presentation. They had snacks for our event twice a day. The food was pretty good and very nicely presented. I really loved the chips they had. They were so good and had a variety of dips. There are restrooms everywhere and despite thousands of conference attendees, they remained clean. There are a ton of hotel options and I think 3 attached to the conference center. My only complaint, but it's a big one--it's kind of easy to get lost. I spent my first day running in circles. Overall a great place for a conference. read more

Huge and what appears to be freshly renovated convention center. We attended here two days for my daughters Cheer leading competition called the COA Midwest National Championships (humble dad brag:my daughter team took first place in there division). Very spacious and clean facility. Loads of things to keep you busy and I kept discovering new places to explore or dine up to the very last day we were there. Conveniently located in a popular food and dine district in downtown Columbus. So if you don't want to take advantage of the food options inside the actual facility then you are only steps away from other places. read more

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I've been to the Columbus Convention Center on numerous occasions for a large variety of events. Everything from food and music festivals to a few expos and big marketing meetings. While the event you're here for can greatly impact the experience, the facility itself remains the same. The space is obviously huge with a variety of different sized ballrooms. The space as a whole is kept extremely clean, even the bathrooms and kitchens! I also love that they have art sprinkled throughout the building. It definitely adds character and a fun Columbus flare. They have able amounts of signage throughout so while it's possible you can get lost, it's not super likely. There's a café and some vending machines as well. The staff is friendly and willing to open doors and give directions if need be. Lastly and like many others have mentioned, parking can definitely be annoying. While they now have three to four garages nearby, the pricing is nuts. I once paid $12 to be there for an hour. Overall, that's my only complaint. I live close by and really appreciate the level of tourism and crowds that the Greater Columbus Convention Center brings to our community. read more

Wow! Such a huge convention center! I walked from end to end because I didn't know where the event I was attending was supposed to be. It reminds me of an airport. Escalators in here too! At close to 9:30 am on a Thursday, there were pockets where there were a lot of people. Multiple conferences and forums were going on. I was near High and Nationwide Blvd and had to walk to the other end which was High and Goodale. I liked the side by Goodale. Large windows to give you a view of the Short North and lots of natural light. Nice way to get in your steps! I was attending Vote for Ohio Kids, a leadership forum for healthcare leaders who stand for better education in the state. Probably about 500 people came from all over the state. We checked in at tables near the huge head that changes into different faces. It's an art installation funded by the Columbus Foundation. Glad I finally saw it! I had seen so many pics of it on Instagram! We took the escalators upstairs to get to the Short North Ballroom. There was a variety of fruit I couldn't eat since I'm allergic to many things, unfortunately, and some scones. They also served Crimson Cup coffee and water. The ballroom was large! High ceilings and everything was completely gray floor to ceiling. They served food at the lunch hour. A spinach salad with fresh parsnip, squash, quinoa, and cold grilled chicken. That's right. I said cold chicken. Not my thing. Everything on my plate was cold. The spinach made sense to be cold but the rest? I don't get it. I enjoyed the cream puffs and the Buckeyes. Yum! They also brought us water and unsweetened tea. I didn't try the tea but I'm assuming it wasn't sweetened since we are above the Mason-Dixon. So many options for bathrooms here! Lots of stalls and it was clean. Facilities seemed pretty nice, in general. They've got a few places to eat in here. They've got water fountains too. Not sure when next I'll come back here, but I'm glad I got the chance to do so. read more

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Nice place - the event went well. We did have some trouble parking until we asked for help - this guy was super helpful.

This is still a great space. Unfortunately, convention center staff appear to have taken absolutely no COVID precautions at a mask and vaccine required event I recently attended here. read more

I've been here plenty of times with my most recent visit from last weekend (3 March 2018) when I attend the Arnold Classic (sports festival). Althought the convention center is big, the Arnold event is always packed and I was squeezing my way in-between people while inside the expo. The convention center has just been renovated on the 1st and 2nd floor. A glass entryway with big windows allows natural light to enter and gives a grandeur feel to the place.They also added new seating inside which include comfortable love seats and eating stations where you can plug in your phone or laptop. A new restaurant is now on the first floor although I haven't tried it. The parking structure is being renovated currently and I believe a walkway will be added to connect the garage to the convention center. Overall, I love the new look. read more

Greater Columbus Convention Center - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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In town for the Premiere Beauty Classic. This convention center is one of the nicest I've been in. Easy to navigate. Bathrooms are clean. Very nice artwork all around. Connecting parking garage attached with a walkway. They have a cafe indoors. Plethora of local restaurants around to try along with North Market. read more

I attended a local insurance conference, The 2021 Property and Liability Resource Bureau (PLRB) regional conference, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center recently. I was both there as an attendee and and as someone giving two classes at the conference. Conference center has a lot of great things going for it. It looks modern, the seating is comfortable and there is plenty of space. The conference had a main center for vendors to sell/advertise their services, a place for attendees to eat, and then dozens of rooms to attend/provide classes during a two day period. And yet, still there was plenty of unused space. So this place can easily hold multiple conferences. They also have helpful IT staff on hand if you are having trouble using the audio/visual equipment. One other major thing I loved about the conference center is that it has a convenient connection to the Hilton Columbus Downtown. So if you are staying at a conference or event at the convention center I would recommend you stay at that hotel. It has a beautiful, air conditioned and covered bridge between the two buildings. Its a great perk to have to avoid having to get out of the hotel and then walk around it to go to the conference center. The conference center being in downtown Columbus also is centrally located to a lot of great bars and restaurants. This is a big thing after being at a conference for entire day(s), while still working on the side. Two major things, though, do detract from the convention center. Firstly, the internet connection at the convention center leaves a lot to be desired. It was certainly fast enough to allow one to surf the web or check email, but not much else. The classes I taught at the conference required a high speed internet connection since it dealt with technology to combat fraud including photographic analysis and ai/machine learning. Part of the class was to show them step by step how to use program(s) to analyze the photos. It is a bad feeling when you are trying to do this and the internet connection is causing the program to seriously lag. Another class had the same problem but they were able to score a dedicated router, which I wasn't able to do. I was still able to teach the class but didn't use all the examples I wanted to due to time constraints. I had to of course tweak my second version of the class to avoid this, but I was not happy. Moreover, the connection lagged when I was trying to work in between classes. Whenever I would connect thru a vpn, immediately slowed down. It would take 5-7 minutes to load up any file I needed to review. It was frustrating. The other major issue was the food. The food served at the convention center tasted bad. My coworkers and I had breakfast once at the conference center, we all took one bite from the breakfast sandwich and we threw it away. The coffee was extremely bitter. The food at lunch wasn't much better. We ate out one the second day. Its a great conference center, but can do with improvements to its internet connection and food service. read more

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This is our 2nd Arnold Classic Fencing event at the expo center. We have attended many events here but this one is normally the largest. The expo was canceled to spectators this year due to the corona virus so there was minimal attendance compared to last year. It was actually nicer in my opinion since we actually got to see the facility and events without being shoulder to shoulder with the crowds. We finally got to head into the expo and its setup is really nice. Without the solicitors the athletes were front and center and it really showed how the expo center could take care of the competitors. The water stations were always filled and the security guards were able to navigate around the smaller crowds. We needed assistance in a couple of rooms during the competition and they handled everything swimmingly! read more

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This is a very nice convention center, and made for a great place to have Ohayocon 2019! This was my first time my boyfriend and I had been to Columbus, so it was nice to get to spend part of it here. This building is conveniently connected to the Hyatt, where we used their parking garage. They had all kinds of great local options for food, and big, spacious areas where we never felt claustrophobic during the convention. It was also a short walk to multiple restaurants, including North Market. I'd love to be able to come back here to experience another event! read more

The Greater Columbus Convention Center is located in downtown Columbus, Ohio, along the east side of High Street. Major Events held at this location are: -Columbus International Auto Show -Origins Game Fair -Ohio Model United Nations -Ohayocon -Arnold Sports Festival This past weekend, I attended the Arnold Sports Expo on a Sunday Morning. There is parking everywhere (garage and street). We were fortunate to find parking for $10.00 on a business property. The building is over 426,000-square feet. The detailed signs made it easy to find our way around. Hotels are connected to the convention center with a skywalk (very convenient). Very spacious and clean. Getting in the event was also smooth. It was well organized and didn't have to wait long to get our tickets. They were fully staffed and efficient. It was easy access getting in and out of the downtown area. What a great experience! read more

Greater Columbus Convention Center - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Who would have expected to see a big statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger out in front of the Convention Center? I sure didn't. Well it seems that when he won Mr. Universe back in 1970, Arnold appeared in Columbus and kept coming back. The city and the convention center host an Arnold Sports and Fitness Festival in Columbus every year. Besides seeing that cool statue, I had a very enjoyable experience here at the Property & Liability Resource Bureau's Central Region Convention. Staying at the Hilton, I loved how easy it was to get here. There is a skywalk spanning North High Street that connects the Convention Center to the second floor of the Hilton. I was there in less than five minutes!. Our Convention covered the upper and lower pods- with breakfast served on the lower level and classes spead between both floors. The meetings rooms were fine, but seemed to be plagued by intermittent problems with the AV system and lights that would mysteriously shut off, dim, and reappear. The temperature control was fine today, but it was freezing cold yesterday. The Exhibition Hall with the trade show and lunches was huge and very nice. No complaints about the lunches- the food service was quite good. I've been to quite a few of these conventions, and this was a pretty good one. read more

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HUGE!!!! Definitely one of Columbus' highlighting locations. Events held here are always well attended, well organized, and FUN! The actual Convention Center here is a modern, updated, and well-kept facility. And can I take a second to comment on the bathrooms!! The bathrooms here are very comparable to a nice airport bathroom system. Located everywhere and very clean. There's almost always a janitor at each bathroom- so you know everything stays clean. The parking can become a madhouse, spending up to $20 to park can be a higher price than I'd like. With some events, space can become crazy; like the Arnold. The Arnold on a Saturday is INSANE. It's a good kind of crazy though, an organized crazy. The most popular events here are competitions/tournaments, and those aren't too hectic. Definitely worth checking out if you're visiting Columbus, or if you live in Columbus it's worth trying out an event; there are all kinds of events held here. Check out the website for more info. read more

I was frankly surprised at how big this place actually was. It seemed to go on for MILES, and it was under construction and re-furbishment. I'm not sure what they plan on doing to it but good god.. it's immense. I was in town for the Midwestern Haunter's Convention...I was really surprised at how many other conventions were going on at the same time. I counted at least 5. And then there were the weddings.. It really is a large place. read more

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The Greater Columbus Convention Center serves it purpose to host large shows, events, etc. Recently I went for the 2019 Columbus auto show and the Arnold Sports Festival. I would have to admit the Arnold is a bit crazy in Columbus because all the fitness junkies are there for an action packed weekend. Action packed meaning sports events, bikini modeling contests, muscle building show, etc. Meeting Arnold is almost impossible, unless your lucky enough to spot him walking around like some Yelper's I know. The auto show brings in many car lovers, dealers to showcase their latest and greatest vehicles. Test rides (if signed your life away on the voucher form). You may even go "car crazy" and buy yourself a new car a day later like someone I know. Let's just say the convention center brings Columbus's best events into one big building and hosts a wide array to the public. My favorite show was watching my brother compete in the ballroom dancing area a few years ago with his dancing buddy. Nothing can take your breathe away like watching real life dancers do the waltz, tango, cha cha, etc there. Really you need to be here to experience it all. read more

Stopped in again for a massive volleyball tournament for my daughter. At the same time, a comic book and board game convention was happening, which was interesting. There were people walking around dressed up as their favorite characters. Our volleyball tournament needed 54 volleyball courts and there was more than enough room to accommodate. We had over 200 volleyball teams and the tournament was finished in one day - amazing! The food, available amenities, bathrooms, raw square footage of floor space, and location are all terrific. I really enjoy visiting this place. There is a lot of parking and restaurant options nearby. The free WiFi was nice. Convention centers don't get any better than this. read more

Greater Columbus Convention Center - 54 volleyball courts? No problem - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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staff have always been friendly and helpful when i've come here. a special thank you to Edwin, who was so kind and generous tonight! he deserves a ton of praise for going out of his way to make sure I had the best experience possible. please give that man a raise. thank you, Edwin! read more

In Hall A both the escalator and elevator were out of service for most of the week. That made it very difficult for those of us with mobility issues to get upstairs. read more

While attending an event at the Columbus Convention Center, we decided to stop and participate in the As We Are exhibit where you sit in a photo booth that captures a series of photos of your face. Of those, you select your favorite and it is then immediately displayed in the exhibit area space which is visible to those walking along High St. Your image will then become part of the collection to be displayed randomly after the initial showing. read more

Greater Columbus Convention Center - Me enlarged as part of the As We Are exhibit - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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This convention center is huge. It definitely fit the 100,000+ people that attended the Arnold Sports Convention. There was ample parking as well BATHROOM REVIEW -- nice sized bathrooms to withstand all the testosterone in the building. Super sturdy for those who had roid rage. Sit or squat? Sit! read more

I've been here many times over the years, and never thought to review it. I remember when it went in, and what an architectural monstrosity I, and most in the city, thought it was. It's been revamped a bit, inside and out, and we've gotten used to it, so it seems an integral part of High Street now. Speaking of revamped, the interior seemed awful a few years back but today seemed much better- cleaner, brighter. I've been for company family days, small and large seminars, the car show, etc. They have a wide variety of useful spaces. I haven't been to the food court lately but I remember it as pretty decent; I saw a sign showing what's there today and it actually looked interesting. Today we went for a graduation ceremony, and the space they used (towards the south end) was large and well-suited. The ceiling lighting was cool. The seating was comfy and well-arranged. Sound and lighting were great. On our way out we stopped in a remodelling expo, which was meh but the layout and cleanliness were fine. I'm sure I'll be back. As Christina said it's a necessary evil, but it seems to be getting a bit better. read more