Thousands of people have already poured into Columbus to be a part of the Arnold Sports Festival, which runs March 4 − March 7. As the largest multi-sport festival in the nation, the Arnold features 18,000 athletes from over 80 countries competing in more than 40 sports and events. The Arnold Fitness EXPO is held in conjunction with the festival and features more than 700 exhibit booths offering the latest in fitness apparel, equipment, training tools and nutrition.

For many of the 170,000 Arnold attendees this weekend, their first impression of Columbus will occur at Port Columbus. From international welcome signage to additional staff on hand, we´re prepared to make a favorable first impression.

The Arnold is just one of more than 550 conventions hosted in Columbus thanks to the valiant efforts of Experience Columbus, the destination sales and marketing organization for the Greater Columbus community. Formerly the Greater Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau, Experience Columbus works to attract leisure visitors, conventions and meetings.

With those visitors comes an influx of money into the local economy, an estimated $41 million in the four days of the Arnold. When considering the hundreds of other conventions, the amount becomes staggering with visitors spending $7.1 billion annually in Central Ohio. The result is a critical economic infusion into our community.

Every day our employees work to assure that these visitors, whether they arrive via a commercial airline at Port Columbus, a charter flight at Rickenbacker or a private plane at Bolton Field, have a favorable experience and a desire to soon return to our state´s capital city.