Nationwide Arena Game Day Guide
Columbus Blue Jackets · Columbus, OH
Know Before You Go
- Bag policy
Bags are generally prohibited; medical bags, diaper bags, and clutches no larger than 8 x 5 x 1 inches are permitted.
Permitted bags and clutches must use the dedicated entry screening lines and will be X-rayed.
- Bag storage
Rentable Binbox lockers at the McConnell Boulevard and Front Street entrances can store select items, including an oversized bag, after secondary screening.
Lockers are available only during an event, cannot be reserved, and require the Binbox app. Pricing may change, rentals are nonrefundable, and payment is by debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay only.
- Mobile tickets
Blue Jackets tickets use a mobile barcode in the team app or My Blue Jackets Account for entry at Nationwide Arena.
Add tickets to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet before arriving. Guests without a smartphone, or whose phone is unavailable, should visit the box office with identification for help.
- Re-entry
Guests who leave Nationwide Arena to smoke are not permitted to re-enter.
The current arena guide does not publish a broader re-entry rule, so do not exit for smoking expecting to return.
- Prohibited items
Prohibited items include noncompliant bags, hard or soft coolers, outside food and drink, weapons, fireworks, drones, noisemakers, laser pointers, professional cameras, laptops, tablets, pointed or golf umbrellas, strollers, and selfie sticks.
Small collapsible umbrellas are permitted. Guests may return rejected items to their vehicle or surrender them to Security without return; management may reject other unsafe or inappropriate items.
- First aid
OhioHealth first-aid rooms are outside Section 120 on the main concourse and outside Section 206 on the upper concourse.
First-aid and paramedic services are provided at every Nationwide Arena event.
- Nursing and lactation
Nursing rooms are at Sections 105/106 on the main concourse and Section 206 on the upper concourse.
Each room has a glider, changing table, diapers, and bottle warmer. Request access at Guest Services near Section 112 or 208, or ask any staff member.
- Family restrooms
Family and all-gender restrooms are near Sections 101, 110, and 118 on the main concourse and Sections 206, 220, and 228 on the upper concourse.
Universal changing tables are in the family and all-gender restrooms near Sections 110 and 220; baby-changing tables are available in all restrooms.
- Tickets for children
Children older than age 2 need a ticket for admission to Blue Jackets games.
- Guest services
Guest Services desks are at Section 112 on the main concourse and Section 208 on the upper concourse.
During an event, lost items can be taken to the desk across from Section 112. Arena Guest Services can be reached at 614-246-2000.
- Service animals
Only service animals as defined by the ADA are permitted inside Nationwide Arena.
Guests needing a seating accommodation should contact Guest Services at 614-246-2000 before the event.
- Smoking and vaping
Nationwide Arena has no designated smoking areas inside, and guests who exit to smoke cannot re-enter.
Game Day Timeline
What the day looks like at Nationwide Arena, hour by hour.
Arrive in the Arena District
Park in the nearby garages and explore the Arena District. R Bar and Nationwide Boulevard restaurants start filling with Blue Jackets fans.
Pregame at R Bar
R Bar is the official Blue Jackets bar, packed, loud, and walking distance to the arena entrance. Local craft beer on tap.
Doors open
Enter Nationwide Arena and catch warm-ups. The arena has excellent sightlines from every level.
Find your seat
Settle in and watch the pregame video. The cannon sits behind the goal, you'll hear it before you see it.
Game time
Three 20-minute periods. When the Jackets score, the cannon fires and the building erupts. It's loud, embrace it.
Concourse run
Grab a Buckeye Brat or pierogi plate. The main concourse is wide and easy to navigate.
Arena District nightlife
Walk to the bars and restaurants along Nationwide Boulevard or head north to the Short North for more options.
Tips & Fan Reports
Doors open at 6pm for a 7pm puck drop if you want to watch practice. There are a few restaurants around the arena in the Arena District but expect them to be packed on game nights.
The Arena District is walkable. Park once and everything is accessible on foot.
The Arena District and Short North arts neighborhood (adjacent) have excellent pregame restaurants and craft breweries.
The cannon that fires after Blue Jackets goals is genuinely startling if you're not expecting it.
Nationwide Arena has one of the more affordable NHL experiences. Tickets, food, and parking are all below league average.
R Bar is the pregame spot. Get there early for rivalry games against Pittsburgh.
The cannon is LOUD. If you're near the goal it fires behind, prepare yourself. It's iconic but startling.
Over 15,000 spaces sit within ten minutes on foot, so parking is rarely the problem in the Arena District.
Entry is at McConnell Boulevard or Front Street. Those are the two doors.
The route in differs by direction: Neil Avenue off I-670, or Front Street off I-70.
Before the Game
Nationwide Arena sits in Columbus's Arena District with over 15,000 parking spaces within a ten-minute walk across surface lots and garages, bookable in advance or bought on the day, and no tailgating policy. Bags are not permitted at all, with three exceptions: medical bags, diaper bags, and clutches no larger than 8 by 5 by 1 inch, all X-rayed through a designated screening line. Entry is at the McConnell Boulevard and Front Street entrances.
Where to Go Before the Game
The Arena District lots and garages
Over 15,000 parking spaces sit within a ten-minute walk of the arena across surface lots and garages, available to buy in advance or on the day of the event.
Known for 15,000+ spaces · 10-minute walk · Advance or day-of
The McConnell Boulevard and Front Street entrances
The two named ways into the arena. Anyone carrying a permitted clutch, medical or diaper bag goes through the designated X-ray screening line at entry.
Known for Two entrances · X-ray screening line
Nationwide Boulevard
The street the arena fronts, reached from I-670 West via the Neil Avenue exit, or from I-70 East via the Front Street exit and north on Front Street.
Known for Arena frontage · Neil Ave from I-670 · Front St from I-70
Pregame Rules
What Nationwide Arena allows before the game, and what it does not.
- Bags are not permitted, except medical bags, diaper bags, or clutches no larger than 8" x 5" x 1", which are X-rayed via a designated screening line.
- Entry is at the McConnell Boulevard and Front Street entrances.
- Over 15,000 parking spaces are within a ten-minute walk of the arena, in surface lots and parking garages. Parking is available for advance purchase and on the day of the event.
- From I-71 south, take I-670 west, exit at Neil Avenue, turn left onto Neil Avenue and left onto Nationwide Blvd. From I-71 north, take I-70 east to the Front St. exit, turn left at the intersection, north on Front Street, then left onto Nationwide Blvd.
- Guest services can be reached on 614-246-2000.
Weather
Nationwide Arena is indoor, so these are the conditions for the parking lot and the walk in, not the seats.
Across the NHL season the warmest month is October, with an average high of 66°F, and the coldest is January, when the average low is 21°F. April is the wettest month at 4.0 inches and November the driest at 3.0 inches.
That January low ranks 11th coldest of the 32 NHL venues, and April here ranks 14th wettest.
October
3.2 inchesNovember
3.0 inchesJanuary
3.1 inchesMarch
3.9 inchesApril
4.0 inchesWhat to Bring
- Only the outside food and drink the rule allows
Outside food and beverages are prohibited at Nationwide Arena.
- A card or a phone wallet
Nationwide Arena is cashless for tickets, concessions, and merchandise and accepts debit and credit cards.
- A coat for the walk in
January lows average 21°F between the lot and the door at Nationwide Arena.
- A poncho for the walk in, not an umbrella
Umbrellas are on Nationwide Arena's prohibited list, and April averages 4.0 inches of rain.
How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Game day timeline
Official venue page / team game day guide
- Pregame
Nationwide Arena official site: Directions & Parking, A to Z Guide, and What to Expect
- Weather
NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
- Venue policies
Current Nationwide Arena and Columbus Blue Jackets policy, accessibility, parking, and mobile-ticket pages reviewed for Blue Jackets game-day policies.