Nationwide Arena Parking
Columbus Blue Jackets · Columbus, OH
Know Before You Go
Essential details checked against official venue information.
- Parking payments
Arena-event parking is sold both in advance online and on the day of the event, with prices varying by surface lot or garage.
Applies to: Columbus Blue Jackets games
- The arena does not publish a blanket cash or card rule for day-of-event parking, so verify the selected facility before arrival.
- Cheapest lot
- $10
- Lots listed
- 2
- Closest
- 0.1-0.2 miles
Nationwide Arena is in Columbus's Arena District, adjacent to the Short North arts neighborhood. COTA buses serve downtown. Arena District has excellent pregame bars and restaurants. Garages $10-20.
Parking Maps
Find your lot and plan your route. Maps open in a new tab so you can keep this guide handy.
Tips & Fan Reports
What fans who park here actually do, and what it cost them.
Street parking is available on metered streets after 6 PM but fills fast on game nights.
The main garage exit onto Nationwide Boulevard backs up after games. Use the Neil Avenue exit instead.
The Arena District is compact. Even the cheapest lots are only a 5-minute walk from the arena.
Pre-purchase via ParkMobile or SpotHero for guaranteed spots on big game nights.
Rideshare pickup is along Front Street. Follow the signs after the game.
Where to Park
Nationwide Arena Garages
$150.1-0.2 milesAdvance purchase only
From I-670, exit at Neil Avenue and turn onto Nationwide Boulevard; from I-70, use Front Street and turn onto Nationwide Boulevard. Follow the pass for the assigned garage.
Official garages at Nationwide Arena in the Arena District of downtown Columbus.
- Arena District location
- Advance purchase recommended
- Walk to restaurants and bars
Arena District / Short North Lots
$100.2-0.4 milesCheapestAdvance purchase only
Lots in the Arena District and nearby Short North arts neighborhood.
- $8-15 range
- Short North has great pregame
- Walk to arena
Or Skip the Car
- COTA Bus — $2 · COTA bus routes serve downtown Columbus and the Arena District. $2 fare.
Parking Rules
What the pass covers, what gets turned away, and the lots that run on their own rules.
Your Pass
- More than 15,000 spaces are within a ten-minute walk across Arena District lots and garages.
- Parking is sold both in advance and on the day of the event; prices vary by location.
- All pick-ups and drop-offs take place on West Street.
- Vehicles must remain attended in the loading area; unattended vehicles may be towed.
Accessible Parking
Accessible inventory exceeds ADA standards, but the venue warns that demand can still exceed supply at heavily attended events.
- A state-issued disability-parking hangtag is required for accessible spaces in surrounding lots and garages.
- Use the north entrance of McConnell Garage or the northeast entrance of Front Street Garage.
- A section of McConnell Boulevard is maintained as a drop-off site for guests with accessibility needs.
- Accessible-parking demand at heavily attended events may exceed the available supply.
Game-day help: 614-246-2000
Columbus Blue Jackets Car Gear
Window flags, plate frames, and decals to fly Columbus Blue Jackets colors in the lot.
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Report a Price We Missed
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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.
- Parking guidance
Official Nationwide Arena directions, parking and accessibility pages, read 2026-08-30: highway approaches, advance and day-of purchase, accessible garage entrances and drop-off, and the official Arena District map. Rates vary by location; hours, RV/bus rules and routine road closures are not published.
- Venue policies
Current Nationwide Arena and Columbus Blue Jackets policy, accessibility, parking, and mobile-ticket pages reviewed for Blue Jackets game-day policies.
Not yet checked against a published source
These figures are estimates. Most venues no longer publish the numbers behind them — concession and ticket pricing moved to dynamic marketplaces — so we hold them as estimates rather than dating them as verified.
- Parking prices — Never checked against a published rate: the venue's parking page, read 2026-09-05, publishes none — the page lists the garages and prices none of them. The 2026-07-27 figures were compiled from third-party listings (was: "Nationwide Arena 2026: prepaid $10-$20; Nationwide Arena Garage $10, Huntington Park $10, LeVeque Tower $12, McConnell Plaza $8, 5th Ave surface lot $7").