Team Columbus Attends NCAA Final Four

April 20, 2016

By Linda Logan, Courtesy of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission
As we count down the days until Columbus hosts the 2018 NCAA Women’s Final Four, the Greater Columbus Sports Commission (GCSC) had the opportunity to attend this year’s event in Indianapolis, meet the people involved and observe first-hand what it takes to successfully host this major championship.
The NCAA Women’s Final Four is a remarkable event within itself and Indianapolis lived up to its reputation of being one of the great sport cities in America, rolling out the red carpet for players, coaches and fans.
One of the many great qualities about Columbus is our footprint-or walkability-especially in the Arena District and Short North Arts District. With the NCAA Women’s Final Four to be hosted at Nationwide Arena, it was valuable to see how Indianapolis used its similar footprint to engage both visitors and locals.
We traveled with 30 “Team Columbus” members to explore Indianapolis and its take on the NCAA Women’s Final Four. Our group was comprised of GCSC and Experience Columbus staff, community partners and supporters, along with representatives from The Ohio State University Athletics Department, Nationwide Arena, Greater Columbus Convention Center, the Arena District, AAA Ohio Auto Club, Marathon Petroleum and Huntington Bank.
It was a historic championship series for many reasons and the NCAA announced that it made history for both the event and the city of Indianapolis.
The opportunity to see how a well-respected sport city handled a big-time tournament and produced it so eloquently gave us great insights into how to get it done. And we promise you, Columbus, that we will deliver an exceptional sporting event.
I can’t wait for everyone around the country to see just how brightly our city will shine under the spotlight of a national championship.
Linda Shetina Logan, the “First Lady of Columbus Sports”, is the founding Executive Director of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission with more than 25 years of experience in the sports and hospitality industry.