Linda Logan and Jesse Ghiorzi: Bringing the U.S. Figure Skating Championships to Columbus

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The Greater Columbus Sports Commission will host this year’s U.S. Figure Skating National Championships, the first time the event will be in the Ohio destination. Nationwide Arena will host over 400 athletes, coaches, and officials, plus thousands of fans over the seven-day event. The venue is within walking distance of many hotels and restaurants to ensure a smooth fan experience. It’s a major event to kick off a busy year ahead for the Greater Columbus Sports Commission and Linda Logan, which will host more than a half-dozen other collegiate and national governing body events in the first six months of the year. We talked with Linda Logan, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, and Jesse Ghiorzi, director of marketing at the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, about planning for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, what it took to win the bid and much more.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• The significance of hosting the U.S. Figure Skating National Championships for the first time
• What went into the bidding process for the Greater Columbus Sports Commission
• Working with various groups within the city, including the Blue Jackets, in promoting the event
• What types of fan activations and public outreach has been done ahead of this event to get community involvement
• What they are looking forward to the most about this event
• What do you hope will stand out about Columbus as a host for this event compared to other previous destinations
• Along with figure skating, Columbus this year has weightlifting, Division 3 basketball championships, NCAA fencing championships, NCAA men’s gymnastics championships, the USA Fencing championships and the MLS All-Star Game. What work for the Sports Commission is going into organizing and sharing duties for so many major events?
• Is having a wide variety of events from collegiate to national an intentional decision on the commission’s part
• What this year can do in expanding Columbus’ brand and reputation as a sports destination

This episode is sponsored by: