They call it The Barn, and it has been standing since the end of the First World War. The Taft Coliseum - long known as the Fairgrounds Coliseum or Ohio Expo Center Coliseum - opened in 1918 at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds, 717 East 17th Avenue in Columbus. The building predates almost everything around it: built for livestock judging and high-class horse shows, it hosted the second-ever NCAA Wrestling Championships in 1929 and served as home court for Ohio State men's basketball from 1918 until St. John Arena opened in 1956. The dimensions explain its flexibility: 225 by 112 feet of floor under a 65-foot peak, convertible between a basketball court, a seasonal ice rink from November to February, and reinforced flooring for rodeos and truck pulls, with 5,003 permanent seats. The tenant history is a tour of Columbus sports: the Columbus Chill of the ECHL packed the building through the 1990s, the Horizon of the CBA and the Thunderbolts of the Arena Football League passed through, and OHSAA district and regional basketball made it a legendary high-school venue until 2013. A 2005 renovation added scoreboards, shot clocks and new restrooms, and in July 2010 the building was renamed for Bob Taft, Ohio's 67th governor; today the Governor's Cup horse show anchors its State Fair role while youth hockey fills the winter ice. Practical notes: the concrete bowl carries sound harshly for concerts but suits the rodeo-and-livestock calendar it was built for; Fair-time visitors should note the Coliseum sits mid-grounds, a walk from every gate, and the upper wooden benches are the building's century-old originals in spirit if not in board. The hockey lineage continues quietly: after the Columbus Chill era ended, The Chiller organization took over the ice operation, running the Coliseum as a public rink for games and practices each winter - meaning the 1918 barn still ices over every November, as it has for generations.

Type: Stadium / Arena

Address: 717 E 11th Ave, Columbus, OH, United States, 43211

Website: https://www.ohioexpocenter.com

Capacity: 5003

Opening Date: 01/01/1918

Accessible