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If you haven't visited Columbus in the last 10 years, you won't recognize the area on the northwest side of downtown. The Arena District has transformed into one of Columbus' most happening entertainment destinations.

The district used to be marked by the Ohio Penitentiary. Now Nationwide Arena is the centerpiece and home to Ohio's only National Hockey League team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Arena Football League team, the Columbus Destroyers. Sports fans soon will have more to cheer about, as the Columbus Clippers, the Triple A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, will move into a brand new stadium here, Huntington Park, in 2009.

You may notice a large, ornate arch that sits at the head of McFerson Commons, a beautiful green space where kickball is played in the summertime. The arch is all that remains from Union Station, a 19th-century train station that was located nearby on what is now the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

See top touring music acts at Nationwide Arena and the LC Pavilion. Go ice skating at The Dispatch Ice Haus or see a movie in the plush Arena Grande Theatre, which even offers reserved seating.

Enjoy lunch or dinner one of more than a dozen restaurants, including Buca di Beppo for enormous platters of family-style, garlic-infused Italian, bd's mongolian barbeque where you create-your-own stir fry, Cotter's for contemporary fare and Ted's Montana Grill for yummy fries and bison burgers. Also in the neighborhood is the North Market, where more than 30 vendors sell freshly prepared foods from pasta and sushi to ice cream and popcorn.

When happy hour begins, wander into Frog Bear and Wild Boar Bar or Brothers for drink specials. Gordon Biersch pours fresh handcrafted German lagers brewed onsite and, while not brewed on premise, O'Shaughnessey's brags about its own O'Shaughnessy's Dam Good Ale. Around the corner, on Park and Vine streets, you'll find a collection of fun bars such as Sugar, Spice, Bar Louie and The Lodge Bar.

And, if your stay lasts until late in the evening, there are plenty of hotels within a short walk.