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Throughout the visitor industry, Columbus is emerging as a destination of note.

As of January we can lay claim to having the newest and largest ballroom in Ohio – the Battelle Grand. We have the No. 1 zoo in America, the No. 1 public library in the nation and the No. 1 science center. We also have a magnificent new baseball stadium that has won three Ballpark of the Year awards since opening last spring. 

Our No. 1 Columbus Zoo and Aquarium just keeps getting better. Polar Frontier, the largest new exhibit ever built at the zoo, will soon open with polar bears, of course, but also much more.

The restored Lincoln Theatre made its debut last May and already has brought new vibrancy to the King-Lincoln District with a diverse range of performances, community events and educational programs. The Grange Insurance Audubon Center, opened just last August, is one of the first centers of its kind to be located in the core of a major city.
 
And there’s so much more to brag about. Nationwide Arena and the Schott. An expanding international airport. Four historic downtown theaters. Fabulous art institutions and performing arts groups. Creative independent artists. Great restaurants. Collegiate and professional sports. Distinctive urban neighborhoods and entertainment districts.
 
All of this contributes to our quality of life here in Central Ohio and to the appeal of our destination for visitors. And there’s more on the horizon.

This summer, construction will begin on the 500-room Hilton Convention Center hotel. When it opens in 2012, we will be able to compete for a much larger share of the state, regional and national convention market. We’ll have the ability to host multiple events simultaneously and assure that our largest annual conventions don’t outgrow our hotel room inventory.

If things go as our community would like at the statewide ballot box this May, the new Hollywood Casino Columbus will open in 2012 on the west side of the city. This new attraction will also add to our destination diversity and appeal for convention attendees and for leisure tourists.

And the core of our city is experiencing a makeover of the first order. Columbus Commons, the former site of City Center mall is being converted into a beautiful central park that will set the stage for new retail, housing, restaurants and office space. When the Scioto Mile is completed in 2012, in time for the city’s bicentennial, we’ll have a green corridor connecting our downtown to the Scioto riverfront with parks, plazas and water features, as well as bikeway and pedestrian paths.

Now, more than at any other time in our history, it is crucial that, together, our unified voice be louder, clearer and more enduring as we tell the world about The Next Columbus.