Ask for directions to Value City Arena in Columbus and someone will probably ask if you mean the Schott. Same place. The building is the Jerome Schottenstein Center, named by Ohio State's trustees in 1998 for the late founder of Schottenstein Stores. The arena bowl inside carries the Value City name, which came with a $12.5 million gift from the Schottenstein family toward construction.
A name in transition
The Value City name has outlived the stores it came from. The department store chain closed in 2008, the naming rights passed to Value City Furniture, and that company's parent filed for bankruptcy in November 2025. Ohio State said then that it planned to retire the Value City name eventually and look for another naming partner with the Schottenstein family, with no timetable. So if you see the arena listed under a different name, it is the same building on Borror Drive.
The arena
The Schott opened on November 3, 1998, at a cost of $110 million. Ohio State men's and women's basketball and men's hockey have played here since, and the bowl seats roughly 19,000 for basketball. Since 2012 it has been run jointly with Nationwide Arena downtown, so the two big rooms in town share a booking operation.
Concert history started early. The Rolling Stones played here on April 3, 1999, and Bruce Springsteen has played the building more than once. Celine Dion, Guns N' Roses and Dua Lipa are on the list too.
Parking and getting there
The arena is at 555 Borror Drive on the west side of campus. Ohio State routes most drivers to State Route 315 and the Ackerman Road exit, which is the main way in.
- More than 10,000 surface and garage spaces sit within a short walk. The Buckeye Lots off Ackerman Road and the Scarlet Lots along Borror Drive are the closest. Most events charge for parking.
- The lots are cashless, so bring a card or pay by phone.
- Accessible parking is in the Scarlet Lots, and a wheelchair accessible shuttle runs from the Buckeye Lots to the doors.
- Rideshare drop off happens along Borror Drive on the north side of the building. After the show, pickups may be routed to St. John Arena on Lane Avenue, so check the app before you start walking.
Good to know
- Ohio Stadium is on the other side of Lane Avenue. When anything big is happening there, campus traffic turns into a project, so leave early.
- Big tours mean big crowds at the exits. Waiting ten minutes in your seat can beat thirty minutes in the lot.
- Ages, door times and bag rules are set by event and listed with your ticket.
Most nights here land on our pop calendar.