COLUMBUS – The Arnold Sports Festival comes to Columbus, bringing more than 150,000 visitors to Columbus venues including the Greater Columbus Convention Center, the Ohio Expo Center, the LC Pavilion and the Hollywood Casino.
Arnold Sports Festival, March 3-6, 2016
Co-founders Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Lorimer were not necessarily thinking about spanning the globe with multi-sports events when they held the original Arnold Classic in 1989 in Columbus, said Lorimer, the 89-year-old Worthington native and longtime friend of the bodybuilder, actor and former California governor.
It’s just grown and grown, every year adding something new. This year’s event in Columbus, for instance, runs from Thursday to Sunday and includes the nation’s largest health and fitness exposition, featuring more than 900 booths in the main hall of the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
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“People from 80 nations have been coming here and have said, ‘We like the model. Could we replicate it in our country?'” Lorimer said. “Arnold’s feeling was, because of the interest we were experiencing, we would try eventually to be on all six continents. So we set a mission about six years ago to explore international expansion.”
The first overseas festival, Arnold Classic Europe, debuted in September 2011 in Madrid. The second festival, Arnold Classic Brasil, began in April 2013 in Rio de Janeiro. The third, Arnold Classic Australia, pumped up in March 2015 in Melbourne.
This year, two festivals will complete the clan. Arnold Classic Africa is set to debut in May in Johannesburg, while Arnold Classic Asia follows in August in Hong Kong.
Motorists should plan for extra traffic and some delays downtown on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Those who normally travel on N. 3rd Street behind the Convention Center, especially those taking the ramps from I-670 to Southbound N. 3rd Street, are advised to be alert for shuttle buses entering and exiting at the Convention Center ramp.
The Arnold Pump and Run and 5K Run are scheduled for Sunday morning, March 6, beginning at 9:15 a.m. starting in the Short North. Click here for a course map.