COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS Company

This hockey team puts a new spin on the term sport coat. Colhoc Limited Partnership owns and operates the Columbus Blue Jackets professional hockey franchise. The club joined the National Hockey League as an expansion team in 2000 along with the Minnesota Wild. Columbus plays host at Nationwide Arena. The late John H. McConnell, founder of steel processing giant Worthington Industries, helped bring the hockey franchise to Columbus, Ohio. His son, John P. McConnell, continues to lead the Blue Jackets ownership group which includes The Columbus Dispatch publisher The Dispatch Printing Company. Blue Jackets fans were given a treat during the 2008-09 season when the team earned its first ever post-season appearance. Columbus was ejected from the playoffs in the first round, however, after getting swept by the Detroit Red Wings. Local insurer Nationwide put up about 90% of the construction cost to build Columbus' home venue. Dispatch Printing also joined in the $150 million project after voters turned down a measure to use local sales taxes to help cover the cost.