Arena District plan has become a blueprint for development in other cities

It was an unusual strategy at the time: Build an arena in a beat-up area of downtown, with plans to surround it with office buildings, restaurants, entertainment venues and apartments, in hopes of turning it around. • Now 15 years after the first puck was dropped at Nationwide Arena, the strategy not only succeeded, but it also has become a blueprint for development in a growing number of other cities.