Columbus ranks 34th on Sporting News's annual list of nearly 400 of the country's best sports cities. So it's hardly surprising that many Central Ohio businesses entertain their clients by treating them to a game at one of the city's athletic venues.

There's plenty to see: Ohio State University's consistently top-tier football and basketball programs. Major League Soccer's 2008 defending champions, the Columbus Crew. The Columbus Blue Jackets, fresh from their first playoff berth in the National Hockey League. The annual Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour. Not to mention the shiny new Huntington Park for Minor League Baseball's Columbus Clippers.

Each venue caters to corporate suits and rabid fans alike. Here's a look at how some local businesses entertain their sports-loving clientele.

The Suite Life

The execs and clients using corporate suites or season tickets at any Columbus sports venue get a fantastic view of the game, but that's not the only perk.

Suite owners at Ohio Stadium get preferred parking around the Horseshoe, can opt for catered food, and score easy access to restrooms. "In each suite, you're out of the elements. You're warm on a cold day," says Denny Hoobler, associate athletics director and special assistant to the athletic director at Ohio State University. "It's a good way for businesses to entertain clients or potential clients, or maybe just a way to say thank you to some people."

Comfort, though, comes with a price. The 'Shoe has 81 suites-most at seven-year commitments-ranging from $25,000 to $80,000 per year. Smaller executive suites come with five game tickets and the option to buy three more per game. All other suites have 10 to 16 tickets, with an option for eight more.

Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center, which hosts OSU men's and women's basketball as well as hockey games, has 52 suites with annual leases ranging from $40,000 to $75,000. Each comes with 12 tickets and the option for four extras. Suite owners also can order up to 20 tickets for other events at the Schott (suite usage for non-OSU functions comes at an additional cost).

Both OSU venues also have club seats available for donors. To score football seats, for example, contributors must be a member of the Buckeye Club at the $2,500 level (annually), and then pony up $2,200 or $3,300 per seat per year, depending on location. At Ohio Stadium, both club seats and suites are sold out. "We have a waiting list if anything ever opens up, but I think the odds of a suite opening are very slim," says Hoobler.

Credit the power of Buckeye football. "To be able to invite some clients or potential clients to Columbus for the weekend and to be sitting in a suite for a game and not getting wet, being warm, whatever the case might be-it certainly is a plus for them," Hoobler says.

Staying warm isn't as big a problem for fans of the Columbus Clippers. Suite owners at Huntington Park still get plenty of bang for their buck, though.

"Besides great seats, the atmosphere down here is very, very good. The energy is high, it's a place to be in the heart of the Arena District," says Ken Schnacke, general manager of the Clippers. "We have different ways to view the game-whether they're hardcore baseball fans or casual fans who want business activity with the game in the background."

Selling suites at the new venue wasn't difficult, despite the recession that predated the stadium's April opening, Schnacke says. "The first two-thirds of the suites were easier because we were out ahead of the economic downturn. For the last four to six, we had to structure on shorter-term deals because companies couldn't commit to 10- or 20-year deals."

The Clippers lease 24 corporate suites-all of which are sold out-and sell another four on a game-by-game basis. Most suites have nine to 12 seats, while one "super suite" holds 48. Schnacke wouldn't divulge prices other than to say game-to-game party suites go for $600, which includes 12 seats and three VIP parking passes.

Season ticket packages also are available at $625 for 72 games. "A lot of companies are using those to entertain clients or as a reward for employees," Schnacke says.

Baseball isn't the only draw at Huntington Park. The Clippers sold tickets for Red, White & Boom and held a Dinner on the Diamond function in August. That event offered a white-tablecloth meal on the infield where 32 corporate tables went for $1,000 each. Additionally, the stadium is used during the off-season for corporate meetings and special events, Schnacke says.

Beyond Sports

At Nationwide Arena, hockey is the main draw-but owners get more than the Blue Jackets with their leases. "Suite holders get tickets to every event in the arena, not just the games. It's a wide range, from family shows to sporting events to concerts to the circus. It's an opportunity to entertain and meet clients and reward employees," says Larry Hoepfner, senior vice president of business operations for the Blue Jackets.

"Your suite lease covers all events, so you get 12 tickets to every event," says Frank Merrill, a partner with Bricker & Eckler. "That includes the Jackets games. That includes Barney on Ice or the Rolling Stones."

The law firm (which also holds a suite at the Schott) uses most of its hockey tickets to entertain clients. But many extras-like the circus-go to employees to treat their families, Merrill says.

Nationwide Arena has 52 suites with leases ranging from one to 10 years. A few are available, Hoepfner says, declining to divulge prices. "A suite environment with a wide range of events can be used to help people grow their businesses and help them grow relationships. We use them ourselves. We entertain clients, we entertain prospects, and we use them for employee recognition," he says.

Leasing a suite at Columbus Crew Stadium also pays off in more than just a stellar view of the field. "The suite is enclosed and climate controlled. For one price, you get all of the events at the stadium. All matches, all concerts and all special events," says Mark McCullers, president and general manager of the Crew. Suites also include VIP parking and on-site catering.

Crew Stadium has 26 suites with 12 to 14 seats each, starting at $30,000, as well as two party suites seating 26 or 27. Season ticket packages for club seats also are offered.

A few suites are still available, though interest and value has increased since a stage was built at the stadium's north end. "The suites that are available we sell on a game-by-game basis, and that can be a very popular option for companies that can't afford to do a multiyear lease. We've been successful with packaging those with games and concerts," McCullers says.

Building Relationships

Companies that pony up the money to lease a suite-or two or three-say the investment is worth it, even in a recession. After all, snagging just one new client or renewing or expanding an existing relationship may offset the annual buy-in. And fostering goodwill doesn't hurt, either.

"All organizations are looking for ways to show appreciation for our clientele," says Mark LaPlace, director of tax services for GBQ Partners, which has season tickets to the Jackets, Clippers and OSU basketball.

"Let's get away from their office and have a low-key, more social interaction. We're in a relationship business-the relationship is just as important as the technical work we're doing," he says.

Suites provide a venue for large groups, says Bricker & Eckler's Merrill. In addition to suites at Nationwide and the Schott, Bricker has season tickets to the Clippers and Buckeye football. "Entertainment of clients at sporting events is still a major development activity for law firms because the legal industry and business is built on relationships. It's a good forum to either develop a relationship or maintain or build upon an existing relationship," Merrill says.

Craig Marshall, Columbus managing partner for accounting firm Ernst & Young, agrees. "The biggest thing is that it helps us to have that personal touch with the client to get to know them. We spend time on a professional basis, but this allows us to both entertain and see a different side and connect on a different level," he says. The firm has "various tickets and packages at the various sports venues around town," Marshall says.

The biggest challenge facing suite holders may be how to allocate a limited number of tickets-particularly to coveted contests such as the OSU-Michigan grudge match. "We do a lottery early in the year and ask our management team what games they might be interested in," LaPlace says. "We do an allocation based on that response. I don't ask them what clients they're taking, just what games they're interested in."

Bricker & Eckler sends an e-mail at the beginning of each sports season listing available games. "The attorneys submit requests to entertain a certain client to a certain event. We allocate based on the demand or the request," Merrill says.

Hot tickets for basketball fans include OSU vs. Indiana and Michigan State, while NHL fans hope to catch the Detroit Red Wings or the Pittsburgh Penguins. "You may have a client who is based in Detroit or in northwest Ohio, and he or she follows the Red Wings. So you try to accommodate that by providing the opportunity to watch them in Columbus in our suite," Merrill says. "Often, it's because someone is an alumnus of a university. You entertain them because they went to Penn State and they want to go to a Penn State football game."

For LaPlace, Big Ten basketball and Blue Jackets playoff games are in high demand, and GBQ does its best to spread the wealth. "There is some level of pecking order, whether it is seniority or position in the organization, where they might get first pick. The real objective is to spread the season as evenly as possible across the entire management team," he says.

Family Ties

Most businesses don't limit their guest lists to the 21-and-over crowd. "If you make it into an event where he or she gets to bring their spouse or children, it's a great opportunity for the client. Kids love going to the suite. It's a big deal for them," Merrill says. A client might be hesitant to give up family time to watch Buckeye basketball. "There's not a lot of pizzazz to that. But if he gets to bring his two sons who are 10 and 8 years old, that really adds something," he says.

Children are common guests in Crew Stadium suites. "It's a very family-friendly amenity. Just about anybody in your organization or on your client list has kids who are playing soccer or have some other connection to the sport," McCullers says.

And connecting through a shared interest is the key reason sports-related entertainment is so popular for businesses. "Both the lawyer and the client typically enjoy whatever activity they're watching. So there's some mutual interest that's created, which creates conversation, which creates opportunities to talk about things other than what's occurring on the court or field or ice. And that helps to generate dialogue," Merrill says.

"I think entertaining people at sporting events has always been very prominent in society, just like going out to play golf," Schnacke says. "It's someplace their clients want to go, and that's a positive thing."

In addition to building client relationships, suite and season ticket holders foster other bonds, too, LaPlace says: "There's a community element there because these are teams that represent the community, and we ought to do our part to support that."

"Especially with the suites, there's a component of civic or community investment," Merrill says. "It's not only at Nationwide Arena and the Schott, but the performing arts, the symphony, the opera and things like that. If the larger companies don't make those investments, then those opportunities to grow the Columbus community and its reputation are lost."

Marshall agrees: "We have a strong belief that we need a strong community for Ernst & Young to be successful. The arts, the sports, the various entertainments available are an important aspect of the community."

On the Green

Doing business on the golf course is still a great way to build client relationships. But once a year, watching others golf might be even better.

The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club remains one of the hottest tickets in town, and scoring a coveted hospitality tent invite can bring just as much giddiness as shooting a hole in one.

Experience Columbus entertains its own business associates and provides a place for members to do the same through the Muirfield Hospitality Program. "We are very fortunate as a community to have such a prestigious event. It provides us the opportunity to thank our members and our clients," says Brian Ross, vice president of sales for the tourism and convention bureau.

Throughout the tournament, participants can conduct business at the Hospitality House, a private residence on the third green. Businesses order daily hospitality passes, paying only for those that are used. In 2008, 72 organizations participated in the program. The cost is $63 per person per day for members ($73 for nonmembers) and includes parking, transportation, unlimited food and beverages and private access to and from the course. Tickets are not included.

Experience Columbus also offers the Hospitality Club, which handles on-site ticket management for businesses. The service includes ticket collection and distribution, one-step check-in and secure overnight storage. The cost: $150 a day or $650 for all five days of the tournament.

The chance to see the Memorial's founding father, Jack Nicklaus, with the biggest names on the PGA Tour is a major draw for local businesses and their clients. "It's not just a golf tournament, it is Jack's golf tournament," Ross says. "It attracts top-tier golfers from all over the world, and that is evident when you have Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and a lot of the international contingency who make it a point to clear their schedules and be at this tournament."

The Memorial helps Experience Columbus grow its membership and continue partnerships. Its marketing department utilizes the tournament's popularity as an opportunity to show new and prospective members what the organization can provide them, Ross says.

In 2008, Experience Columbus started a new program for special, qualified sales leads called the Columbus Memorial Golf Experience. VIPs played golf at the country club, went into the 18th green skybox and took part in a golf school. Several high-level executives participated.

"The main reason we were able to make them consider coming into the city was the fact that they were going to be able to see and experience the Memorial Tournament," Ross says. "And because of that, we were able to help them experience the community as a whole, and now we have potential business coming in."

Michelle Davey is an editorial assistant for Columbus C.E.O.