Event & Arena News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 12, 2004

RIGHT OUT OF ATHENS. . .2004 ROCK & ROLL GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS TOUR PRESENTS NEW SHOW COMBINING OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS COMPETING TO TODAY’S HOTTEST HITS and FEATURING A SPECIAL CONCERT BY POP SUPERSTAR JOJO SEPTEMBER 9 AT NATIONWIDE ARENA

Olympic and World Champion gymnasts Paul Hamm, Blaine Wilson, Morgan Hamm, Svetlana Khorkina, Shannon Miller and members of America’s 2004 Olympic team headline competition

Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze medal-winning gymnasts from the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, and other Olympic and world champion gymnasts, along with pop sensation JoJo, a lineup of hip dancers and a master DJ, present the 2004 Rock & Roll Gymnastics Championships Tour at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, September 9 at 7 p.m. Tickets go on sale Monday, August 16 at 10 a.m. at the Nationwide Arena Ticket Office and through Ticketmaster.

The all-new arena show is the first-ever entertainment production combining Olympic sports with a live pop music concert and the unique element of competition. A major component to each show will be men's and women's competitions in which each athlete will perform two floor routines to the hottest music on the pop charts today. The emphasis will be on the entertainment aspects of the routine as well as the gymnasts' superb athletic performances. Celebrity judges will preside at each tour stop.

The 16-city gymnastics and pop music extravaganza is produced by Edge Entertainment and Inversion Entertainment with Mike Burg and Mike Rice serving as executive producers. Burg co-produced gymnastics tours following the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

Headlining the men's competition are United States Olympians and Columbus favorites Paul Hamm, the current world Men's All-Around Champion, his twin brother, two-time national champion Morgan Hamm, and Blaine Wilson, the three-time Olympian and five-time national champion.

On the women's side, Russian beauty Svetlana Khorkina, the current World All-Around Champion, a three-time Olympian and a multi-Gold Medalist, will headline the competition. She will be joined by Shannon Miller, who has won more Olympic and World Championship Medals than any other American gymnast. Also appearing will be 1996 Gold-medalist Dominique Moceanu along with world champions Tasha Schwikert, Chellsie Memmel and Hollie Vise. As medals are won in Athens, additional gymnasts will be added to the tour.

The 2004 Rock & Roll Gymnastics Championships will be hosted by pop music sensation JoJo starring in her first U.S. tour. She will perform her chart topper "Leave (Get Out)" as well as other songs from her current self titled album.

Reserved tickets are $86 for "celebrity front row," $66 for VIP, $46 and $26 for reserved along $16 general admission tickets. Prices include facility fee. Tickets may be purchased at the Nationwide Arena Ticket Office, at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, online at ticketmaster.com or by phone at (614) 431-3600. Tickets are also available at the Blue Jackets Zones at Chiller Dublin and the Chiller Easton. All tickets are subject to service charges and facility fees.

For more information about upcoming events at Nationwide Arena, visit www.NationwideArena.com or call (614) 246-2000. Nationwide Arena, home of the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets, is an SMG-managed facility. Headquartered in Philadelphia, SMG provides facility services to 165 venues controlling over 1.4 million entertainment seats worldwide.