A 325-Guest Client Appreciation Evening at Columbus' Major League Soccer Stadium
Turning a Columbus soccer stadium's field-level club into a themed, interactive event — with transportation, food, entertainment and production under one plan.
At a glance
- Scope grew after signing: Extra hour, late-night food, live-music production and décor upgrades — all added inside the same agreement
- Client: A large aviation services company
- Program: Client appreciation event
- Guests: 325
- Setting: A field-level club at a Columbus professional soccer stadium
- What we delivered: Venue and experience strategy, event design and décor, culinary and hosted bar coordination, entertainment and interactive activities, shuttle transportation, production and on-site management
The challenge
The client wanted more than an off-site reception. The goal was an evening that felt distinctly Columbus — not another hotel ballroom — and kept moving from arrival through a late-night finish.
The plan kept changing shape. Early concepts compared different venues and different group sizes. The final program grew to 325 guests and extended to midnight, so venue operations, food and beverage, entertainment, transportation and branding all had to be realigned around one run of show.
Guests weren't starting at the venue. They were coming from the convention center, so arrivals and departures had to be planned rather than assumed.
What we delivered
Venue and experience strategy. We compared venue options side by side, then recommended the stadium's field-level club — and used what made it special: a field-kick experience (weather permitting), a welcome message on the main scoreboard and a mascot appearance.
Event design, décor and floral. A soccer-inspired environment with specialty linens, floral centerpieces, tabletop games, serving staff in referee jerseys, branded signage and a custom illuminated arrival installation.
Culinary and bar. Passed bites on arrival, chef-attended and themed food stations, a dessert display, late-night pizza and a hosted bar.
Entertainment and activities. Live music on a staged production setup, a branded green-screen photo booth, foosball, arcade games and tabletop soccer — plenty of ways for guests to play, connect, take photos or simply enjoy the setting.
Shuttle transportation. We coordinated four motorcoaches looping between the convention center and the stadium throughout the evening, so guests arrived and left on the program's schedule.
On-site management. Meridian 360 staff on site from load-in through the end of the night, coordinating the venue, caterer, production, décor, activities and transportation as one operation.
How we built it
We built it for the customer's experience. Every element was designed to ensure our client's customers were entertained and carefree. A variety of activations, music, and party elements brough the energy and fun to the event and seemless transportation allowed easy arrivals and departures from the venue.
Every addition went into one agreement. The extra hour, late-night food, live-music production and décor upgrades were all added to the same agreement — one document to update, one invoice and one point of contact, rather than a new conversation with a new supplier each time.
The result
Not a ballroom. Not a rental. A night at field level — the scoreboard saying welcome, referees serving the food, games at every turn — for 325 guests, shuttled in and out on the program's schedule.
And the client kept adding to it, right up to the event — every addition landing in one agreement, with one invoice and one person to call.
Planning a client event or evening program in Columbus? Tell us your date, group size and the experience you have in mind, or call 614-321-7585.
