GCCC ADDS TESLA AND UNIVERSAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS TO GOODALE GARAGE

(Columbus, February 15, 2019) – The ASM-managed Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC) has added and activated 20 vehicle-charging stations within its Goodale Garage.

“As electric vehicles (EVs) increase in popularity, we are proud to add quick-charging stations to accommodate motorists, including event attendees, area employees, travelers and visitors to the Short North Gallery Hop,” said GCCC Assistant General Manager Ryan Thorpe.  “We are thrilled to be able to offer EV owners this new amenity and add to the city’s inventory of charging stations in support of Smart Columbus’ own goals.”

All charging stations are located on the first level of the Goodale Garage.  EV owners will be charged $2 per hour to park their vehicles while charging and can pay for parking via their phone and the city’s new ParkMobile ParkColumbus app.

The Goodale Garage now has 10 Tesla Supercharging stations and 10 Level 2 universal EV charging stations available for use. Superchargers are 480-volt, fast-charging stations that are part of the world’s fastest charging network, according to Tesla.  The Level 2 universal EV charging stations supply 240 volts of electricity and provide about 25 to 38 miles of range per hour of charging.

Although the Goodale Garage is currently the sole location of the GCCC’s five parking areas presently offering a mixture of Tesla and Level 2 EV charging stations, more EV charging capabilities may be added in the future if the program is successful.

The GCCC’s parking facilities include the Goodale Garage, Vine Street Garage, South Garage, East Lot, North Lot and the 650-space Ohio Center Garage currently under construction.

The 800-space Goodale Garage opened in 2016 and is also known as a “gallerage” featuring artwork throughout its eight levels as part of the largest contemporary collection of central Ohio art.

New electric vehicle registrations in the Columbus region increased by 65 percent from the first quarter of 2017 through the second quarter of 2018, growing faster than in the Midwest or U.S. overall. Local efforts to increase EV sales are driven by Smart Columbus, which as the recipient of a $10 million grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, is committed to increasing EV sales as a percentage of vehicles sold by nearly 500 percent– from 0.37 percent in 2015 to 1.8 percent by 2020.

“Long-range batteries and expanded access to charging make it even easier to travel distances long or short in an electric vehicle,” said Mark Patton, vice president, Smart Columbus for the Columbus Partnership. “The new chargers at the Greater Columbus Convention Center will make driving an electric vehicle even more convenient for Columbus’ growing population of EV drivers, and will show visitors that Columbus is a forward-thinking, smart destination.”

Tesla was founded in 2003 to produce in Fremont, California the first premium all-electric sedan electric vehicles and clean energy generation and storage products. Today, Tesla is ranked as the world’s best-selling, plug-in passenger car manufacturer by brand and automotive group. During the summer of 2018, 54 percent of electric vehicles sold in the Columbus region were manufactured by Tesla, according to Smart Columbus.