COLUMBUS, OHIO – Veterans Memorial, home of the Arnold Sports Festival since 1989 and host of bodybuilding shows involving Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger since 1970, will dedicate an 8-foot, 600-pound bronze statue of Schwarzenegger that will be placed in the famed auditorium’s front lawn during the 2012 Arnold Sports Festival. The statue will be dedicated in a ceremony March, 2012, an event that will help kick off the 24th Annual Arnold Sports Festival, which has grown to feature 18,000 athletes competing in 45 sports and events. More than 175,000 fans are expected to attend over four days, making it one of the largest sports festivals in the world. www.arnoldsportsfestival.com. The Sports Festival generates over 40 million dollars of revenue for the city of Columbus, Ohio USA annually.

The statue – featuring Schwarzenegger is a competitive pose from his bodybuilding days and an exact replica of one placed at an Austrian museum dedicated to Schwarzenegger that opened in October 2011 – was bequeathed to City of Columbus, Franklin County and Veterans Memorial by Dr. Robert Goldman (www.DrBobGoldman.com, www.waaam.net/robert_goldman.php) on behalf of the International Sports Hall of Fame. Schwarzenegger will be among the International Sports Hall of Fame’s first class that is inducted at the 2012 Arnold Sports Festival, where it is held annually. When asked why he is sponsoring the statue to the city, Goldman said, “my close friendship with Governor Schwarzenegger spans over 25 years and he is one of the most remarkable and accomplished people i have had the honor of knowing.”

“In my opinion, He was the greatest Chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports in history and i had the honor of serving with him on the Council. He is probably not only the best bodybuilder in history, but even more importantly, he has created amazing global programs in fitness and health that have inspired millions of people, young and old, to be fit and active. His statue will be in good company for the city of Columbus, since the bronze statue of Christopher Columbus is right down the block. It took only a 1/2 a second to accept the privilege of doing this for Gov Arnold and the city of Columbus.”