The most disappointing season in Blue Jackets history was interrupted yesterday by a stunning jolt of good news.

The 2013 NHL All-Star Game was awarded to the Jackets and will take place on Jan. 27 at Nationwide Arena. It’s a marquee event that will rival golf’s U.S. Open (1927) and Ryder Cup (1931, ’87), the U.S.-Mexico World Cup soccer qualifiers and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament as the biggest sports events in central Ohio.

“We’re going to go have a big party in a place that can host it well,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “The (2007) draft gave me a taste of what you can do in Columbus.”

For the Blue Jackets — last in the NHL and without an All-Star for today’s game in Ottawa — the announcement couldn’t have come at a better time. Bettman’s announcement came 2½ hours before a crowd of roughly 250 gathered on the steps of Nationwide Arena to protest the club’s management.

“Obviously, we’ve struggled on the competitive side of the business, and we’re all aware of that and frustrated by it,” Blue Jackets president Mike Priest said. “This is a great opportunity to celebrate hockey in Columbus and to showcase Columbus to the hockey community once again.

“We’re very excited about it. We know the hockey fans in Columbus will embrace this, and we’re giving them an opportunity to have a first-hand celebration with the league’s best and brightest stars.”

Bettman referred to the protest as a “demonstration of passion” and he urged local fans to keep the faith.

“As frustrated as anybody who follows the team may be, their level of frustration doesn’t reach Mike’s or John’s,” he said, referring to Priest and majority owner John P. McConnell. “If you think their idea of a good time or their plan is to have a team that’s less than competitive, you don’t understand them. They’re very frustrated and they know there’s work to be done.

“I understand when fans get disappointed. But if you take a deep breath and a step back … it can turn around very quickly.”

The Blue Jackets have made bids to play host to the All-Star Game as far back as 2001, their second season in the league.

Two years ago, the club, with the help of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, put in bids for the 2013, ’14 or ’15 games, but the league made the bids contingent on the Blue Jackets getting its long-sought financial fix in the form of a new lease agreement with Nationwide Arena.

That matter was settled last month when Franklin County approved a plan to buy Nationwide Arena with tax money generated by the West Side casino, which is under construction.

Bettman reiterated the two issues were linked, but said there was no quid pro quo.

“We believe once the outstanding issues were resolved, this would be an excellent time for us to show our commitment to the Blue Jackets and the city of Columbus,” Bettman said. “There was no express agreement to do it now, but we believe it felt right, in light of everything that was going on, to demonstrate our belief in the Blue Jackets.”

The Blue Jackets have told the NHL that they will make a series of upgrades to Nationwide Arena — including, possibly, a new or upgraded scoreboard — but Priest was not willing to discuss those yesterday.

“A whole lot of planning to do,” he said.

The All-Star Game is the main event, but it’s really a three-day party that brings the league’s top players, agents, general managers and sponsors to town.

The Greater Columbus Sports Commission has predicted $12 million in revenue for Columbus, roughly four times what the 2007 draft brought. That event’s legacy, though, will be that it showed the NHL — and the larger hockey world — that central Ohio is passionate about the sport.

Nationwide Arena’s lower bowl and most of the upper bowl were packed for the first round of the draft, which is unusual when the event is in a so-called nontraditional hockey market. Almost across the board, the event drew rave reviews from those attending.

“I’d never had an opportunity to spend a couple of nights in your city before, to spend time in the Arena District,” Bettman said. “That didn’t exist before the Blue Jackets arrived. It’s a place that works well. It’s a place that is comfortable. People can come here and know they’re going to have a good time.”

Two weeks ago, the NHL notified the Blue Jackets that they could land the 2013 game if they still could fulfill the bid proposals they submitted two years earlier.

By the middle of last week, as the details began to take shape, the Blue Jackets’ confidence began to swell. Late Friday, the last of the details — enough open Downtown hotel rooms for the weekend of Jan. 26-27 — was confirmed and put to rest.

“We were pretty excited to get that call,” Priest said.

The Blue Jackets said those who have full, half and quarter season-ticket packages will be guaranteed the opportunity to purchase tickets for the All-Star Game and the Skills Competition, held the night before the game.

aportzline@dispatch.com