Bill Seeks to Fund Event Bidding in Indiana
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A bill introduced at the Statehouse aims to create a statewide sports and tourism bid fund that would be used to help attract big events to Indiana. Senate Bill 245 says the find would be administered by the Indiana Destination Development Corp. and managed by the Indiana Sports Corp.
The bill was authored by Senators Kyle Walker (R-Lawrence), Ryan Mishler (R-Bremen), and Travis Holdman (R-Markle).
According to the bill, the IDDC would distribute the amount appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly for the fiscal year to the Indiana Sports Corp, which would award grants to organizations throughout the state to help in their bidding efforts to attract events.
The ISC would also be able to use some of the funds for its own bidding. The bill says at least 25% of the money must be used for events that would be held outside of Marion County.
Walker tells our partners at the Indianapolis Business Journal he believes the bill would create a return on investment.
“It’s repaid in the form of economic impact and direct sales tax. And there’s a proven pattern of success [with big events],” said Walker. “So, this is not an expense. It’s really an investment that has a return that pays a dividend to taxpayers across the state of Indiana.”
It is not yet known how much would be initially invested in the fund. The Senate Appropriations Committee is slated to hold a hearing on the bill on Thursday.
You can read more from the IBJ’s Mickey Shuey by clicking here.