Organization working to grow Indiana’s sports technology sector
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana’s sports technology sector is growing and working to revolutionize how fans and athletes experience sports.
In September, the Indiana Sports Corp unveiled its 2050 Vision—a five-pronged approach that includes a focus on sports technology and a goal of being the country’s sports tech hub.
“All the ingredients are here in Indiana, all the way back to over 100 years ago when the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built. That was built for innovation,” Sports Tech HQ Executive Director Jeff Hintz said in an interview with Inside INdiana Business. “Here we are 100+ years later really leaning into our ‘sport-conomy’ as I call it and leaning into tech, because we have to evolve.”
Sports Tech HQ is an initiative launched by the Indiana Sports Corp in 2022 to attract sports tech startups to the state.
Earlier this month, the organization announced a partnership with Purdue University that’s designed to connect early-stage sports tech startups with Purdue in ways that benefit both the startups and the university.
“[It’s going to] train the next generation of minds to enter the market and help these companies that we’re bringing from all over the world,” Hintz said. “That partnership is all about collaboration…[and] unleashing the talent that we have here in Indiana.”
Nearly 40 companies make up the organization’s collective, and Hintz says Indiana’s business community and network are assets.
“Once you start talking about what we have here, the biggest thing is relationship capital…people have a choice where they live now and where they grow their business,” Hintz said. “Indiana is a friendly business community.”
Indianapolis will host the 2025 WNBA All Star Weekend next summer and the Pro Volleyball Federation announced last week its inaugural All-Star Match will take place at the Fishers Event Center in February.
READ MORE: Raines: Indy looks to ‘redefine’ WNBA All-Star Weekend