Sports continuing to grow as statewide economic driver in Indiana
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSports in Indiana equals big business for communities large and small. Indianapolis has become synonymous with major sporting events, largely due to the efforts of the Indiana Sports Corp, but the impact of sports is spreading throughout the state.
Part of that growth is the result of Team Indiana, a not-for-profit association comprised of two dozen communities around Indiana that collaborate to bolster sports tourism.
In an interview on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick, ISC President Patrick Talty said that collaboration is key to attracting big events outside of central Indiana.
“All corners of the state now compete for sporting events, and the good thing about Team Indiana is that they’ve come together, and they’re working as a unit rather than competing against each other,” Talty said. “So really, what their goal is is to keep the events in Indiana, whatever the best community is to host those and not compete.”
But there’s more work to be done to grow the impact of sports in Indiana, according to Talty. He said the state and communities must continue to invest in facilities that are attractive to sporting events.
“You look at Evansville and Fort Wayne and [Westfield’s] Grand Park and up in South Bend; they’re all investing in new sports facilities, which when you have those new facilities, these areas with hotels and other amenities where people want to come and visit, that’s going to be huge for those events.”
The Indiana Sports Corp was founded in 1979 and was the first sports commission in the nation. Now, there are more than 300 across the country.
Since the organization’s inception, sports and related events have brought in more than $4 billion into the Indiana economy. But with the growing importance of sports in all communities, Talty said the ability to land major events has become increasingly competitive.
“We have to compete really hard on all of these bids that go out for these rights holders, because now there are 20-30 cities that want to get one of these events,” he said. “So every time you go out to bid, there are multiple cities, multiple areas across the country that can compete., and so it’s a lot harder than it used to be. And so we have to work really, really hard.”
In its most recent legislative session, the Indiana General Assembly approved the creation of a bid fund that Talty said will help attract more major events in the entire state, especially those that Indiana couldn’t compete with because it didn’t have the financial ability to go after them.
“We have a great host state. We have Hoosier hospitality. And we have an we have people who are experienced in hosting events, but we needed money to be able to go and compete with the other states such as Texas, Columbus, Nashville, and others who have bid funds.”
Indianapolis is gearing up for several major events in the coming years, including the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for swimming, the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 2026 and 2029, as well as the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2028.