A record 28.8 million people visited the Indianapolis in 2017, generating a $5.4 billion economic impact, according to figures released Wednesday afternoon by Visit Indy as part of its State of Tourism event.
A bill filed by Senate Appropriations Chairman Ryan Mishler would extend the life of multiple tourism- and entertainment-related taxes that help fund the Capital Improvement Board and expand the footprint of what’s known as the Professional Sports Development Area to capture even more tax revenue for the CIB. But there’s a catch.
Nearly 30 years after coming to Indianapolis to head the city’s convention efforts, Barney Levengood is retiring later this year.
The Capital Improvement Board of Managers will ask lawmakers for more long-term funding that could be used in part for improvements at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The governor says he’s ready to listen.
The city’s tourism agency plans to ask the Marion County Capital Improvement Board of Managers for an increase in funding, but is planning a slightly smaller overall budget in 2019.
Under an agreement with the state, FFA will receive $500,000 annually over the seven-year extension, which will help pay for convention-related expenses.
The National FFA Convention & Expo says the event, which draws nearly 70,000 visitors, had an estimated economic impact of $39.8 million when it was hosted here this year.
The Capital Improvement Board will seek at least $8 million from lawmakers to help fund what officials say will be a 25-year plan for improvements in the Indiana Convention Center, Bankers Life Fieldhouse and other facilities the CIB owns.
Hospitality industry observers say this is far from an ideal time for Kite—a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in shopping centers—to veer outside its core business and tackle what would be a risky and colossal project that easily could cost more than $600 million.
Guest host Lindsey Erdody (in for Mason King) talks with IBJ reporters Hayleigh Colombo and Anthony Schoettle about the public-private project, the city’s convention business and what remains unknown about the Pan Am Plaza project.
During his remarks at the National FFA Convention and Expo at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday, President Donald Trump talked about the Pittsburgh shooting and trade deals, and brought two Indiana congressmen on stage.
The highly interactive and sophisticated Blue Room at this year’s National FFA Convention & Expo knocked the socks off thousands of students at the Indiana Convention Center. The initiative to highlight the advances in agricultural technology will continue year-round online.
President Donald Trump plans to speak at Bankers Life Fieldhouse at this week’s annual FFA event, which is expected to attract about 70,000 blue-jacket-wearing attendees from across the country to downtown Indianapolis.
Indianapolis is under consideration for a seven-year contract extension that would keep FFA’s giant national convention in the city until 2031—but it’s competing for the opportunity with another city.
Gen Con President David Hoppe said “new hotel developments, along with Indy’s desire for technological upgrades, have made our decision to extend with Indianapolis an easy choice.”
The Capital Improvement Board has selected a Kite Realty Group plan from among three proposals in its effort to expand the city’s convention capacity. The CIB is expected to vote Friday to move the project forward.
The Indianapolis hotel market is booming, with about 2,800 new rooms slated to come online downtown alone in the next five years.
Any earnest local or up-to-date guidebook can steer you toward obvious offerings for a uniquely Indy experience. But here are other options to consider.
Since its first iteration opened in 1972, it’s undergone four major expansions. The last one, completed in 2011, increased its size to six city blocks and more than 566,600 square feet of exhibit space—or 745,210, if you include nearby Lucas Oil Stadium.
Whether Seattle-based Gen Con and local officials can now reach an understanding on technology could spell the difference between Indianapolis’ hanging onto its most prized convention and potentially losing it to another city.
