The Indiana Sports Corp. would be responsible for administering a grant program to disperse the funds, with the organization giving money to groups across the state as well as using a portion of the funding for its own bidding efforts.
Hospitality officials had expected an economic impact approaching $100 million for the NCAA Final Four alone, but that estimate was made before the pandemic put severe attendance limits on the tourney.
This year’s hackathon, to take place Oct. 22-24 at Butler University, will focus on sports-related applications for 5G wireless technology.
The submissions—which are forerunners to formal bids—detail the city’s interesting in hosting the NFL scouting combine from 2023 to 2027 and the the draft in either 2025 or 2027.
During Vaughn’s time as president, the Sports Corp. has hosted or won bids to host an NBA All-Star Game, multiple Big Ten championships, the College Football Playoff national championship, and myriad NCAA tournaments and championships—including the 2021 Men’s Basketball Championship, which took place wholly in Indiana.
Jennifer Baker took a leave from her job as executive director of the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana to help the Indiana Sports Corp. host the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this spring in Indianapolis.
IBJ chose the Indiana Sports Corp.’s president, Ryan Vaughn, and board vice chairman, Jennifer Pope Baker, as the first recipients of the Forty Under 40 Alumni Award in recognition of their work to pull off the unprecedented NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this spring. IBJ talked to Vaughn and Baker about how the process went.
While they’re sequestered during March Madness, teams are ordering everything from pizza to soul food—and local restaurants are seeing a much-needed bump in business as a result.
What can go wrong? What problems need to be overcome? Just about anything you can imagine—and more.
The exceptional circumstances and unique demands of an event this complex provide an invaluable proving ground.
What’s in it for the individuals, organizations and companies that donate money to the efforts? Not typically tickets or advertising or big shout-outs. It’s civic pride more than anything else.
The Indianapolis Colts are among the 50 companies that have donated money to the Indy Championships Fund to help bring three huge sports events to Indianapolis: the NCAA Tournament underway now, the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2022 and the NBA All-Star Game in 2024. But the Colts have done more than donate. Pete Ward, the team’s chief operating officer, is on the fund’s board as well as the board of the Indiana Sports Corp., which is coordinating the effort.
Visit Indy plans to bring in a small group of “key decision-makers” from across the United States throughout the tournament, with the goal of letting major event executives safely see Indianapolis’ capabilities.
IBJ invited a group of community leaders who have been involved in sports and economic development throughout the past 40 years to talk about the city’s sports strategy, how it developed and why it remains important. The panel includes Mark Miles, Allison Melangton, Susan Williams, John Thompson and Ryan Vaughn.
It’s taken thousands of Hoosier residents willing to put community first in order to take Indy’s success to the next level.
The organization said it is “closely monitoring” the pandemic and will continue evaluating the feasibility of some fan attendance at some of the games.
Indiana Sports Corp. President Ryan Vaughn talks to host Mason King about the proposal to turn the Indiana Convention Center into a collection of basketball courts and locker rooms as well as the group’s finances and plans as it prepares to host major events in the coming months.
Local officials are betting big on Indianapolis’ continued success as a sports city by submitting two dozen bids for championship-level events slated through 2030.
Team Indiana is meant to give its members—about three dozen tourism and sports organizations across Indiana—better access to resources that will get the attention of sports governing bodies that decide where to play events.
The money is expected to go a long way in funding three events on the city’s calendar: the NBA All-Star Weekend and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four in 2021 and the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2022.
