It started as a meeting seven years ago between the NCAA, city and state officials, representatives of the Indiana
Sports Corp. and a few others. The result was an agreement
assuring Indianapolis hosts a major NCAA event every year between now and 2039.
Organizers credit stronger ticket-selling efforts and new promotions for boosting attendance to more than 81,000, the highest
it’s been since the tournament became an annual event in Indianapolis.
The Big Ten men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be held in Indianapolis the next two years, but the conference’s
future in the city is uncertain after 2012.
Indianapolis was one of 18 cities included in United State’s bid to host World Cup Soccer event in 2018 or 2022.
I loved [Benner’s Dec. 14] column [about Indiana Sports Corp.]. Thirty years is not a long history, but I’ll bet most folks in Indy don’t
know about this.
Lucas Oil Stadium suite holders are upset that the NCAA is taking their luxury boxes for the men’s basketball Final Four
in April and reselling them on the secondary—or scalpers—market.
Dramatic decreases in sponsorship and ticket revenue this year and the recent resignation of the Circle City Classic’s
new executive director have some questioning if the event can survive. Now Classic leaders are considering a bevy of bold changes.
The director of the Circle City Classic announced his resignation Monday, just four months after taking the job.
A little more than six months before the 2010 NCAA men’s Final Four is set to tip off at Lucas Oil Stadium, the NCAA
has not yet finalized a rental deal for the facility. While officials for the NCAA and Local Organizing Committee,
the group charged with operating the event in Indianapolis, downplay any problems, sports business experts say it is unusual
not to have an agreement pinned down in the months leading up to the event.
Ten years ago this week, the National Collegiate Athletic Association opened the doors to its new headquarters in White River
State Park.
Indianapolis’ hard-earned title of amateur sports capital seems to be peeling away like the paint on some of the city’s sports
venues.
The woman chosen as CEO of the city’s Super Bowl host committee isn’t exactly a household name, but those who hired her think
she’ll make Indianapolis the best host city ever.
If the city is serious about continuing to use amateur athletics as an economic tool, more collaboration among the university,
city leaders and sports organizations is clearly needed.
Long-range plans for IUPUI unveiled this month call for the demolition of the Michael A. Carroll Track & Field Stadium and
Indianapolis Tennis Center, raising questions about the future of sporting events held at those venues that have generated
tens of millions of dollars in economic activity for the city.
Construction of Pan Am Plaza in the mid-1980s was a major step in the evolution of Indianapolis into a sports town worthy
of hosting a Super Bowl. But the office building, parking garage, skating rinks and public gathering place came up short over
the years in other ways for both taxpayers and developer, the Indiana Sports Corp.
Tom King thinks its time to run the not-for-profit Indiana Sports Corp. with a for-profit mind-set, a change that could radically alter the organization credited with implementing the city’s amateur sports strategy.
