Tourism experts disagree on wisdom of planned convention center expansion
Overall attendance at Indiana Convention Center events has stagnated, but annual major conventions have seen explosive growth.
Tourism & Hospitality
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Colts planning to start season with home games at 15% capacity
The Indianapolis Colts are cutting back on spectator capacity in their latest health and safety plan, with hopes of boosting crowds as the season progresses, depending on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Downtown Indy launches marketing campaign to encourage people back to the Mile Square
In addition, on Friday and again on Sept. 11, dozens of community leaders will spend the day cleaning and sprucing up the area.
Photo gallery: The $58.5 million Hotel Carmichael opens in Carmel
The 110,000-square-foot hotel is situated between the Monon Trail and Veterans Way in Carmel, just south of City Center Drive.
Indiana Convention Center still hosting some events despite pandemic
The pandemic hasn’t stopped all hospitality business in Indianapolis. Nearly 40,000 people have visited downtown since the beginning of July for events at the Indiana Convention Center or at major hotels.
Council panel advances financing proposal for Indiana Convention Center expansion
The full City-County Council is expected to vote on the proposals next month. After that, the financing will need to be approved by both the Metropolitan Development Commission and the Indianapolis Bond Bank.
Uncertainty lingers over Final Four, but NCAA still eyeing April
The NCAA and the Indiana Sports Corp. both said they’re still planning for the Final Four on its original dates. Some sports business experts wonder whether the college basketball tournament could benefit from a “bubble” strategy like the NBA or NHL.
Capital Improvement Board projects $41.6M budget deficit in 2021
The Capital Improvement Board of Marion County approved a $132.3 million budget for 2021 during its Friday board meeting—a reduction of 26.4% from this year’s budget.
In Big Ten cities, fall without college football is crushing economic blow
The cancellation of the fall season promises to wallop businesses who count on those fall weekends for survival, and the economic impact likely will measure in the tens of millions in many of the small towns across the sprawling conference.
Ratio principal Bill Browne talks Pan Am Plaza project
Ratio is architect for the $550 million project by Kite Realty Group Trust that includes a Signia Hilton, an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center and—eventually—a second, 600-room Hilton-branded hotel.
Forecast says U.S. hotel occupancy might not recover until 2023
Leisure demand rises, but hotels are sorely missing business travel and group events like conferences and weddings.
State announces $10M fund to help arts, cultural organizations
The program was developed to assist and preserve the Hoosier Hospitality destinations and organizations that help enhance the quality of life the state offers.
No masks, no distance: Pandemic wedding horrors for vendors
Now that weddings have slowly cranked up under a patchwork of ever-shifting state and local restrictions, planners, photographers and other bridal vendors have a heap of new worries in the middle of the pandemic.
Performance Racing Industry hoping to hold December trade show
More than 940 exhibitors have already registered for the event, which could bring upwards of 67,000 people to the Indiana Convention Center and generate an economic impact of $65.2 million. But county health officials haven’t yet approved the event.
Eldorado Resorts has shaky record of horse-track management
To say Indiana’s horse racing industry had concerns about Eldorado Resorts Inc. taking over the state’s two horse-racing casinos would be putting it mildly.
Proposed 40-story Signia at Pan Am Plaza to shake up hotel landscape
The $300 million hotel will be the most expensive and elaborate new lodging project built in the city since the $450 million JW Marriott complex was completed in 2011. And it will compete directly with the JW.
Carmel cancels Christkindlmarkt, ice skating due to coronavirus concerns
The two winter attractions drew more than 300,000 people to the northern Indianapolis suburb over a four-month period last winter, the city said.
City, Kite reach deal for $550M Pan Am Plaza project—with up to 2-year delay
The city will not subsidize construction of Kite’s two hotels on the site but will ask the City-County Council to authorize a $150 million bond to finance an addition to the Indiana Convention Center.
Hotels at Pan Am Plaza to create 600 jobs paying at least $14 an hour
The project, which includes plans for a $125 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center, would also create 2,500 construction jobs before completion in 2025.
Five things to know about the planned redevelopment of Pan Am Plaza
The project, expected to cost as much as $550 million to construct, has been in the works for years as Kite and the city worked to reach an agreement.