As the weather gets colder, the sporting competition is heating up in Indianapolis! We are thrilled that the NBA All-Star Game and the NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships are coming to Indianapolis over the next few months. To speak on these events, we interviewed Mr. Patrick Talty, GIPC Board Member and President of Indiana Sports Corp. (Graphics from Indiana Sports Corp)
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Can you provide a brief history of Indiana Sports Corp?
Founded in 1979, Indiana Sports Corp was the nation’s first sports commission. The mission is to create positive impact by hosting world-class sporting events that enhance vibrancy in the community, build civic pride, drive economic impact and media exposure, and encourage opportunities for youth. For more than 40 years, Indiana Sports Corp has played host to more than 500 national and international sporting events. Those events include Super Bowl XLVI (2012), 11 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Final Fours, including the entire Men’s Basketball Championships in 2021, College Football Playoff National Championship (2022), 1987 Pan American Games, 19 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (soon to be 20 with Swimming returning in June), 12 Big Ten Football Championships Games, and nearly 40 Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball Championships. These sporting events have led to over $4 billion in direct spending in our community over that time period and countless legacy projects that continue to positively impact our community.
There are many sporting events coming to Indianapolis! How does Indiana Sports Corp help in bringing these events to Indy?
We work with event owners and event partners to bid on and attract large-scale sporting events to our city. We also work with several partners downtown to help submit bids that will help accomplish the event partner’s goal for the event. We see ourselves as the convener in bringing all the needed entities together to put the best bid forward on behalf of the community. We also recruit community members for Local Organizing Committees (LOCs) to push the event to new heights. We have also begun working on creating our own events. Most notably, in 2022 we held the first Indy Classic, a men’s college basketball doubleheader, in partnership with Pacers Sports & Entertainment and Russ Potts Productions. This past December we held the second annual Indy Classic featuring Indiana State taking on Ball State along with a battle of top-3 ranked teams in Purdue and Arizona.
What 2024 events are you looking forward to most?
2024 is going to be the most legendary year this city has ever seen. The schedule of events this year will be something Indy talks about for decades. NBA All-Star 2024 will be the most fan-centric and fan-accessible All-Star Weekend in history led by Pacers Sports & Entertainment. In March, college basketball will take over the city with Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Championships, NCAA Division I First and Second Rounds at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, followed by the semifinals and finals of both the historic National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and the brand-new Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) at Hinkle Fieldhouse. This summer, the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming will take over downtown June 15-23. For nine days, 1,500 athletics will compete for their spot to represent Team USA at the Paris Olympic Games later this summer. For the first time ever, this event will be staged at a football stadium with Lucas Oil Stadium playing host. All nine nights of the Trials will be broadcast on NBC in primetime. That does not even include the return of the NFL Scouting Combine in early March, the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships at the IU NAT, the Big Ten Football Championship Game and the 2024 Indy Classic in December.
How will the city be celebrating?
The city will be activating for all of these events in a number of unique ways. Signage is already going up across downtown for NBA All-Star 2024 including a full-scale basketball court being set up at our award-winning airport. For the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming, a large part of the downtown footprint will be dedicated to celebrating and welcoming athletes and fans. Starting at Monument Circle down Meridian to Georgia Street and into the Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, it will all be used to celebrate both the event and our city with live music and fan-centric activities to create a party-like atmosphere in honor of the event. You may or may not even see an Eiffel tower being setup in downtown as well in honor of the 2024 Olympics being held in Paris.
How can GIPC members get involved?
There are two great ways that GIPC members can get involved:
- Volunteer – Indianapolis is the premier host city in the country because no other city comes together to put on large-scale events like the ones coming in 2024. That is in large part due to the countless volunteers that give their time and talent to help put our best foot forward when events like these come to our city. To learn more and get involved, click here.
- Experience the Events – There is no better way to support these events then by coming down and joining the fun. You do not need to be a sports fan to enjoy all of the activations that will be taking over downtown this year. You can either buy a ticket (Single-Day tickets for the U.S. Swim Trials are on sale now), or plan to take advantage of all that Indy has to offer during these events from the entertainment, food, and art that will be on full display.
2024 is going to be a legendary year and we hope to see you downtown to experience all the fun an excitement!