The all-star game in Indianapolis brought in about $320 million according to the Visit Indy. Chris Gal, the executive vice president of Visit Indy said, "We're ecstatic about the economic impact that our city has felt and will feel for the last four days." It is estimated that the projected economic impact was about $320 million, which includes about $60 million of earned media value for the city and state. Nothing is official but Visit Indy and Pacers Sports & Entertainment say they are hopeful.
Chris Gahl said that Marion County hotels were virtually sold out for 4 nights and he believes they could command rated double/triple what a normal weekend goes for, as he says, "Supply and demand was in full effect and our hotels were virtually sold out in downtown Indianapolis. We saw strong compression around Marion County around the metropolitan statistical area. We have reports that visitors were checking in as far north as South Bend, and as far south as Bloomington. We know the Airbnb listings in Marion County were virtually taken." Otis Brown, a local business owner, said, "It was a once in a lifetime. It was big, it was big. I'm just grateful for the opportunity," Indianapolis has to turnover quickly because the combine is rolling into town soon after.
link: Indy sees boost in economy following All-Star weekend (wrtv.com)
5 comments:
How does the economic impact of hosting the all-star game compare to other major events that have been hosted in major cities in the past?
Do we know what measures were taken by Indianapolis to accommodate the influx of visitors during the all-star game? And how do you think these efforts contributed to the reported economic impact on the city?
Good to see a positive report from hosting these kinds of events. I feel like there are more and more pieces on the negatives of hosting national/global events, and hosting sports teams in cities.
What will be the lasting impacts on the Indy after this huge surge in economic activity? I think it is likely that all will return to normal, but that leaves the question of where did all this money go.
It's definitely nice to get a very positive report on how an event like this has benefited Indy in times where all we hear about are things like Miami's un-welcomeness to spring breakers and other cities not being very welcome to large events. Sure large events can cause a temporary disrupt for a few days in the city, but the economic output outweighs the disrupt the majority of the time.
Post a Comment