Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe lucrative National FFA convention will be split between Indianapolis and Louisville from 2013 to 2019, the Louisville television station WHAS-TV Channel 11 reported last night, citing unnamed sources familiar with an announcement planned this morning.
Indianapolis snatched rights from Louisville to host the convention from 2006 to 2012 after Louisville had seen the blue-jacketed high school students flock to its hotels from 1998 to 2005.
The convention attracts more than 50,000 members along with their advisers and agribusiness representatives.
Officials of the Indianapolis-based organization had struggled to weigh pros and cons of each city.
Indianapolis was thought to offer more of an urban experience for the members, many of whom are from rural areas. Indianapolis also has a more convenient set of venues downtown and nicer hotels. However, Indianapolis hotels are more expensive than those in Louisville-raising costs to the point FFA officials suspected attendance was being hurt.
Indianapolis and Louisville were named as the sole finalists early this year after Minneapolis and Kansas City, Mo., were eliminated.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.