Lesley Weidenbener: All the events we can possibly cover

I can’t believe it’s mid-March—and I assume many of you feel the same. As we get older, the years seem to just fly by—especially when there’s a lot going on.

I swear it was just yesterday (it was actually November) that the IBJ team was having its initial meetings about how we were going to cover the barrage of events that have crowded the Indianapolis calendar in 2024.

First, NBA All-Star Weekend, then the eclipse, the elections, the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, the National Eucharistic Congress and Taylor Swift. That list doesn’t include standbys like the Indianapolis 500, new events like the I Made Rock ‘n’ Roll Black music festival scheduled for May and unexpected news, including the anticipated (but not yet official) arrival of women’s basketball phenom Caitlin Clark, whom the Indiana Fever are expected to draft.

We’re working to cover all of these big stories—in addition, of course, to the normal course of news that keeps our team buzzing. A story about Clark led the paper last week, when we also featured a report about how small companies are trying to use the eclipse—and the hundreds of thousands of people expected to travel to Indiana—to boost business.

Look for more eclipse coverage in the coming weeks, not only in IBJ and at IBJ.com but also from Inside INdiana Business. This week, for example, Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick will focus on eclipse activities in Vincennes (my hometown) and look to see what hospitals are doing across the state to prepare for the crowds.

Also this week, reporter Dave Lindquist’s IBJ cover story about concerts includes a look at who’s performing at the I Made Rock ‘n’ Roll event and some information about Swift’s three-night stand at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Secondary-market tickets for one of the Swift dates are difficult to find for less than $1,000 apiece, Dave writes.)

And we are well into planning our U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials coverage—an event of incredible magnitude. Organizers expect some 250,000 people will attend some or all of the nine days of swimming, which will be staged in Lucas Oil Stadium. That’s right. In a football stadium for the first time ever.

The event will mark the 100-year anniversary of the first swimming trials in Indianapolis, which also came in advance of Olympic Games in Paris. That’s not lost on organizers, who are planning a festival around the trials that will include construction of a 66-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower that will be fabricated in Indianapolis and placed at a yet-to-be-announced location downtown.

The trials will also include the Toyota Aqua Zone, a fan event, and outdoor festivities planned on Georgia Street and part of South Meridian Street, an area that will collectively be known as “USA Swimming Live” and feature 10 nights of free concerts.

A month later, Indianapolis will host the National Eucharistic Congress, a five-day meeting that is expected to bring tens of thousands of Catholics to the city from across the country. It’s the first meeting of its kind to be held in the United States in 83 years.

From there, it’s NASCAR returning to the oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Taylor Swift at Lucas Oil and more.

IBJ’s interest in these events is multifaceted. We write about the economic impact from the thousands of people who come to stay in Indianapolis hotels and eat at area restaurants. We’re interested in how the city handles the events and whether the city and state can leverage the opportunities for economic development. And we just think they’re interesting.

So don’t blink, or you’ll miss some great coverage in the coming months. We’re excited to bring it to you.•

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Weidenbener is editor of IBJ. Email her at lweidenbener@ibj.com.