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Some hotels across downtown Indianapolis are expected to hit full or near-full capacity this weekend, fueled by a convergence of multiple events: WNBA All-Star Weekend, Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration and a jewelers convention.
“Of 2,284 guest rooms, we are going to be in a complete complex sell-out at the JW and the Marriott IndyPlace for Thursday, Friday and Saturday,” JW Marriott General Manager Phil Ray told IBJ. That complex includes the JW, the Marriott Downtown, The Courtyard, The Springhill Suites and The Fairfield Inn. Visit Indy, the city’s tourism organization, estimates there are 7,500 hotel rooms across downtown Indianapolis.
Because of the high demand, Ray said average nightly rates for individual travelers have spiked to $400 to $600 across the Marriott complex.
The city was chosen to host the All-Star game only a year ago, Ray said, and the JW already had a block of rooms reserved for another event. Members of the Independent Jewelers Organization, which hosts its Summer Show at the Indiana Convention Center July 19-22, booked between 500 and 800 rooms at the hotel before All-Star Weekend was announced.
“We had some decent business on the books, and then kind of layered in on top of it, the WNBA, on top of Summer Celebration,” he said. “So, it’s just kind of another typical Indianapolis weekend. There are always a lot of events between groups and conventions and events, and it really fills up our hotels and keeps our restaurants and bars busy.”
Guests without tickets to the game will still be able to watch at the JW’s in-house sports bar, High Velocity, Ray said. The bar is among the dozens of downtown businesses offering All-Star themed promotions—in this case, a $35 meal deal and a special cocktail.
The InterContinental Hotel is also set for a sold-out weekend, a hotel representative told IBJ. As of Monday afternoon, a Thursday-to-Sunday stay in a classic room started at $650 per night for non-members, and a room overlooking Monument Circle started at nearly $700 for non-members. Both of those prices are pre-tax, according to the website, and limited space was available.
For the same time period, a three-night stay at the upscale Bottleworks Hotel on Massachusetts Avenue started at $999 per night. Traditional guest rooms at the Sheraton downtown were available for around $365 per night. The Crowne Plaza, just a few blocks from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, had standard rooms available for as low as $287.
Chris Gahl, executive vice president with Visit Indy, told IBJ that the confluence of events has led to a “jam-packed” downtown, expected to spill into other parts of the city.
“Women’s basketball is incredibly popular. We have, in addition to that, the fact that it’s summer travel and kids are out of school and have the ability to move and visit our city,” Gahl said. “And then with Summer Celebration and an existing audience and built-in visitor headcount already on the ground—you put those pieces together and it feels like we could tip into 85,000, 95,000 or maybe even 100,000 (people) over the course of the weekend.”
2025 WNBA All-Star Game ticket prices
Tickets for the All-Star Game, happening July 19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, sold out within minutes, and high demand has made it even harder for some fans looking to score a ticket on the secondary market.
Team (Caitlin) Clark and Team (Napheesa) Collier will square off Saturday night with rosters featuring basketball stars like Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings and the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese.
Verified resale ticket prices start at $138 in the upper sections and reach up to $7,018 for a fifth-row floor seat on Ticketmaster.
Tickets can also be found on third-party resale sites like StubHub, with prices ranging from $146 in upper sections to $12,179 for a seventh-row floor seat.
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Family of 3.
100$/meal
1000$ 3 day room if you are lucky
Travel$
Dog sitter$
Yikes..
Hello to little league at the park
Indy has had some HUGE events come to the city. Super Bowl, NCAA mens and women’s final fours, BIG TEN Football championship and The College Football Championship, Olympic swim trials. Now we have seen The NBA ALL STAR and WNBA ALL STAR. If Indy is awarded a major soccer league team, I could see a major soccer event held in Indy soon. Jw and other hoteliers tried to fight against the new Hilton Signia from being built and without it Indy wouldn’t even been in the conversation for any of these events. Nashville has made it clear they’re coming for some of the major events that comes to Indy. This means Indy can’t rest with major developments and its never ending. To maintain what we have we need to build even more hotels and entertainment venues. I would suggest Indy build a signature facility that has stunning modern architecture that will draw visitors to marvel at. Our peer cities like Nashville, Kansas City and the Ohio cities are pouring billions into their downtowns to overtake Indy. Competition is fierce……,
Some of those events were signed long before the Hilton Signia was under consideration.
Yet another example of why Indy needs to make the investment to develop the canal into a destination with restaurants, and more. The use of the area outside the state office building as their smoking area is embarrassing and does not reflect well on our city. Same could be said for the medians along West St. and other major thoroughfares as throughout the city, dead trees, weeds and trash welcome you to the Crossroads of America.