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More than 500 people tied to the sports industry will visit downtown this week for the inaugural TEDSports Indianapolis conference, and organizers are hopeful it will leave a lasting impression on those looking to grow their businesses or host events.
The three-day conference that starts Tuesday evening will feature more than two dozen presentations, panels and breakout sessions, with executives from World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., Google, the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts and video game company Riot Games among those scheduled to speak at Old National Centre.
TEDSports Indianapolis is a collaboration between the TED organization, the Indiana Sports Corp. and Carmel-based business strategic planning firm Next Practice Partners. (TED is an acronym for technology, entertainment and design.)
“For an event that’s never existed before this … it’s been terrific to see both Indianapolis leadership show up and, at the same time, people from from 21 countries” sign up to attend, said Neelay Bhatt, founder and CEO of Next Practice Partners.
He said expectations were for anywhere from 500 to 700 people attending the conference—a goal that has been met. A few spots were still available for the event as of Monday. In March, IBJ reported that as many as 1,000 people could attend the event, but Bhatt said the focus has been less on quantity of participants and more on giving those attending a unique experience.
“TED events are so immersive, because they’re so focused on truly connecting and having genuine conversations, versus very transactional approaches found with other conferences,” he said. “So with that, it’s always intentional to keep the audiences lesser, so everyone gets to be part of the experiences.”
The run of show includes a handful of sessions featuring multiple TED Talks, the best-known element of the organization’s events, as well as hands-on “discovery” sessions at the Knightstown Gym (which was used in the film “Hoosiers”), Lucas Oil Stadium and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in-depth panel discussions and workshops on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Tuesday’s opening-evening session includes Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, who is the chief content officer for WWE.
Wednesday’s early session features Brazilian national soccer team captain Gilberto Silva and Angelo Pizzo, the writer of “Hoosiers” and “Rudy,” while the afternoon session will feature a performance from Dance Kaleidoscope and talks from X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom and Google’s Kate Johnson, who oversees global marketing for the company’s sports and entertainment division.
A Wednesday morning panel focused on women’s sports will feature Pacers Sports & Entertainment Mel Raines, TWG Motorsport Chief Operating Officer Jill Gregory and Amanda Vandervort, president of the United Soccer League-backed Gainbridge Super League.
The final day of the program will offer a morning session with talks from Marvella Foundation Chair Allison Barber, former Indiana Fever player Tamika Catchings, NFL executive Troy Vincent and NCAA President Charlie Baker. In the afternoon, ESPN anchor Hannah Storm will be among those to take the stage.
Kalen Jackson, one of the three owners of the Indianapolis Colts, is scheduled to participate in a panel focused on mental health Thursday morning along with former U.S. women’s national soccer team captain Hope Solo and Dr. Jesse Andrew Steinfeldt, sports psychologist at Indiana University.
Bhatt said TEDSports is an important event for the city because it creates opportunities for attendees to see Indianapolis firsthand as more than just a city known for hosting events.
“It’s steps like this that are huge along the way, that allow people to see our entire ecosystem as a sports and business leader,” he said. “We’ve been among the best in the world and the best in the country for a long time when it comes to sporting events. But I think this gives us a chance as a sports business community to showcase ourselves.”
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