LOPRESTI: International players bring a world of talent to Victory Field
This summer coalition of Indians reminds us of a truth: Doesn’t matter what language you speak, baseball can be hard.
Sports/Recreation
Articles
Tee-time brokerages roil golf industry
Are tee-time brokers like GolfNow knocking cash-strapped courses into the rough? Or could the Expedia-like providers be the chip shot courses need to get back on the green?
LOU’S VIEWS: Greens days at the IMA
The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s artist-designed mini-golf course is likely to be a temptation for anyone who has ever swatted a colored ball and kept score with a tiny pencil.
Grand Park had $150M economic impact in 2015, study says
Grand Park Sports Campus topped 1 million visitors last year, which helped to more than double visitor spending in the community and push the economic impact to more than $150 million.
Entrepreneur goes national with Ninja Zone aimed at boys
Casey Wright has licensed Ninja Zone to 130 gymnastics clubs in 42 states enrolling 10,000 boys. She hopes to hit 500 gyms by the end of this year.
Penalties for pot use easing for college athletes
An AP investigation found that some major universities are lightening punishments for athletes using marijuana. The Indianapolis-based NCAA has halved its suspension for testing positive for street drugs at championship events.
NBA chief wants all-star event here, but Indy hasn’t put forth proposal
Indianapolis hasn’t hosted the NBA All-Star Game since 1985—when it was in the Hoosier Dome—something the league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, wants to change. But local officials haven’t pulled the trigger on a bid.
IUPUI lures new athletic director from Wright State
Roderick Perry, senior associate director of athletics for Wright State University, will assume his new role with IUPUI on Jan. 1. He succeeds Michael Moore, who held the job for 19 years.
Hotel at Grand Park could be six stories with up to 225 beds
Westfield asked for proposals for a “lodging solution” on 5.26 acres of city-owned property immediately to the west of the future indoor soccer facility on 191st Street. Now officials are negotiating with bidder Jonathan Byrd’s, which offered a plan for a 180-bed hotel.
Marathon joins unique, Gannett-created race series
The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon is one of seven U.S. marathons that have teamed with Virginia-based media conglomerate Gannett Co. to form a nationwide marathon series.
Indy Fuel affiliate plans $2.5M renovation of Fishers ice rink
Indiana Ice Arenas LLC, an affiliate of the minor league hockey team, has finalized the $1.85 million purchase of the ice rink.
Highland seeks to wedge upscale homes on golf course grounds
The country club on the northwest side foresees 46 houses on 25 acres and using money from the sale of the land to make crucial improvements to the private retreat.
Golf-course manager says fresh formula could help revive sport
Golf course and country club management firm Green Golf Partners launched four years ago, at a time the golf industry nationwide was deep in the rough.
LOPRESTI: Whom to draft/hire? Here are five picks that panned out
You take your chances, you pay your money, you hope for the best. Or at least not the worst.
Startup gives college baseball teams a competitive advantage
Noblesville-based Diamond Charts LLC has become a huge hit among college baseball teams big and small since two Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology alumni launched it in early 2013 with $200 and what seemed like a crazy idea.
Local Adidas plant expects no letup after NBA deal ends
The east-side apparel factory could lose about one-fourth of its business when its NBA contract expires in 2017, industry experts said. But Adidas officials are confident there will be no layoffs to the local staff of 1,100.
CHAMPION OF INNOVATION: College-sports guru puts Final Four on map
Tom Jernstedt has his fingerprints on almost every aspect of the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments—not to mention the association’s move to Indianapolis.
LOPRESTI: Hoosier innovations show up in sports, too
This is not where you come to find such groundbreaking inventions as the lightbulb, or combustion engine, or Sleep Number mattress. But the universe changes at the ballpark, too, and Indiana has midwifed its share of innovations.
Hoteliers hesitant to bet on Grand Park Sports Campus crowds
A strong debut for Westfield’s Grand Park Sports Campus is driving hotel demand for a town without any rooms of its own and few hotels in the works.
Another huge project to further test demand for youth sports facilities
With a second massive youth sports complex on the horizon in Hamilton County, is there enough demand to support both? Officials in Fishers and Westfield say they aren’t worried about competition, arguing demand is high and their respective sport complexes will offer sufficient variety.