Zoo launches $30M campaign to build orangutan center
Construction on the International Orangutan Center would start in August, with the opening set for Memorial Day weekend in 2014.
Tourism & Hospitality
Articles
Cities roll out welcome mat, apps for Super Bowl
Central Indiana communities are launching smartphone applications, decorating cards to welcome visitors and taking other steps to promote local attractions in hopes of capitalizing on thousands of Super Bowl fans descending on the region for the Feb. 5 game.
Tapes show concern before Indiana stage collapse
A recording of dispatch radio calls shows that emergency workers were expressing concern about severe weather just minutes before winds ripped through the Indiana State Fair and caused a fatal stage collapse.
Defects prompt closure of county fair grandstands
A central Indiana county faces a big bill to replace its fairground's grandstand after numerous safety problems were found during an inspection prompted by this summer's deadly state fair stage collapse.
For Big Ten championship, even suites are for sale
Besides individual tickets, entire suites are being offered for as much as $28,000 on various online brokerage sites for the inaugural Big Ten championship football game.
High-profile art at airport removed for video wall
Sponsors will pay for a controversial video-art installment that is replacing a prominent artwork on the bulkhead above the main escalator at Indianapolis International Airport.
Judge allows class in suit against state tort law
U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker has certified the victims of the Indiana State Fair stage collapse as a single class in a lawsuit challenging a law that caps the state’s liability at $5 million. However, she concluded the plaintiffs are unlikely to win the challenge.
Ripken eyes Indy for major youth baseball complex
Officials for Ripken Baseball Inc., which operates two of the country’s top youth baseball facilities, are considering Indianapolis as a location for a major complex that could cost up to $20 million to build and draw thousands of players and spectators each year.
Stewart’s NASCAR victory likely to boost local trade show
The International Motorsports Industry Show at the Indiana Convention Center should get a jolt of publicity from Tony Stewart, who is not only the 2011 NASCAR champ but the show's part-owner.
Former Colt opening downtown event venue
Former Indianapolis Colt Gary Padjen is turning a vacant 18,000-square-foot building near Lucas Oil Stadium into a venue he is hopeful will host everything from Super Bowl and other corporate parties to concerts and mixed martial arts bouts.
Oktoberfest organizers face bill for unpaid fairgrounds rent
Board members of the German-American Klub of Indianapolis could be personally on the hook for more than $20,000 in unpaid rent at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
Downtown’s Nestle Inn under new ownership
Nearly 12 years after opening Nestle Inn Bed & Breakfast, Steve and Barb Tegarden decided to sell the business at 637 N. East St. to marketing and hospitality veteran Leesa Smith and her husband.
Ski-lodge-themed facility planned for Union Station
The NFL is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a posh 15,000-square-foot hospitality area inside Union Station’s Grand Hall for this year’s Super Bowl. The facility will be a perk for the league’s best corporate partners, former players and coaches, and other high-rollers.
Suburban-hotel mayhem whipsaws entrepreneur
Two of Sanjay Patel’s hotels landed in bankruptcy in November. Four others filed for Chapter 11 protection last year.
Agency endorses big cut to state horse racing’s $58M subsidy
The Indiana Inspector General recommends in a report that the annual subsidy paid to the state’s horse racing community be reduced by more than half, to $28 million.
State Fair moves 2012 concerts to Conseco Fieldhouse
The Indiana State Fair is moving next year's big concerts to a downtown Indianapolis arena in the wake of August's deadly outdoor stage collapse.
Quick Hits: San Antonio convention trade is stronger than Indianapolis’
With 2.1 million people, the San Antonio metro area is 23 percent larger than the Indianapolis area, yet its tourism and convention business is significantly bigger.
IndyCar, NASCAR stars to face off in Indy
The go-kart race at Conseco Fieldhouse is part of the third annual International Motorsports Industry Show at the Indiana Convention Center.
Photographer sues French Lick resort over angels paintings
Pamela Mougin, a onetime Indianapolis photographer who now runs a studio in Colorado, filed suit this month against French Lick Resort & Casino for copyright infringement.
Terre Haute airport looks for Super Bowl business
Terre Haute International Airport officials distributed brochures and advertisements about the facility and its hangars during a business aircraft convention this month in Las Vegas.