Tourism officials expect another big impact from Big Ten Football Championship Game
Tourism bureau Visit Indy has spent about $60,000 on advertising over the past two weeks targeting Ohio State and Northwestern fans in Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago.
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Kite seeks to minimize risk in convention-hotels project
Hospitality industry observers say this is far from an ideal time for Kite—a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in shopping centers—to veer outside its core business and tackle what would be a risky and colossal project that easily could cost more than $600 million.
IBJ Podcast: Detailing the Pan Am Plaza hotel-and-convention project
Guest host Lindsey Erdody (in for Mason King) talks with IBJ reporters Hayleigh Colombo and Anthony Schoettle about the public-private project, the city’s convention business and what remains unknown about the Pan Am Plaza project.
Kite to build 2 hotels at Pan Am Plaza; city to spend $120M on attached meeting space
The Capital Improvement Board has selected a Kite Realty Group plan from among three proposals in its effort to expand the city’s convention capacity. The CIB is expected to vote Friday to move the project forward.
Indiana Convention Center may be just big enough—for now
Since its first iteration opened in 1972, it’s undergone four major expansions. The last one, completed in 2011, increased its size to six city blocks and more than 566,600 square feet of exhibit space—or 745,210, if you include nearby Lucas Oil Stadium.
Gen Con wants tech upgrades at convention center to stay in Indy
Whether Seattle-based Gen Con and local officials can now reach an understanding on technology could spell the difference between Indianapolis’ hanging onto its most prized convention and potentially losing it to another city.
Study done for Visit Indy casts light on aspirations, challenges for convention sector
A study commissioned by Visit Indy says officials are counting on a new downtown mega-hotel to generate nearly half its own business without relying on conventions.
Hectic city schedule makes hosting football national championship trickier
Indianapolis officials say they’re up for the challenge of hosting the eighth annual College Football Playoff National Championship in January 2022, even as they’re planning six other big sporting events that take place within a 13-month stretch.
Visit Indy earns big win after long pursuit
Visit Indy signed a deal to host the American Wind Energy Association Windpower Conference & Exhibition June 7-10, 2021, in the convention center.
Gen Con closing in on its first sellout in 50 years
Local hospitality officials are expecting the 50th edition of the annual gaming event to be one of the biggest conventions the city has ever hosted.
Hotel hiccup could cost agencies millions
Local hoteliers and hospitality officials are bracing for a soft 2018. And some in the industry are pointing to the fallout from a controversial 2015 law as the culprit responsible for an expected one-year downturn.
Late flurry of hotel room bookings gives Visit Indy strong finish for 2016
In the last two weeks of the year, Visit Indy signed deals to bring 41 conventions to Indianapolis in the next five years. Those deals helped push the group close to a new annual record for advance bookings of hotel rooms.
Advanced bookings down for Indy hotels
The number of hotel rooms Visit Indy booked into future years took a tumble in 2016 to the lowest level since 2013. But local tourism and hotel officials aren’t overly concerned.
Gen Con organizers seek shorter-term extension with city
After initially seeking a five-year extension that would keep the massive gaming convention in Indianapolis through 2025, Gen Con officials have changed their request.
Visit Indy chief says major convention center expansion not needed now
Visit Indy CEO Leonard Hoops told Capital Improvement Board members that standing pat is not an option when it comes to hospitality infrastructure, but a major expansion wouldn’t be needed in the near future.
City studies need for more hotels after losing 1,000+ rooms
The closure of a handful of hotels across the city has essentially wiped out the gains made when the JW Marriott opened with its 1,005 rooms. Now Visit Indy and the city’s Capital Improvement Board are studying whether the city needs more rooms and more convention center space.
New report exposes Indy convention soft spots
The annual report of the city’s Capital Improvement Board shows the number of events at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium—and the total attendance for those events—fell sharply from 2014 to 2015.
Gen Con’s expansion to Lucas Oil is test for conventions
Gen Con is the biggest and highest-profile convention to use both the stadium and convention center since the 2011 expansion—and others are watching to see how it works.
Hotel rates go sky high, rooms sold out for miles for Indy 500
The Knights Inn at the airport had a couple of rooms left at $899 per night Wednesday, according to Expedia. And a room could be had at the Red Roof Inn in Anderson for $446.
Indy officials confident city measures up to NCAA’s new standards
Local officials say Indianapolis should continue to host NCAA events despite rules adopted by the association on Wednesday to assure LGBT rights and protections.