19 November 2009

Indy racing to become major convention center

Indianapolis is invariably associated with the famous auto race, but the city’s $3 billion in new tourism development is sparking interest in the meeting market.

"In the beginning of 2009, we totally repositioned the Indianapolis brand," says Ronnie Burt, senior vice president of sales and services for the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association.

The area’s appeal includes world-class museums, a fast-forming quality dining scene, antique shopping and many parks, among other attractions. The city will host the Super Bowl in 2012.

While Indianapolis remains inextricably linked to the Indy 500, the city’s metropolitan appeal spreads to its world-class museums, burgeoning dining scene, antique shopping and myriad parks, among other attractions, according to Meetings/Focus e newsletter.

The tagline is now "Indianapolis—Raising the Game," which speaks to the competitiveness of the city, according to Burt.

The city saw a 5 percent increase in tourism from 2007 to 2008, and is expecting similar results for 2009.

On the group front, there is a variety of new activity, with an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center in the works and added convention hotels coming on-line.

New developments include a $275 million expansion of the existing Indiana Convention Center which is set to open in February of 2011. The facility will move from the 32nd largest to the 16th largest center in the US.

"It’s also important to note, the expansion of the convention center — from 300,000 to 566,000 square feet of exhibit space — will connect to the new Lucas Oil Stadium," Burt says. "We can do concerts in that venue and there is also exhibit space, for a total combined exhibit space of over 780,000 square feet."

By David Wilkening