Big Ten football championship will bring in $20M for Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The 2024 Big Ten Football Championship Game weekend is set to bring in at least $20 million for the city of Indianapolis.
With over 70,000 fans headed to the city, the economic boost won’t just stem from the game’s ticket sales.
Sam Reel, communications and marketing manager of Indiana Sports Corp, said, “They’re spending money at restaurants and bars around the city. That’s kind of the cumulative total of all of these people coming into the city.”
The game between the Oregon Ducks and the Penn State Nittany Lions is set to begin at 8 p.m. Saturday at Lucaas Oil Stadium, but fans on Thursday were already making their way to Indianapolis.
Oregon fans were also offered new nonstop flights to Indy between Friday and Sunday.
“Obviously, with Oregon, the Indianapolis Airport Authority have added more flights so they get to experience that low barrier that the Indianapolis Airport obviously provides,” Reel said. “Penn State as well coming in. So, we are seeing more kind of national travel than we might some years.”
Once those fans arrive in Indy, they will have several events to attend at the Indianapolis Convention Center next to the stadium. The Big Ten Fan Fest will kick off at 4 p.m. Friday and run until 9 p.m. The fest will include interactive games, guest appearances, food, drink and live entertainment. Anyone with tickets to the championship game can attend the fest for free. Fans who want to attend but do not have tickets to the game can purchase passes for the fest online.
Also at the Convention Center, fans can attend the first Big Ten Takedown starting at 5 p.m. Friday. The event is a wrestling dual between Indiana University and Illinois University.
Just outside the Convention Center, fans will find Tailgate Town, where they can also enjoy and purchase several Indy iconic foods.
“Indianapolis has a lot for you to do that you might not know about,” Reel said. “Obviously, Mass Ave (cultural district) has a great opportunity, but then down here in the downtown core, there’s going to be restaurants with Big Ten signage. Oregon’s having some local events and Penn State as well.”
One of those local restaurants gearing up for some big earnings is the Slippery Noodle Inn, located near Lucas Oil Stadium. The bar’s co-owner Sean Lothridge said, “Typically on a Colts Sunday, we’ll run about 1,500 people through the door here, so it will probably be around that level, so we expect this to be like a really busy Colts game.”
The bar will also roll out some specialty drinks to bring fans in. “We’re doing some fun themed cocktails for one of the schools. We’re going to cater to them a little bit, but both teams are welcome here and we’ll have a lot of fun.”