Big Ten football championship staying in Indianapolis through 2028
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti announced at Big Ten football media days on Tuesday that the Big Ten football championship game will remain in Indianapolis through 2028.
The game will continue to be played in Lucas Oil Stadium, the only stadium that the Big Ten football championship game has ever been played.
The first Big Ten football championship game was played in 2011.
This season will be the first season that the Big Ten will not have divisions since the championship game started. The top two teams in the final regular season standings will play each other in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship.
This will also be the first season of the expanded 12-team playoff for college football. “The new expanded college football playoffs will give more Big Ten teams the opportunity to compete for a national championship,” Petitti said.
Michigan beat Iowa in the championship in 2023, and the Wolverines were the eventual College Football Playoff champions. Last year’s championship sold out with more than 67,000 fans, a record breaker.
Indiana Sports Corp said Tuesday that the Big Ten football championship brought $25 million to the city in 2023. They are expecting about $100M in the next four years. President Patrick Talty said, “We are the best place to host the championship, bar none, of any place it could be.”
Indiana Sports Corp has been instrumental in bringing sports championships to the state for more than 40 years. Talty said this is a huge win for Indianapolis. “The Big Ten championship has only ever been in Indy, and we’re super proud that they chose us to stay here for the next four years.”
About the big crowds, Talty said, “That fills hotel rooms, fills restaurants, and it makes the whole weekend exciting. That really anchors our December tourism calendar.”
Talty said, “Now, the Big Ten is expanded with West Coast teams, and now we’ll have visitors coming from the West Coast and having new visitors visit Indy for the first time.”
Talty told News 8 that one reason why Indiana was selected was for its Hoosier hospitality.
The general manager at St. Elmo Steak House said keeping the championship in Indianapolis is huge. They’re marking their calendar for the next four years. General Manager Richard Edwards said that it’s a “huge, huge business for us.
“We have a flow of people through the day. Like any restaurant, it goes in waves, and it’s definitely one of our financial impact.”
Edwards said, on a normal weekend, the downtown restaurant will have around 800 guests, but will serve 1,100 to 1,300 people on a Big Ten weekend.