The Game Is Here

From Amateur, College and Professional Sports to the 2012 Super Bowl

     

Whether you’re looking for sponsorship opportunities, entertaining clients or are just out for a good time, exciting and competitive sports seem to go hand-in-hand with business. The opportunities in Indianapolis run the gamut from the tried-and-true to the obscure. You can wow your clients from a suite at the largest single-day sporting event in the world or impress them with something a bit more esoteric, like cycling or rowing championships.

When you think of sports and Indianapolis, you probably think of the Colts, the Pacers, the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400. These marquee events draw hundreds of thousands of fans and fill plenty of corporate suites at their respective venues.

Other professional sports teams include the Indianapolis Indians Minor League Baseball team, the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and the United States Hockey League’s Indiana Ice. But your choices hardly end there.

We’re not called the amateur sports capital for nothing. Since 1979, when the Indiana Sports Corporation was formed to attract sporting events to the state and city, Indianapolis has hosted more than 400 national and international sporting events, including 17 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and 55 NCAA Championship events. From 1997 through 2007 the direct economic impact of amateur sports in Indianapolis was estimated to be in excess of $3 billion.

In 1999 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) moved its headquarters to Indianapolis. It will bring a number of high-profile events, beginning with the 2010 NCAA Men’s Final Four. The events will include the Women’s Final Four, Men's Final Four, Men's Basketball First & Second Rounds or Regional, Women's Basketball First & Second Rounds or Regional and the NCAA Convention.

Indianapolis will also host the Men’s and Women’s Big Ten Basketball Tournaments from 2008 through 2012.

Including the NCAA, seven national governing bodies are headquartered in Indianapolis. They range from the Black Coaches Association to U.S. Synchronized Swimming. Seventeen sports-related organizations – from the American College of Sports Medicine to the National Youth Sports Corporation – have their headquarters here.

Of course, you can’t have great sports without great facilities, and the range and quality of venues in the Indianapolis area are extraordinary. Among them:

Lucas Oil Stadium

This brand-new, state-of-the-art $700 million stadium sports a retractable roof and is the permanent home of the Indianapolis Colts. It will also be a venue for future NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Final Fours.

Conseco Fieldhouse

This $183 million facility is home to the NBA’s Indiana Pacers and the WNBA’s Fever, as well as being a venue for hockey, soccer, concerts and other events.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Speedway is home to the Indy Racing League’s Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the two largest single-day sporting events in the world. In September 2008, motorcycle racing returned to the IMS with the Red Bull Indianapolis GP for MotoGP, the world’s premier motorcycle road racing series.

Victory Field

This $18 million open-air, grass stadium is the home of the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians baseball team. The 13,500-seat stadium features 29 luxury suites and a grass picnic area with open lawn seating for an additional 2,000 fans.

Crooked Stick Golf Club

Crooked Stick has been home to some of golf’s biggest events, including the 1991 PGA Championship, 1993 U.S. Women’s Open, 2005 Solheim Cup and U.S. Women’s Amateur Tournament in 2007. Crooked Stick will host the U.S. Men’s Senior Open in 2009 and become part of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Championship Series when it hosts the BMW (formerly Western Open) Championships in September 2012.

Eagle Creek Park

Eagle Creek Park’s regatta course is one of only two in the U.S. sanctioned for international competition by the International Federation of Rowing Associations and has been the site of past U.S. Rowing National Championships. In 1994, the course hosted the World Rowing Championships, the first time the event was held in the United States.

Indiana University Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium

The stadium features a nine-lane, 400-meter rubber track that is considered one of the world’s fastest. The stadium contains 12,100 permanent spectator seats. The USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships were held at the track in 1997, 2006 and 2007.

Indiana University Natatorium

This facility boasts a swimming pool with adjustable lengths and an 18-foot-deep diving pool featuring five platforms and three springboards. Events held here include U.S. Olympic swimming, diving and synchronized swimming trials and NCAA Championships.

Major Taylor Velodrome and Lake Sullivan BMX Track

The Velodrome accommodates up to 5,000 spectators around its 333.3 meter track. It has hosted several national events, including the Grand Prix of Cycling and the EDS Senior Track Cycling Championships. Sanctioned by the National Bicycle League (NBL), the BMX Track is used for bicycle motorcross racing.

National Institute for Fitness and Sport (NIFS)

NIFS is a state-of-the-art fitness and research center dedicated to health and physical fitness research, education and training. Open to athletes and the public, the institute’s fitness center offers complete fitness appraisals and has a 200-meter indoor track, regulation-size basketball floor, rubberized workout floor, weight training and cardiovascular exercise equipment and fitness classes.

O’Reilly Raceway Park

This 300-acre facility includes a 2½-mile road course, a .686-mile banked oval track and a 4,400-foot drag strip. O’Reilly Raceway Park is home to the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, the richest drag racing event in the world. Other major events include the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Craftsman Truck Series and the ASA ACDelco Series.