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Indy's March Madness was an overwhelming success

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Indy's March Madness was an overwhelming success

The city came alive again, hotels were filled and Hoosier hospitality was on full display as they crushed it.

Scott Agness
Apr 9, 2021
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Indy's March Madness was an overwhelming success

www.fieldhousefiles.com
On the night of the championship game, members of the police escort took a photo to remember.

Indianapolis has been in the spotlight the last three weeks as the sole host of the NCAA men’s division I basketball tournament. The tournament is significant not just for fans, but also for the NCAA. It accounts for more than 70 percent of their budget so when last year’s had to be canceled, it was a huge dent on the organization and its people.

Quite simply, that couldn’t happen again.

So the NCAA, whose headquarters are on the canal in downtown Indianapolis, elected to keep it in their backyard where they could count on their marquee event succeeding.

Indy hosts more than 250,000 fans at the Indianapolis 500 each year. It hosted the men’s and women’s Big Ten basketball tournament and the annual Big Ten football championship game. Coming to town on Jan. 10, 2022 will be the College Football Playoff Championship game — and then the NBA All-Star game in 2024.

Most cities have several years to plan whereas Indy had just a few months. It was officially announced on Jan. 4 — and was a very good replacement considering the NBA had postponed Indy’s All-Star game three years.

There were six sites, including four in central Indiana. Hinkle Fieldhouse seemed to be the favorite because it’s historical and offered the most intimate, college-like atmosphere. Bankers Life Fieldhouse hosted 16 games.

Twitter avatar for @IndSportsCorp
Indiana Sports Corp @IndSportsCorp
These incredible venues stepped up to the challenge and made this year’s #MarchMadness tournament possible. We can’t thank you enough for everything! @LucasOilStadium  @TheFieldhouse  @HinkleFH  @IUHoosiers  @MackeyArena  @IUPUIJaguars
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8:05 PM ∙ Apr 8, 2021
13Likes3Retweets

Holding the tournament in Indy was also huge for hospitality workers. More than 40 percent in the hospitality industry are underemployed or unemployed. Hotel occupancy went up to 97 percent during Final Four weekend.

Before the tournament, the estimated economic impact on the city was more than $100 million. A thorough study is being done, the same group that was hired in 2012 for Indy’s Super Bowl.

We’ll have more numbers in a few weeks, but here are some interesting facts from Indy’s NCAA Tournament.

  • 3,553 meals delivered

  • 659 police escorts

  • 14.2 tons of laundry done for teams

  • 3,380 tracked news articles

  • 886 million impressions

They absolutely crushed it, providing the level of amenities, service and personal touch that only Indy provides.

Like personal notes from grade schoolers welcoming teams to town. Like each team having a personal host. Like the chance to go to Victory Field, the zoo, Top Golf and more during their stay to get out of their rooms and have a good time. Like teams having shoppers who could fetch whatever they needed.

See Also: As March Madness provides a boost in visibility, Pacers still in search of a new naming rights partner

Georgia Street was closed to cars, opening it up as an entertainment district — much like Indy’s Super Bowl in 2012.

The Convention Center, which housed the practice courts and weight rooms, closed last March due to the pandemic and they wisely spent $7 million on health and safety upgrades. It then hosted volleyball and AAU basketball tournaments, which essentially served as a test run. Before NCAA Tournament games tipped off in March, Indy had hosted more than 50 live sporting events that brought 130,000 visitors to the city.

“Each one of those were a proof of concept that we could do ultimately what we’re doing now, and that’s moving people safely through Indianapolis,” said Chris Gahl, the senior vice president of marketing and communicants for Visit Indy.

On Wednesday, after 24 days, the NCAA officially moved out of the convention center.

Gahl joined me recently on the Fieldhouse Files podcast. You can listen to that entire conversation wherever you listen to podcasts, including the embedded player below.

Twitter avatar for @RyanVaughnIndy
Ryan Vaughn @RyanVaughnIndy
Thank you to ⁦⁦@NCAA,⁩ @FinalFour⁩, ⁦@IndSportsCorp⁩ team and everyone in Indy who came together to make this a special month!
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3:18 PM ∙ Apr 7, 2021
520Likes30Retweets

And here is the annual video tribute we didn’t get last year: One Shining Moment.

Twitter avatar for @marchmadness
NCAA March Madness @marchmadness
Welcome back, One Shining Moment ⭐️ #MarchMadness
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3:58 AM ∙ Apr 6, 2021
13,309Likes3,498Retweets
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Indy's March Madness was an overwhelming success

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