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In 1924, America’s best swimmers competed at an Indianapolis public swimming pool called Broad Ripple Park for a spot in the Summer Games in Paris. One century later, Indianapolis once again hosted the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials before the Summer Games in Paris.
History may have repeated itself, but many details have changed over 100 years. In fact, Indianapolis drew a new blueprint for hosting the country’s largest swimming meet by constructing a swimming pool at Lucas Oil Stadium – the first time an NFL stadium has been used for the event. A record crowd enjoyed the action at the transformed competition venue, which is now the model for Los Angeles, employing SoFi Stadium as its aquatics center for the 2028 Summer Games.
Indianapolis continues to make a splash as a destination for sports. In many ways, it has accomplished what destinations across the country are striving toward – namely using sports as a placemaker to attract millions of visitors annually and drive new residents to the region. Here, we examine how three destinations, including Indy, have caught on to the sports bandwagon.
As if hosting the world’s largest single-day sporting event wasn’t enough, Indy was known as the country’s “Amateur Sports Capital” by the time the NCAA moved its headquarters there from Kansas City in 1999. Now, with a resumé including hosting Super Bowl XLVI, the entire 2021 NCAA Basketball Tournament plus seven other Men’s Final Fours and three Women’s National Semifinals, the 2022 BCS College Football Championship, and dozens of marquee youth and amateur regional and national championships, it’s hard to find a city more associated with sports than Indianapolis.
As the saying goes, the rich keep getting richer. Indianapolis has erected statues for native son John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, and NFL legend Peyton Manning, and sports a 60-ft. mural of Pacers icon Reggie Miller. City officials may want to save a space for a tribute to women’s basketball sensation Caitlin Clark – the jackpot when the Indiana Fever won the WNBA Draft Lottery.
“Sometimes things go your way and sometimes you make your own luck,” said Leonard Hoops, president and CEO of Visit Indy since 2012.
Image Source: Indiana Sports Corp
Clark’s arrival may be a result of good fortune, as Hoops notes. But most of the massive sports success is a result of city officials like Hoops (great name!) capitalizing on signature moments that present future opportunities.
The effort predates that memorable 1924 swim meet – by exactly one year. You see, in 1923, Indianapolis was looking to put itself on the map. Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909 (the first Indy 500 occurred in 1911), so it made sense to latch onto sports and events, said Hoops, explaining the CVB’s origins.
In 1979, Indiana Sports Corporation was created to expand those efforts. A commitment to sports led to the building of a football stadium before the city had a team (the Colts moved from Baltimore in 1984). Gamebridge Fieldhouse, home to the Pacers and Fever, opened in 1999 as Conseco, and Lucas Oil Stadium’s 2008 opening led to the 2012 Super Bowl when Indianapolis introduced the Super Bowl Village concept to the NFL.“The beauty of this is Indy has continued to [invest in sports], regardless of whether it was Democrats or Republicans running the city,” said Hoops, noting the city council unanimously approved a $20 million convention center expansion in 2020 after the pandemic struck. “Sports and events are nonpartisan here.”
Hoops points to 1987 as a major turning point – when Indianapolis hosted the first Pan Am Games and the NFL Combine first moved there. The success begat more gains, with major events ushering in the development of new hotels – 12 are now connected via skywalk to the Indiana Convention Center – as well as restaurants and amenities that attract visitors and residents. The city sold a record number of hotel rooms in June 2024 when the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race overlapped with the National Eucharistic Congress, which attracted 50,000 Catholics, according to Hoops.
Hoops said conventions and sports generate about $1 billion annually, not counting nearby Grand Park’s enormous tourism footprint in Westfield, Indiana. The Indiana Sports Corp alone is responsible for a $4 billion impact since its inception. Much more is in the hopper – World Wrestling Entertainment announced its three marquee events – Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, and SummerSlam – are coming to Indy, and the city is competing to host a future NFL Draft and bring back the USA Swimming trials. The trick is timing sporting events so they don’t conflict with conventions, which book further out, a feat Hoops compared to a complicated form of Tetris.
Hosting events puts a spotlight on the city that not only draws visitors but at- tracts new residents, including college students who opt for Butler University – made famous for its back-to-back Final Four runs. Hoops adds that large organizations and corporations are also attracted to Indianapolis after enjoying their experience during events.
“There is definitely a benefit to elevating the brand of a destination as a place not just to visit but to live, as a result of hosting events,” he said.
Image Source: Indiana Sports Corp
As the mayor of the traditionally blue-collar town that’s invested in manufacturing, Gary Chesney has spent the better part of his first eight years in office dedicated to improving Morristown’s quality of life. The tangible result of this effort is Morristown Landing, a sports-centric community center that exceeds all expectations.
“We had a very successful parks and recreation program, but we needed more,” Chesney explained.
The feeling is echoed not just by the local government that turned the longstanding dream into a reality, but also by the city’s residents who took the unusual step of embracing a tax increase to fund the $32 million bond needed for the Landing. “Not everybody is excited about seeing their property tax rate go up $0.25,” said Mayor Chesney, noting how little push- back the city received. “People saw their tax dollars going to work immediately.”
That initial excitement has carried over into multi-faceted uses for the center. Its 10-lane swimming pool distinguishes Morristown Landing from other sports offerings in the Smokey Mountain region. Adults enjoy aquatics exercise, and the pool has made a splash with kids during family-themed holiday events and camps. Meanwhile, local companies have turned to the center for much-needed meeting space. More than 150 events were held at the Landing in its first year, according to Steve Eaton, general manager of Morristown Landing.
“The combination of assets and amenities seems to have struck a chord within this community,” said Eaton.
The center has attracted more than 6,000 memberships – a number that’s expected to rise to 7,000 by year’s end, said Eaton. And it appears an expansion will be in order in the not-so-distant future and Eaton is also eager to start a local swimming team based at the facility.
Image Source: The Sports Facilities Companies
When attempting to right-size the facility, Morristown estimated on the conservative side. The 26,400-sq-ft. field house features four hardwood basketball courts that can be converted into six volleyball and up to 12 pickleball courts – good numbers for a small town but not as large as what’s available in Knoxville, Pigeon Forge, and the Tri-Cities of Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol, popular sports tourism destinations in the Volunteer State.
However, the facility’s first year demonstrated how valuable it is. “We’ve hit membership numbers we didn’t expect to for another five years,” said Eaton, whose background includes three decades with Disney.
Morristown uses its location and partnership with leading recreation venue operator The Sports Facilities Companies to its advantage, highlighting outdoor activities and amenities the larger destinations offer. Meanwhile, two new hotels are under construction that will be within a mile of the Landing. They will be within walking distance of restaurants and retail, creating an economic development district.
Chesney added that free membership is offered to government workers and reduced rates for city residents as a way to promote health and encourage current citizens to stay while attracting population growth.
Both Chesney and Eaton point to the multigenerational interest in the Landing as a key to its success. In that regard, it truly is a community center.
“We wanted to be able to reach out to all age groups and all incomes,” said the mayor.
Image Source: Go Round Rock
It’s no small thing to lay claim to being the Sports Capital of Texas, yet Round Rock lives up to its big billing. The suburb of Austin is bullish on youth and amateur sporting events because athletes are often accompanied by their parents, siblings, extended relatives, and friends. It also aligns with the city’s stellar public education, one of the main drawing points for attracting residents like Mayor Craig Morgan, originally from Odessa, TX – the city at the center of “Friday Night Lights.”
Round Rock Sports Center’s opening in 2014 is seen as the sports tourism catalyst for Round Rock. Since then, the city has seen $162 million in economic activity from the sector, said Chad McKenzie, director of Sports Management and Tourism at Go Round Rock. That includes the addition of Round Rock Multipurpose Complex, a 60-acre outdoor facility that attracts soccer, lacrosse, football, and various other sports.
“Our location within the U.S. and within Texas really sets us up as a prime spot to be,” said Mayor Morgan. “But the competition is clearly getting much more competitive.”
Perhaps the greatest testimonial to the value of the sports center is the city’s eagerness to expand its offerings. Construction is expected to be completed in 2026, adding two more courts so it can hold eight basketball courts that can be converted to 16 volleyball courts.
The $22 million project comes out of Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT), collected when out-of-towners stay in one of Round Rock’s 4,959 hotel rooms. Round Rock has made sports tourism its focus of HOT funds, which were used to build and maintain Dell Diamond, Round Rock Sports Center, and half of the Round Rock multi-purpose complex
“Tourism is the purest form of economic development,” Morgan said. “People come, they shop, they spend their money, they stay the night in our hotels, they eat, and then they leave.”
Locals take advantage of the facilities during the week, ensuring the positive impact goes beyond dollars. Morgan said the biggest challenge is keeping up with the demand for fields and playing space, explaining the willingness to add on to the Sports Center.
“We have really created an environment where people love to come and play their sports,” said Morgan.
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