The Caitlin Clark Effect, New Meeting Spaces and What’s Next for Indiana’s Largest Cities in 2025

 

The home of the Indy 500 and the new beneficiaries of the ‘Caitlin Clark Effect,’ Indiana has been a state on the rise throughout 2024. Now, heading into the new year, Indiana’s largest cities have even more on the horizon, and it appears as though the Hoosier State is gearing up for another dynamite year for meetings and events.

Here’s everything Indiana’s two largest cities have planned for 2025 that meeting and event planners need to know.

Indianapolis

The Caitlin Clark Effect

On January 2, 2024, a hush fell over the crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena as 15,000 fans watched a basketball shot from the hands of Caitlin Clark. The game was tied 73 to 73, and with only three seconds left on the clock, it seemed impossible for Iowa to pull ahead against Michigan. 

But then, as Clark shot the ball into the air with just milliseconds to spare, the buzzer blared while the entire arena watched the ball whiz through the air and through the hoop. The crowd exploded into a frenzy as one of Clark’s last games for the Hawkeyes ended with a buzzer-beater that had Iowa City talking about it for weeks afterwards.

[Related: What You Need to Know About Planning Sports Events in Iowa’s Biggest Markets]

Now, almost a year after that game-winning shot, Clark is still just as dynamic as ever but wears a different color jersey. After being drafted by the Indiana Fever in April, Indianapolis saw a spike in tourism from what is known as the Caitlin Clark Effect, a phenomenon that also led to a huge boost in tourism for Iowa City when Clark played for the University of Iowa and which is now helping Indy establish itself as a major sports destination.

In the 2024 season, the Fever set a new WNBA single-season record with over 300,000 fans attending games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, seeing a 1,200% increase in jersey sales and making their first playoff appearance since 2016.

All this newfound attention has been great for Indianapolis’ tourism sector, with Visit Indy Executive Vice President Chris Gahl saying back in June, “As we look at this first half of the year, we are on pace for record-setting tourism by the end of 2024.”

With the city coming off of hosting the 73rd NBA All-Star game last January, Indianapolis is gearing up for another All-Star Game, this time for the WNBA. The 2025 game will mark the first time the city has hosted the event, and a rare occurrence of a city hosting two All-Star games in consecutive years.

“The city of Indianapolis and the entire state of Indiana have such an incredible and enduring passion for the game of basketball, making the region the perfect host to celebrate the WNBA and the game’s greatest stars,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a statement.

Big Things Ahead

Of course, sports aren’t the only thing that’s got Indy excited for 2025. Here are some of the numerous projects that Indianapolis has planned for the upcoming year that are sure to create a buzz with your attendees.

• Indianapolis Cultural Trail: Indy is currently undergoing a $100 million trail enhancement and expansion project, including the Cultural Trail expansion, which recently celebrated reaching 10 miles and connects the Lucas Oil Stadium corridor to the trail.
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Museum: The IMS Museum is currently undergoing an $89 million renovation that is set to add more meeting and event space to the venue. Set to reopen in 2025, the museum’s renovation will add a new 6,000-square-foot mezzanine level that will house interactive exhibits and completely transform the building’s infrastructure.
• JW Marriott: Beginning in 2024 and expected to be completed in August 2025, the JW Marriott Indianapolis will undergo a $15 million renovation, with updates to its existing restaurants, the addition of new restaurants and a renovation of its public spaces.
• Intercontinental Indianapolis: Set to open late 2024, this new IHG hotel brings 170 new guest rooms to the city along with a 24-hour fitness center, 5,000 square feet of event space and a new rooftop bar set to open in spring 2025.  

[Related: How Indianapolis and Fort Wayne Are Ramping Up for Meetings and Events in 2024]

Fort Wayne

The second-most-populated city in Indiana also has some big plans for the upcoming year following recent additions to this affordable meetings destination and the cultural center of northeastern Indiana.

Pearl Street Arts Center

Located just blocks from the city’s Arts Campus and Grand Wayne Convention Center district, The Pearl Street Arts Center is a new state-of-the-art event venue, performance hall, music studio and teaching center in the heart of downtown Fort Wayne. Housed in a former historic bread factory, the venue was built to supply amazing acoustics for performances such as ballet and philharmonic and also serves as a 400-seat flexible event venue. With a performance auditorium, two education classrooms and spacious prefunction areas and community hubs, the Pearl Street Arts Center serves as a lively hub between The Landing dining district, Promenade Park on the Riverfront and The Bradley Hotel.

New Hotels and Venues

Check out three of the latest updates on new hotel and event venues in Fort Wayne.

• The Bradley Hotel: Recently opened in downtown Fort Wayne and just four blocks from the Grand Wayne Convention Center, The Bradley Hotel is Fort Wayne’s first boutique hotel and features 124 guest rooms with nine suites. The property also includes 2,000 square feet of meeting space, a rooftop bar and multiple onsite dining options.
• Electric Works: Originally built in 1883, this former General Electric campus is now being revitalized, transforming its 39 acres, 18 historic buildings and more than 1.2 million square feet of space into a mixed-use development. Some of its first spaces include the region’s only food hall, Union Street Market, and meeting spaces with modern industrial designs. 
• The Fairfield: Set to debut in 2025, The Fairfield will bring a three-story social entertainment venue to downtown Fort Wayne, including a restaurant and taproom, duckpin bowling, indoor yard games like bocce ball and cornhole, an indoor golf lounge and an event venue. 

[Related: Why Planners Keep Coming Back to Fort Wayne, Indiana]

A Grand Convention Experience

Overlooking West Jefferson Boulevard in downtown Fort Wayne, the Grand Wayne Convention Center offers 225,000 square feet of meeting space across 18 event spaces. The convention center is located close to four downtown full-service hotels and Fort Wayne staples such as the Botanical Conservatory, Embassy Theatre and Parkview Field, voted the No. 1 Minor League Ballpark Experience in the country by Stadium Journey.

The largest venue in the convention center is the 50,000-square-foot convention hall, located on the first level and able to accommodate up to 4,500 attendees. Other notable venues include the 6,000-square-foot Calhoun Ballroom and the 10,000-square-foot Anthony Wayne Ballroom. 

The Grand Wayne Convention Center also offers a fully equipped and staffed 12,000-square-foot kitchen with gourmet food and beverage options and an onsite catering team, advanced AV technology in every room and complimentary Wi-Fi for up to 5,000 simultaneous users.

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