Gen Con Touts New Records in 2019
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowGen Con LLC says this year’s convention in downtown Indianapolis broke records. The four-day event saw nearly 70,000 unique attendees with a record 538 exhibitors and 19,600 ticketed events at the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, and surrounding hotels.
Visit Indy Senior Vice President Chris Gahl tells Inside INdiana Business the convention generated an estimated $70 million in economic impact "with all key indicators of the event’s footprint and hotel occupancy growing." Gen Con says this year’s event also saw growth it its livestreaming programming through the weekend.
"Each year we come to Indianapolis for Gen Con, the show feels bigger and better than the one before, and this year was no exception," Gen Con President David Hoppe said in a news release. "We are humbled by the support and enthusiasm of the tabletop gaming community, and we’re thrilled to see the continued growth of this hobby that we and our attendees love. Livestreaming and other digital technologies have contributed impactfully to this growth, and we’re excited to connect with new audiences in new ways as we carry our 52-year legacy of tabletop gaming tradition into the future."
Gen Con says its livestreaming efforts, which included live gaming, main stage events, interviews, and game demonstrations, attracted 6,900 viewers at peak and a combined watch time of more than 3 million minutes.
Additionally, the convention says attendees helped raise more than $35,000 for this year’s charity partners, Game to Grow and Special Olympics Indiana. To date, Gen Con has raised over $335,000 for charity during its tenure in Indianapolis dating back to 2003.
Gen Con is slated to stay in Indianapolis through 2023. The convention will return to downtown Indy July 30-August 2, 2020.