Volunteers help power Indy’s sporting events
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThousands of people flocked to Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis over the weekend for the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.
It’s no secret that Indy is a city known for its love of sports–from the 2012 Super Bowl to last year’s NBA All-Star Game to multiple NCAA Final Fours. But behind the scenes, there’s a group of unsung heroes helping make it all happen.
“We’ve been doing this for over 45 years, hosting these major schooling events, and it’s really been about what we call our professional volunteer base,” said Indiana Sports Corp President Patrick Talty. “It’s people who’ve been volunteering again and again and again. You have everything from bank CEOs to teachers all volunteering together to make these events happen.”
Talty said it’s the passion and dedication of these local volunteers that’s really the secret sauce to making these events thrive, helping to ensure Indy remains a consistent contender when it comes to attracting future big time sporting events.
“We have volunteers that go pick up committee members at the airport and drive them to their hotels,” he said. “We have volunteers that are working the streets, that are helping people find their ways to the next location, to then people thinking about the student-athlete experience; how can we elevate that?”
Lucas Oil Stadium was also hard at work for the Midwest Regional, with a crew of nearly 2,000 on hand to work the games.
“We have members of our team who have been part of NCAA basketball events back from the Hoosier dome days, and so for some folks on our team, it’s really nostalgic, and it gives an opportunity to really show off how this event has evolved,” Lucas Oil Stadium Director Eric Neuburger. “We have thousands of people who will be working here on game days for the stadium to try to make everybody’s experience perfect.”
With the exception of Final Four this coming weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, the Midwest Regional was the only part of March Madness that was held inside a stadium.
From a dollars and cents standpoint, hosting the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games is a slam dunk for downtown Indianapolis businesses with an estimated $30 million in economic impact, according to Talty.
With more big time sporting events on the calendar and billions in downtown projects underway, the owners of venerable St. Elmo Steak House are eyeing investment.
“We’re on the cusp of of a remodel at St Elmo, and some things that at Harry & Izzy’s,” Craig Huse, owner of St. Elmo parent Huse Culinary, said. “Once Hendricks [Commercial Properties] announced their investment in the Circle Centre development…it’s going to create some, some great opportunities for us to get back up to speed with our buildings.”
Other major events coming to downtown Indy include this year’s WNBA All-Star Game, as well as next year’s NCAA Men’s and Women’s Final Fours.