Indianapolis, Indiana – The Circle City is formally campaigning to maintain Indianapolis as the site of the NFL scouting combines after 2024.
Although Indianapolis has hosted the combine for 36 years in a row, the city had to submit a bid this year and was ultimately chosen to host the events in 2023 and 2024.
On Monday, Nate Swick, senior communications manager for Visit Indy, the city’s tourism organization, said, “Sports are a key piece of our identity here in Indianapolis. It’s what we’re best at. It’s something we don’t take for granted even though we do host many, many sporting events. It’s something that we put all of our marbles in this basket.”
According to Chris Gahl, executive vice president, and chief marketing officer of Visit Indy, the combined brings in $9.6 million annually to the regional economy.
According to Swick, Indianapolis stands out from the competition because of its collaboration with IU Health to conduct the required athlete exams. “A lot of stadiums wouldn’t be able to bring the IU Health and the medical facilities to the stadium, and make all of those exams go so smoothly.”
What was a closed-door event during the COVID-19 pandemic will now be directly accessible to fans thanks to a more recent component. “On the south lot outside of Lucas Oil Stadium, you’ll see something we’ve never had before: this massive fan experience,” Swick said. “We’re hoping to grow the inside look as well.”
Swick noted that maintaining the event’s growth is essential to submitting a strong bid for 2025. “As we look to our current bid that was one of our main pieces,” Swick said. “We said, ‘Alright, NFL. How do you want to grow this and how can we help you grow this event?’ And so that’s why you’ll see a lot more fan interactions the last couple of years.”
Indianapolis’ own city itself is another plus. The Indiana Convention Center, hotels, and Lucas Oil Stadium are all connected by skywalks, and the city is the ideal size and has the service sector needed to host a big event.
