March Madness in Indy

While Indiana college basketball might not have made it far in the March Madness tournament this year, Indiana as a state is set to experience some major ‘wins’ from this year’s tournament.

As many probably know, the State of Indiana is contracted to hold the NCAA College basketball tournament this year. The tournament games will be held across the state, including games in West Lafayette and Bloomington, and is expected to give a much needed boost to the economy after a year of COVID.

Projected Economic Impact

According to The Indy Star, Indianapolis is expecting at least $100 million to pour into the state from the NCAA tournament. With officials estimating roughly 2,500 hotel rooms to house the 68 teams, media, and NCAA staff, the state is set to experience a tremendous financial impact. Historically, Indianapolis has positioned itself as a Sports hub, attracting fans for all sorts of sporting events. From the Super Bowl we hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2012 to the Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that brings folks from all around the World, Indianapolis already has some Sports event hosting success under its belt. With this major tournament deal, Indianapolis is well positioned to enter into our ‘post-COVID’ world, as a major player in the National Sports arena.

While the revenue from the teams and their support staff alone will jolt the Indy economy, we can also expect many new jobs (although some speculate those will be temporary). When the city announced their plan to allow up to 25% capacity for fans, many realized the economic impact of the tournament could be even greater! Butler University Economics Professor, Dr. Ronia Hawash weighed in on this Butler Stories article to share her expert opinion.

Dr. Hawash highlighted that the city’s decision to allow some fans to attend the games would likely increase spending on hotels, restaurants, retail vendors, and rental car companies. Along with more long-term benefits like higher inflow of spending which translates to higher tax revenues for local governments. These tax revenues likely will support lasting services for local residents and make the city a better place to live and work in.

Projected Tourism Impact

With an influx of out-of-state visitors in the city, this tournament may also lead to strong tourism impacts for the long-term, notes Dr. Hawash. With rising tourism numbers, folks are able to see the benefits of Indy: culturally, historically, and in the entertainment arena, and this might lead to return visits.

Dr. Dan McQuiston, a professor of Marketing at Butler University, also weighs in on the impact of the NCAA Tournament for Indiana. His focus is on the tourism brand that Indy is establishing and sharing with sports lovers on a national platform. He notes the accessibility of Indianapolis to many key sports venues including: Lucas Oil Stadium, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Indiana State Fairgrounds, Hinkle Fieldhouse, etc. But also, many leisure activities and venues like: the Indianapolis Zoo, the Children’s Museum, White River State Park, and the many Historical and Cultural Museums in the area. With close access to many of the city’s main attractions, Dr. McQuiston sees a huge marketing benefit of visitors sharing their great experiences of Indy with friends and family, which will continue to add to Indy’s tourism potential.

Real Estate Investing around Indianapolis

Also of note, the professor makes a connection between the media descending on the city for the tournament and the potential for local, Indiana stories to be highlighted by the visiting members of the media and thus shared with National audiences.

Projected Real Estate Impact

With these numbers and projections in mind, the buzz surrounding the NCAA tournament will definitely benefit the city both in the short and long term. With millions of dollars pouring into our economy, the national media spotlight shining on our great city, and the hope for future tourism increases, it seems that the tournament hype will likely make Indy a better place to live and work… and yes, invest!

The economy is set to receive a major boost after this month, and with our previous detailing of the Indy Market in last week’s blog post, it seems that the benefit to real estate investors will be huge!

The only thing to do now, is make sure you get to cash in on the buzz surrounding this tournament! Working with a local hard money lender like CPL, allows you to be right in the middle of the action when it comes to securing hot deals. With over 10 years of experience in private lending, our team of experts have made vast connections across the city of Indianapolis and the State of Indiana as a whole. We are connected to many industries and thus have insight into market impacts and data that always puts our clients at an advantage when tying to succeed in the Indy real estate investment scene.

So, what are you waiting for? Fill out the contact us button on our website or give us a call today to find out how you can take advantage of all this basketball hype and translate it into real estate investment success!