INDIANAPOLIS — The Big Ten Championship is set to bring more than 100,000 football fans downtown this weekend.
Along with the influx of people, millions of dollars are expected to come into the area.
Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center is being transformed into all things Big Ten. The football championship is expected to bring in $20 million in economic impact to Indianapolis.
"From the restaurants to the hotels to the convention center, everything is impacted by the event, and that's why we want it back so bad," said Dan Gliot with Indiana Sports Corp.
While hosting the conference is a guarantee in 2024, what comes after that is up in the air. Indiana Sports Corp says the city has placed a bid to secure the game for four more years.
"We are right in the middle of Big Ten country. We are so centrally located for all the Big Ten fans. Even if it brings a West Coast team in next year, but really, Indianapolis, you just get that Hoosier hospitality," Gliot said.
More than 70,000 football fanatics are expected to pack LOS while another 30,000 are expected to attend events around the stadium.
"We got Fan Fest on Friday and Saturday. Friday 5-9 and Saturday 10-8. We got tons of activations. You can run a 40, you can see some media interviews. We got some fundamental camps for the kids every 30 minutes. So if you want your kids to learn more about football and do some skill training and stuff like that, so many cool activations in the convention center," explained Gliot.
Saturday is also when Iowa and Michigan go head-to-head. That game is set to begin at 8 p.m.