INDIANAPOLIS — There's no doubt the rain from Hurricane Helene impacted the 40th celebration of the Circle City Classic, but the attendance issues the event has had over the years are not new.
"We compete with over 25 classics now. This is one of the original. But we're really trying to figure out how do we morph it into something that's a little bit different and more meaningful for the community," said Alice Watson, president and CEO of Indiana Black Expo, the organization responsible for the Circle City Classic.
Watson said that a lot of attendance in previous years has come from people who travel outside the state to attend the Classic. She also adds the optics of filling a stadium of over 70,000 play a role in perceived attendance, compared to the Hoosier Dome, where games were previously held. According to Watson, prior feasibility studies show where the game attendance goal should be.
"We attempt to fill a stadium, but the reality is if we hit a number that is somewhere between 25,000 and 30,000 in attendance — that's a huge success," said Watson.
In addition to increased competition with classics around the nation, the increased costs of hosting an HBCU football game is a big hurdle, too. Watson said depending on the university, it could cost at least a half-million dollars to bring a football team here.
"We used to not have those challenges with HBCUs. And we're now competing with PWIs — predominantly white institutions — where they're paying a lot more for HBCU teams to come and play them. It's like upwards to a million dollars."
An effort to reinvigorate the Classic also includes a renewed focus on youth programming and exposing children to post-secondary education.
"We still believe that it's a viable model," said Watson.
No doubt, it's a difficult job being at the top, but Watson would like for the community to come be a part of the changes they would like to see.
"It is challenging because everyone has an opinion, but everyone doesn’t have a buy in," Watson said. "And so, what I would like to see is the community needs to see what they have — it's very valuable and to support it."