INDIANAPOLIS — The postponement of the Big Ten Conference's fall sports season means the loss of another major sporting event for Indianapolis. Lucas Oil Stadium was scheduled to host the Big Ten football championship game on December 5.
Indianapolis has hosted the championship every year since its inception in 2011. Last year’s contest, a 34-21 Ohio State win over Wisconsin, drew 66,649 fans with a $19.4 million economic impact on the city.
The Indiana Sports Corporation has provided the leadership since 1979 to attract and host world-class sporting events in Indianapolis. But the coronavirus pandemic has brought the big events to a costly halt.
"2020 has been hard on the city of Indianapolis with the loss of premier sporting events,” said Indiana Sports Corp President Ryan Vaughn. “We were really looking forward to seeing the Big Ten football championship as kind of Indy's moment to be back. It's heartbreaking to lose it, but you understand the decision the Big Ten had to make."
On March 11, Bankers Life Fieldhouse hosted opening round games in the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament. Indiana beat Nebraska in front of a big crowd. But as the coronavirus began spreading in the United States, officials decided to play the rest of the tournament without spectators.
But the next day, the rest of the tournament was entirely cancelled. Also on March 12, the NCAA announced the cancellation of all remaining winter and spring sports championships.
March Madness took on a whole new meaning with no NCAA basketball tourney. That meant more lost big-time, big money games for Indianapolis. Lucas Oil Stadium was supposed to host the NCAA Midwest Regional. The Indiana Sports Corp estimates over $60 million lost for the city this year from canceled sporting events, over $20 million from the Big Ten football championship.
“We certainly believe that major events are in our future,” said Vaughn. “How soon in our future? I don't exactly know. I don't think anybody knows. But major sports are not going away on a permanent basis, and our ability to deliver needs to continue to remain at the top and we need to be the first choice."
2021 is scheduled to be a huge year for the Indiana Sports Corporation. Indianapolis is set to host the NBA All-Star Game (February 14), the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four (April 3-5), and the Big Ten football championship (December 4, 2021).
But with nothing major on the sports calendar the rest of this year, downtown hospitality and restaurants and their workers are seriously hurting financially.
"When we bounce back at these major events, we want to make sure that we have the same infrastructure from a hotel standpoint, from a restaurant standpoint, from a bar standpoint, from an entertainment standpoint, and that requires that all of us be willing to make those sacrifices now,” said Vaughn. “So, come downtown."
This year’s Big Ten Football Championship could be rescheduled for the spring.