Committee discusses event fee for sporting events and conventions

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Could conventions add another source of revenue for the Indianapolis Public Safety Department?

During the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee meeting Wednesday night, the idea of charging an event fee for sporting events and major conventions was discussed.

The money raised by the fee could generate much needed revenue for the public safety department and help put more officers on city streets, but some worry it may discourage conventions from coming to town.

"You have to be careful when you create event fees," said Indianapolis Fire Chief Brian Sanford." You don't want to do anything to keep people from coming to town."

This is just a preliminary discussion. Already code enforcement collects licensing fees when major events come to town.

The money collected from those fees goes back to code enforcement department.