Big Ten Championship in Indy sells out for the first time
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Tickets to Saturday’s Big 10 Championship game sold out two weeks ago, making it the only sold out championship game since it was brought here to Indy back in 2011.
A total of 66,700 tickets were sold. Ticket prices ranged from $50 to $175.
But right before the game, fans could purchase tickets on resale websites like Stub Hub for between $400 to $1,400, and that wasn’t for a front row seat.
At Courtside Convenience, all these football fans mean foot traffic.
“They buy a lot of alcohol. A lot of wine. We get a lot of water sales, stuff like that,” said shift supervisor Chris Caughron.
Caughron says their sales are 10 times higher than a typical weekend. “[On a normal weekend] we usually do between $1,000 to $2,000. This weekend, we’ll probably do close to $10,000,” he said.
From hotel reservations, dining and shopping, experts predict record-breaking spending in downtown Indy.
“In 2014, Visit Indy estimated the direct spending impact to be about $17 million. The reputation of Indianapolis as a place to host these events only grows when we have a great Big 10 football championship like we’re having this weekend,” Jane Jankowski with Indiana Sports Corp.
“We do enjoy the business. Iowa travels good and so does Michigan State. It’s definitely a big boom to our economy, and we do appreciate it,” said Caughron.
Indianapolis is contracted to host the Big 10 Championship through 2021. That comes as good news for the city, considering attendance grew every year except 2012.
According to Indiana Sports Corp., here are the attendance numbers:
2011 – 64,152
2012 – 41,260
2013 – 66,002
2014 – 66,229
2015 – 66,700