Selling Indy to professional athletes
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Eleven professional sports teams in Indianapolis create a unique ecosystem of talent and wealth that could positively impact the city, but once contracts are up, players are leaving.
Why? WISH-TV Contributor Emil Ekiyor brings a unique perspective on the matter and sat down with WISH-TV anchor, Dakarai Turner to explain.
“If you look inside the Colts complex for example,” Ekiyor said, “the minimum earned in that building by a player is $800,000. We want to keep those dollars in our city and we want those guys to feel like this is a place to raise a family and grow professionally. It’s not just a Colts issue, of course.”
So, what exactly does Ekiyor recommend here? The teams themselves are great at positioning players in front of the community as a whole and generating fan interaction, but more is needed.
“If I were the Pacers today with Tyrese Haliburton,” Ekiyor said, “I’m tying him in with the tech scene, with investments and business environment … when his contract is up he won’t even think of leaving Indianapolis.”
For more information on WISH-TV Contributor Emil Ekiyor, click here.