INDIANAPOLIS – After a banner year of tourism in 2024 for Indianapolis, city leaders are gearing up for yet another busy year when it comes to big events in the Circle City in 2025.
After a record-breaking year, Visit Indy hosted its annual State of Tourism event to a record-breaking crowd.
More than 1,000 people packed the Indiana Convention Center Wednesday afternoon.
“2024 was the biggest year in Indy’s tourism history. Period,” said Morgan Snyder with Visit Indy to a roaring crowd.
In 2025, the trend is expected to keep skyrocketing as Visit Indy expects more than 1.8 million visitors for the marquee events coming to the Circle City.
“Today we celebrated the records that were shattered in 2024 but you’ll see momentum in 2025. Indy continues to set the bar higher and higher for these events and we’re excited to welcome even more visitors in 2025,” said Clare Clark with Visit Indy.
Indy already started 2025 strong, shattering WWE’s all-time attendance records with the Royal Rumble last weekend, bringing in more than 70,000 fans.
And with a jam-packed 2025 on tap, city leaders are eager to see what the year brings.
“Our momentum as we step In 2025 is undeniable,” said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. “With more than $2.5 billion invested in tourism infrastructure enhancements downtown, we have even more to look forward to. Projects like the redevelopment of Pan Am Plaza, the re-envisioning of Georgia Street, the Circle Centre [Mall] finally re-established, and the expansion of our Indianapolis cultural trail. All of these will help propel our city to even greater, higher heights. I can’t wait to see what our future holds here in the city of Indianapolis.”
Some of the big events in 2025 include:
- The NFL combine at the end of February
- March Madness the entire month including the division one men’s basketball regional championship and both men’s and women’s Big Ten tournaments
- The 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in May
- WNBA All-Star weekend in July
- The Big Ten football championship in December
The Indiana Fever season is also expected to bring in thousands to Indy after a banner year in 2024.
The Fever took home the Bill McGowan leadership award at Wednesday’s event – the city’s highest tourism honor.
Fever star Caitlin Clark helped accept the award on stage and spoke highly of the Hoosier hospitality she’s confident will keep people coming to Indy.
“I hope they had a great time, saw how inviting this city is and how great the people are in this city. It’s the Midwest, people are really kind here and that’s what I’ve enjoyed about my time here,” said Clark.
