INDIANAPOLIS — Tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world are in Indianapolis this weekend for the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show. It's the latest of many events with the Circle City as the backdrop as Visit Indy celebrates a strong year in tourism.
In December alone, there are 15 events and conventions in Indianapolis, from the Big Ten Championship held earlier in the month to the PRI show and a youth religious conference on the horizon. More than 135,000 visitors will come through Indy, boosting the local economy by more than $70 million.
Hotel revenue overall is up by 10%. Hotel occupancy is slightly down by 3.2%. Still, Visit Indy is calling it a win.
Indy hosted more than 550 conventions and events for the entire year. Last month was one of the strongest Novembers for the history of Indianapolis, likely because of pent-up demand.
"We're above where we were in 2019 which is huge, which is uncommon in our industry," said Nate Swick of Visit Indy. "We're really comparing things to based on COVID, so almost all the way back to that 100 percent level, and we're looking at a really strong 2023."
Also, during the pandemic, unlike some cities, Indy kept building.
"We worked with city and state officials to have these major events. We hosted the entire NCAA tournament during COVID in a bubble. That's something that other cities weren't able to do, and so the fact that we were able to work so seamlessly with different organizations and make this stuff happen led other conventions to think, 'Oh, if Indy's able to do this, let's take our events to Indianapolis.' And so it's kind of been a ripple effect," Swick said.
This weekend, around 50,000 members from the race industry will spend around $48 million here in Indianapolis.
"The after-market automotive industry is over $50 billion in annual sales," said PRI President Dr. Jamie Meyer. "In addition to that there's an additional $8 billion in race parts, and then if you look at all the events and all the expense and all the additional money that's spent to go to races every weekend all around the country, you're talking billions of dollars in addition to that."
From Formula 1 to Indy Car to grassroots, organizers call the PRI trade show the second biggest weekend for race fans.
"This is where everybody comes together as one big community," Meyer said. "These are your best friends. They're an extension of your family. They race, they compete. Remember, racecar drivers put their lives on the line, and there's passion around this pursuit, and that's what drives the PRI Trade Show."
More than 1,000 exhibits will be featured including the latest in electric racing and cast members from the popular Discovery Channel show, "Street Outlaws."
All 1,500 tracks from all over the U.S. are also represented.
The PRI show runs through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Indiana Convention Center.
Visitors have to be a member of the racing industry to attend. Memberships are $40.