Downtown businesses cashing in on swim trials – Inside INdiana Business

The U.S. Olympic Swim Trials are well underway with more than 250,000 people expected to descend on downtown Indianapolis over the course of the nine-day event.

And it’s not just the Olympic hopefuls in the pool that are gearing up; local businesses are hoping to cash in on the influx of visitors. Downtown Indy Inc. is estimating that the overall economic impact from the swim trials will be around $100 million.

President Taylor Schaffer told Inside INdiana Business the organization—along with the Indiana Sports Corp—met with downtown business owners to help equip them with tools to maximize the nonstop foot traffic.

Schaffer said officials learned from February’s NBA All-Star Game in Indy that the more information provided to business owners, the better prepared they will be.

“Especially for an event like this where it’s nine days, where you have prelims in the morning and finals at night, where you have that kind of gap where people are going to want to be able to explore, they’re going to want to be able to get food and beverage, there’s something really powerful about making sure they’re prepared with that information,” she said.

From our partners at the IBJ: Between sessions of swimming trials, fans find a hot time on Georgia Street

April Denny with downtown staple St. Elmo Steak House said they are prepared for an intense nine days, it’s going to take high energy to maneuver through the crowds.

“Everyone walking through the door, you know wants to see a smiling face,” Denny said. “They want to hear about the history of your restaurant. They want to know where are the other independently owned restaurants around the city that you love to go to. They want to know the good ones. Downtown has really stepped up in all of that restaurant scene, and we have a lot to offer.”

There has also been a lot of work going on behind the scenes from trash pickups to little beautification projects to make sure Indianapolis leaves an extra special, lasting impression.

Schaffer said the big events like the swim trials and the NBA All-Star Game help to put Indianapolis on the national and global stage.

“They help the highlight the incredible assets and ability we have as a host city, but I think at the same time, they encourage people to explore Indianapolis,” she said. “They help to raise our profile. They help to raise the visibility of our community, and I think [it] only helps drive future events like this and hopefully bring people back again.”

The U.S. Olympic Swim Trials continue through June 23.

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