Indianapolis, IN
Big Ten basketball tournaments draw 70,000 fans to Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Big Ten men’s basketball tournament got underway Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
It’s the first time in the conference’s 128-year-history that the tournament includes West Coast teams.
Indiana Sports Corp expected roughly 70,000 fans in total for last week’s women’s basketball tournament and this week’s men’s tournament. The nonprofit’s chief of staff and strategy, Sarah Myer, said Wednesday, “Combined with the women’s (tournament), we already had the women’s here, it’s a $33 million economic impact and what we’re expecting and were hoping fans come out.”
Kanna Scoggin and her dad, Robert, are Oregon Ducks fans. They were visiting Indianapolis for the first time and getting some quick grub Wednesday at The District Tap downtown before the game. “We do a lot of yelling and ‘ooo’s’ when I went to University of Oregon. We do have some cheers probably not camera-friendly though,” Kanna said.
Oregon will play Indiana at noon Thursday in the second round of the men’s tournament.
Robert said, “I’m ready for the noise. I just want everybody to be cheering for their team.”
Fans were not the only ones cheering. The Big Ten tournaments have brought in more foot traffic at The District Tap. Management says it expects to fill the 400-seat restaurant to capacity, and anticipates guests will eat 800 pounds of chicken wings a day. Indya Trahan, manager at the gastropub, said Wednesday, “The money that comes in this whole week is going to get us past that slow time in January and hopefully it’ll break our record sales.”
Another basketball fan, Marty Riggs said Wednesday that he’s been to every single Big Ten tournament since it started 27 years ago. He wore a Big Ten sweatshirt he got from the 2024 tournament in Minneapolis.
The tournament returned to Indianapolis after two years in Minnesota.
Riggs said he’s excited to get a sweatshirt from Indianapolis this year, as he’s a huge fan not just of the sport but of the state.
“Indiana is the best for the men’s basketball tournament. It’s the best. You have all the restaurants, hotels, you can walk to the stadium, to the arena,” Riggs said.
The Big Ten men’s basketball championship game will start at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.