With football season underway and basketball season right around the corner, Indiana Governor Mike Braun is positioning Indiana to win an even greater share of the economic benefits of the sports industry.
News release from Indiana Governor Mike Braun’s office:
Gov. Braun Positions Indiana to Win Big in Booming Sports Economy
Sports tourism alone generates more than $400 million annually as communities across Indiana compete for visitors, investment and new opportunitiesIndianapolis, Indiana (October 9, 2026) – With football season underway and basketball season right around the corner, Indiana Governor Mike Braun is positioning Indiana to win an even greater share of the economic benefits of the sports industry.
Under Gov. Braun’s region-led economic development strategy, Indiana is building on the unique strengths of every region, helping communities compete for more investment and opportunity.
“Indiana is built to compete and win. Sports support more than 90,000 Hoosier jobs and bring hundreds of millions of dollars into our economy each year. Through strategic investments, I’m helping communities across Indiana’s regions build on their strengths and compete in the growing sports-related industry.”– Gov. Braun
Indiana has professional and semi-professional teams stretching from Gary and South Bend to Fort Wayne, Central Indiana and Evansville, alongside collegiate athletics, motorsports and a growing youth and amateur sports industry.
In central Indiana, for example, Andretti chose Fishers for the company’s new global headquarters. This is a project, backed by the state, that will support engineering, R&D, technology and high-skilled employment in addition to racing and tourism.
Moreover, Gov. Braun’s strategy uses the Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) to invest in projects that use sports to drive tourism, create jobs, attract private investment, strengthen quality of place and build healthier communities.
In Northwestern Indiana, READI 2.0 funds are supporting a 300,000 square foot girls-focused sports and leadership complex in Newton County. The project is expected to create 1,000 new jobs and is planned to include 16 courts and fields as well as a championship arena. Through this project, Gov. Braun is positioning Indiana to capitalize on the rapidly growing women’s and girls’ sports market while creating a destination that can generate jobs, tourism and visitor spending in a rural community.
READI funds are supporting a recently announced expansion in Southern Indiana, at a Washington County YMCA that includes a 14,000-square-foot community center with sports, group exercise, youth/teen and childcare spaces.
More READI-supported sports investments include:
NexusPark – Columbus, Indiana
State support: $6 million READI 1.0 + $1 million READI 2.0 for subsequent expansion
Project: Redevelopment of the former FairOaks Mall into a health, wellness and recreation campus that includes a major indoor sports facility. Additional READI investment supported synthetic turf at adjacent outdoor ball diamonds.
Why it matters: Transforms an underperforming commercial property into a regional sports-tourism and quality-of-place asset, creating opportunities for tournaments and visitor spending while providing recreational amenities for residents.
Indiana Sports Complex – Blue River Memorial Park / Shelbyville
State support: $2.5 million READI
Project: $21 million indoor multipurpose sports facility. A feasibility analysis projected approximately 140,000 annual visitors, 26,000 hotel room nights and $30 million in annual regional economic impact at full operation.
Why it matters: Provides a strong example of how youth and amateur sports can function as an economic-development strategy, converting tournaments and events into hotel stays, restaurant spending and other economic activity.
Learn more at IndianaREADI.com.
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