HANCOCK COUNTY — Indiana’s passion for basketball is famous, but this year, some in Hancock County are hoping to get more out of the NCAA college basketball tournament than home state pride.
Brigette Jones, director of the Hancock County Tourism Commission, said she’s optimistic that the NCAA’s decision to hold the entire tournament in Indianapolis and the surrounding area, and to allow a limited number of fans to attend, will bring visitors to Greenfield.
Jones said that although the capacity for the games will be lower than it is in a typical year, Greenfield’s location and number of hotels and restaurants make it a good destination for visitors who might have a hard time finding space in downtown Indianapolis, or who prefer not to stay in the city.
“We’re optimistic about it,” she said.
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The National College Athletic Association announced on Feb. 19 that fans will be able to attend its men’s basketball tournament, which will be held entirely in Indiana. The tournament, featuring 68 teams, begins March 18. First Four games will be played at Mackey Arena at Purdue University in West Lafayette and at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at Indiana University in Bloomington.
The rest of the tournament will be played in Indianapolis, using Lucas Oil Stadium, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University and Farmers Colisuem at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The Final Four will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium with the championship game scheduled for April 5.
Attendance capacity for the games at the Indianapolis venues will be limited to 25%, a number that must include players and coaches, essential staff and the family members of players. That will leave a limited number of seats available for fans.
Although some hotel proprietors and tourism leaders in Greenfield are hopeful about what the tournament might bring to town, others are skeptical. Kellie Crenshaw-Sawyer, manager of the Super 8 by Wyndham inn, 2100 N. State St., said that so far, she’s not counting on a major uptick in business.
“In prior years, we would already be seeing some correspondence and reservations,” Crenshaw-Sawyer said, referring to past tournament rounds held in Indianapolis. “We have not seen one.”
One nearby tourism destination, however, has a basketball connection, and tourism officials hope to use it to advantage.
The Hoosier Gym in Knightstown is famous for being a filming location for the 1986 basketball movie “Hoosiers,” and still operates today as both a court and a museum.
Bob Gardner, the events coordinator at the Hoosier Gym, said he plans to send out invitations to visit the gym to all of the players participating in the tournament. Although the need for them to remain in a quarantine bubble will probably prevent the players themselves from visiting, Gardner said, he hopes they will pass on the invite to family members who might be interested.
“We plan on hitting all of our social media with the fact that we’re open, and we may even extend our hours,” Gardner said.
The gym recently reopened with limited hours — Wednesday through Saturday, from noon to 5 p.m. — after being closed to the public since March of last year. It’s been a major downturn in business for the destination, which usually sees about 60,000 visitors each year and plays host to 80 basketball games each season.
Gardner said the closure of the gym likely also affected the surrounding communities. He usually recommends that out-of-town visitors stay in Greenfield, since it is the closest community with chain hotels and a variety of restaurants available.
In a presentation given to community partners, including the Hancock County Tourism Commission, the Indiana Sports Corp. lays out potential benefits of hosting the NCAA tournament, including a number of community programs that the organization will sponsor. It also states the teams, personnel, families and fans coming into town will need about 2,500 hotel rooms. That’s well within the capacity of hotels in the downtown area, should all the teams decide to stay there.
The presentation says the event will have significant economic impact on Indiana, although since this tournament is the first of its kind, the exact impact can’t be calculated.
Crenshaw-Sawyer said she doesn’t think the NCAA tournament is likely to make a significant difference for Greenfield hotels. She said hotels in downtown Indianapolis have lowered prices significantly, and the lower number of fans allowed at the events means there will be less spillover from the city.
“There’s just too many hotels sitting empty, and we’ve all had to lower rates. It’s just a dog-eat-dog world right now,” she said.
Travis McMichael, owner of the Greenfield location of the Holiday Inn and Suites and a member of the county Tourism Commission, said he’s hopeful about the prospects of increased guests, but not optimistic.
“I honestly don’t think Greenfield will see it,” he said.
McMichael said the capacity of downtown Indianapolis hotels is likely enough to accommodate the guests who will come to town for the tournament. He added, however, that business has started to pick up over the past few months.
“We do see a lot more ‘staycations,’ as we like to call them,” he said, referring to people who live locally but may spend a weekend in a hotel to enjoy amenities like a pool or hot tub, or just to get away from home.
McMichael said hotels in Greenfield rely on two types of customers — tourism during the summer and during major sporting events, and business visitors in town for work the rest of the year. While the second type of business has started to pick up again, he said, the first still hasn’t.
At the Super 8, Crenshaw-Sawyer has started offering weekly rates for rooms in order to attract more customers, something she said she never wanted to do. That presents additional problems, since she’s trying to reduce her staff’s risk of being exposed to COVID-19 by not allowing guests to bring visitors to their rooms.
Crenshaw-Sawyer said there’s likely only one thing that will return the hotel business in Greenfield to the level it was a little more than a year ago: widespread availability of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The pandemic led to cancellation of the 2020 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, among many other events. Brackets for the tournament will be announced on March 14.
The women’s tournament, which begins March 21, will be held entirely in the San Antonio area. Brackets will be revealed on March 15.
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Ticket availability for the NCCA men’s basketball tournament is scheduled to be announced in early March. Key dates for the tournament will include:
March 14: Selection Sunday
March 18: First Four (Mackey Arena, Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall)
March 19 and 20: First round (all venues)
March 21 and 22: Second round (Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Lucas Oil Stadium)
March 27 and 28: Sweet 16 (Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse)
March 29 and 30: Elite 8 (Lucas Oil Stadium)
April 3 and 5: Final Four (Lucas Oil Stadium)
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