When Taylor Swift plays Indianapolis for the ninth time in her career this weekend – performing three sold-out Eras tour dates at the 70,000-capacity Lucas Oil Stadium – she's back at the top of her game.
And Indy knows games. After all, the Midwestern capital has hosted the Super Bowl, eight Final Fours (with a ninth set for 2026) and countless college tournaments across all sports – not to mention its 11 professional teams and a century-plus of play Indy 500 car under his belt.
So how does a sports-heavy city like Indianapolis shift gears to welcome hundreds of thousands of Swifties to town instead of, say, 70,000 Colts fans every Sunday? The trio of Lucas Oil concerts were announced in August 2023, but the city's wheels started turning months before that.
“We formed a local organizing committee, just like we do before a major sporting event, to engage community partners to make sure this was more than just a concert,” says Chris Gahl, senior vice president of marketing/communications for Visit Indy. Bulletin board. “And so, over the last 18 or 20 months, a group has come together to think and worry about how we welcome the expected 200,000 visitors and fans to our city.”
This huge crowd of tourists all come to cheer Swift on – and while her arena is entertainment, not sports, when the music industry it is keeping score (as in Bulletin board graphs, for example), are usually in the winner's circle. In the most recent year-end charts, Swift was our top artist for 2023 and has ranked in the year-end top 10 in 14 of the last 16 years. She is also tied with Drake for the most Billboard Music Awards of all time, winning 39 awards during her two decades in the industry.
And beyond the numbers, since its launch in March 2023, The Eras tour has been nothing short of a sporting achievement. Swift performs a three-and-a-half-hour live song-and-dance production, performing up to four consecutive nights at a time around the world for nearly 20 months. Beyond Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, we've seen professional athletes marvel at the endurance her gig must require, with Houston Texans defensive lineman JJ Watt saying after his opening weekend appearance in Arizona: “He didn't stop the whole time. There was no break. It wasn't half time. There were no TV timeouts. The longest break he took was maybe three minutes for a costume change. And she was singing, dancing, having fun the whole time — 70,000 people hanging on her every word and move. … And he crushed it. And she didn't even look tired. I was tired and I was just sitting there!'
With stats and stamina like hers, perhaps Swift is a better fit for a sports town like Indy than it might seem at first glance. And to match her undefeated record, the city went extra big with signage for the Eras tour dates — like, six-figure investment and 350 feet tall — including a 34-story decal of the pop star (approved by Swift's team) that launched. the JW Marriott, Indy's largest hotel; They have also temporarily renamed 32 streets in the city center
after Swift songs, so guests can stroll down Bad Blood Boulevard, All Too Well Way and, of course, Cornelia Street. And in a move sure to relieve fans desperate for a souvenir who don't want to spend their entire night in a row, the adjacent Indiana Convention Center — which usually hosts massive fan experiences during major sporting events — has converted his Showroom I in a pop-up mall, open to all Swifties Wednesday through Saturday, no concert ticket required.
Visit Indy
And the Taylor effect can be felt beyond the tourist board's efforts. Local sports bars are also playing their part: Slippery Noodle — a nearly 175-year-old bar and restaurant conveniently located three blocks from the stadium — is making a Swift-themed mocktail bar for little fans, complete with a friendship bracelet and sparkling straw, as well as a 'Dad's Lounge' for any parents or partners dropping off kids and spouses at the stadium and looking for a place to relax for three and a half hours or so.
“We've got a few staff members who are Swifties, so I think they'll be up for some trading,” Slippery Noodle co-owner Sean Lothridge says with a laugh. Bulletin board when asked if his team will be armed with the trusty Eras tour friendship bracelets. “It's something new for me. I don't really know Swifties, but I'm trying to learn a little about it.”
Over the summer, Lottridge used a different female superstar to draw crowds to his bar when a certain WNBA rookie came to town. “The Caitlin Clark phenomenon with the Fever was tremendous,” he says, adding that fans came from all over the country to attend Indiana Fever games at nearby Gainbridge Fieldhouse. “We had a good turnout from her fans, so it was a good boost for the town.”
Spectators this weekend are also traveling from all over, Gahl said Bulletin board that 81% of Indy ticket holders come from outside the state of Indiana – presenting a huge opportunity to paint the sports city in a whole new light or introduce it to the first. The biggest difference between the Eras tour weekend versus a high-stakes sporting event, Gahl notes, is that everyone has to leave Lucas Oil Stadium a winner.
“Usually you have two teams – sometimes four teams – taking sides, if you will, and rooting for their team to win,” he says. “In this case, it's one thing in common – and that's the love of the artist and her music. So while we've created different zones or restaurants or bars to align with a certain team in the past for major sporting events, this is a unifier. This is a city, an event, a weekend, all about the same artist and music, and it's the focus for her [U.S.] tour. So it feels like there's even more unity and planning and everyone's pulling together for a common goal.”
For the next three nights, everyone entering the stadium is rooting for the same side: Team Taylor.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-indianapolis-eras-tour-sports-town-1235816878/
