Gen Con Staying in Indianapolis through 2030

[Rushbolt]

The Indianapolis Business Journal and several of the local stations are reporting that Gen Con is extending their contract with the city of Indianapolis through 2030. Gen Con was probably encouraged by the new 800-room hotel and 143,500 square foot expansion to the Indiana Convention Center due to be completed in the next three years.

 

[DarkCrisis]

I still miss Milwaukee

 

[Retreater]

Well, I hope the new areas can help accommodate the massive crowds.

 

[Rushbolt]

Well, I hope the new areas can help accommodate the massive crowds.

I live about 40 miles away from Indianapolis so I am very familiar with Gen Con. I have attended the convention many times since it moved from Milwaukee and even went a few times before it moved. It already has almost 1 million square feet of space and 4700 connected hotel rooms. I don't believe this will do a lot to alleviate the issue. Indianapolis is also planning on building a stadium for the soccer team just southwest of the stadium. It only has plans for a boutique hotel in that area but hopefully it considers adding a high rise for additional rooms.

None of this will solve anything if the convention just keeps drawing more attendees. Gen Con benefits from the attention of being the largest gaming convention in the United States, but it really needs to consider revisiting something it attempted several decades ago. Gen Con should be held twice a year. The secondary convention will help split some of the attendance and may even get it back to the 40,000-50,000 that Indianapolis can handle easily. It could be held in the south, out west, or somewhere on the east coast. This is a golden opportunity for Gen Con to actually make significantly more revenue from it's brand and get ahead of the issue of growing too large for Indianapolis even after the convention center expansion.

This is all assuming that Gen Con continues to grow. That may not be a safe assumption. The record attendance this year was certainly affected by the fact this is the first time in years Gen Con has not required masks because the pandemic is not really an issue at the moment. Many people may not have fond memories of the cost and overcrowding of Gen Con this year when they look back on it next time they consider attending. The new buildings are not due to be completed until 2026 so there will probably be two more years of people being packed into the convention center like sardines before any relief comes. The public opinion of people outside the midwest about Gen Con may not be as favorable by the time those buildings are done. Also, other conventions like Origins, Gary Con, and Gamehole Con are expanding to the point where they offer many of the options of Gen Con without being as expensive or crowded.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Draw circles around Indy at 100, 300, 500, 700, 1000. Notice how many metro areas are in those circles. Now check how many cities can handle 70000+ people for 4 days. Indy is growing with Gen Con and seems to be very welcoming. Sure, there are a few other cities that could handle Gen Con but at what cost.

I liked Milwaukee (miss the Safe House) back in the day but there at the end it was not welcoming to Gen Con.

 

[dragoner]

Indy really rolls out the red carpet for gencon.

 

[Rushbolt]

Draw circles around Indy at 100, 300, 500, 700, 1000. Notice how many metro areas are in those circles. Now check how many cities can handle 70000+ people for 4 days. Indy is growing with Gen Con and seems to be very welcoming. Sure, there are a few other cities that could handle Gen Con but at what cost.

I liked Milwaukee (miss the Safe House) back in the day but there at the end it was not welcoming to Gen Con.

Wisconsin is now the home of Gamehole Con and the people there are doing great work in Madison. I'm really considering making the 6-hour drive at some point. They should really consider moving it to September to take advantage of better weather.

The point behind having another convention would be to stop the attendance in Indy from reaching 80,000-100,000 because that would be a mess. A second Gen Con might only draw 20,000-30,000 when it first begins but may take some pressure off Indy if people closer to that location attend it instead.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Wisconsin is now the home of Gamehole Con and the people there are doing great work in Madison. I'm really considering making the 6-hour drive at some point. They should really consider moving it to September to take advantage of better weather.

The point behind having another convention would be to stop the attendance in Indy from reaching 80,000-100,000 because that would be a mess. A second Gen Con might only draw 20,000-30,000 when it first begins but may take some pressure off Indy if people closer to that location attend it instead.

This was done before, Gen Con East, Gen Con West, Gen Con South and Gen Con Europe, Gen Con England, Gen Con Barcelona, Gen Con Australia, they went for a few years and then disappeared.

 

[GMMichael]

The Indianapolis Business Journal and several of the local stations are reporting that Gen Con is extending their contract with the city of Indianapolis through 2030. Gen Con was probably encouraged by the new 800-room hotel and 143,500 square foot expansion to the Indiana Convention Center due to be completed in the next three years.

...and discouraged by the earth's inability to recover from warming around 2030. At which point, Gen Con will check its sub-etha Sense-o-Matic, head to the nearest pub for several pints and peanuts, and hitchhike its way far, far away from Indianapolis.

 

[Rushbolt]

This was done before, Gen Con East, Gen Con West, Gen Con South and Gen Con Europe, Gen Con England, Gen Con Barcelona, Gen Con Australia, they went for a few years and then disappeared.

I think Gen Con abandoned this idea right before it was about to become viable. The explosion in attendance in Indianapolis happened between 2010 and 2015. The number of attendees doubled from 30,000 to 60,000. The last secondary Gen Con held in the U.S. was Gen Con So Cal in 2006. The number of people attending gaming conventions was much lower when they stopped trying to hold two a year.