About Indianapolis

Although Indianapolis sits in the Rust Belt, like many larger Rust Belt cities it has diversified its economic base to not rely solely on manufacturing. A large part of this diversification also involves the hosting of events, especially sporting events. The labels of The Amateur Sports Capital of the World, and The Racing Capital of the World, have both been applied to Indianapolis. The city has hosted the 1987 Pan American Games, both Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments, the Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the United States Grand Prix (2000-2007), the 2002 World Basketball Championship, and is perhaps most famous for the annual Indianapolis 500. The attendance at both the Indianapolis 500 and the Allstate 400 makes them the two largest single day sporting events in the world, with well over 250,000 fans in attendance at each. Indianapolis also hosts NHRA's US National Drags just west of Indy in the town of Clermont with attendance over a 4 day period one of the largest racing events in the world. It is the largest hosted Drag Racing Event