INDIANAPOLIS -- Some fans simply don't want NBA All-Star Weekend to end, that or they know a good sale when they see one. The plaza in front of Gainbridge Fieldhouse was full of people Monday morning as folks tried to get into the team store for a half-off deal.
”We got some jerseys, we got some ball cards, obviously basketballs, sweatshirts so we'll be all decked out for a while," said Chad Huff as he left the store with his family.
Hundreds of people made up the line snaking around the front of Gainbridge. Everyone we talked to had glowing reviews of the weekend and wanted a 50% off memento of the hoops extravaganza.
”It's cool to see Indianapolis being represented on the map because we host all these big events and we are a basketball state," said Madison Bickett, a Hoosier who lives downtown.
From A-list celebrities to visitors from around the world, Indy expected to see more than 100,000 people.
”We talked to people in the stands from all across the country and we ran into people from other countries as well," Huff said.
Locals certainly had a good time, too.
”I think we just did a great job of showing how passionate and dedicated our fans are and I think we really showed out this week," Bickett said.
As for the business side of things – we talked to a few different downtown restaurants. Most said crowds were good and celeb sightings were plentiful. The Friday snow slowed down customers a bit but the crowds recovered through the weekend.
”We had a lot of takeout, a lot of people were grabbing food and taking it to different parties," said Brian Shapiro of Shaprio's Delicatessen.
Shapiro said sales were great overall.
”We never had the huge line that we get with Colts games it was just kind of steady all day," he said.
Danny Lopez with Pacers Sports and Entertainment said it will be a bit before we have the official numbers on how many people came to the Circle City and the economic impact of their visit.
But Lopez said the impression left on the world is priceless.
”When people outside of here look at it they go, 'Wow, there's really a ton happening in Indianapolis,'" he said.
Indianapolis leaders and creatives had been planning for this All-Star Weekend since 2017. Lopez said the extra time helped them to rewrite the book on how to create this event.
Lopez says Indy’s seven years to plan All-Star Weekend came in handy as they rewrote the book on how to pull this event off.
"I think when the league is working with future host cities it's going to be the same thing," Lopez said. "They're going to look at things we did as kind of the gold standard for how to pull these events off."
The All-Star Weekend is just the beginning of what is a dream tourism year for Indy in 2024. Chris Gahl, the executive vice president for Visit Indy, said this year will be a huge moment in history for the Circle City.
”We firmly believe we’ll look back at 2024 as a whole and specifically the NBA All-Star Weekend and be able to say that's how our city progressed because of these few days in February," Gahl said.
As for what's next for Indy, the NFL moves in next Monday for another year of the NFL Combine in Lucas Oil Stadium.
”To be able to say within a 10-day window both the NBA and the NFL held some of its most premiere events with hundreds of thousands of visitors and media crawling around," Gahl said. "Every city in the nation would want that."
Indianapolis has the NFL Combine locked in through 2025.