Sports in Indianapolis facts for kids

Sports in Indianapolis include major league franchises, collegiate athletics, and a variety of other club and individual sporting events that have taken place in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Indianapolis is the home to 11 professional sports teams. The city is also home to three National Collegiate Athletic Association collegiate teams. Two teams from the four major American leagues, the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers, are located in Indianapolis.

A number of minor league-level teams also play in the city. The Indiana Fever Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) started play in 2000, and are under the same ownership as the Pacers NBA team. The Indianapolis Indians are the second oldest Minor League Baseball team, having played in the city since 1902, and are currently members of the Triple-A International League. The Indianapolis AlleyCats were formed in 2012 as one of the founding teams of the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). The Indy Eleven soccer team began play in 2014 and are members of the United Soccer League (USL).

Notably, Indianapolis is the headquarters of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the main governing body for U.S. collegiate sports, the National Federation of State High School Associations, and the Indianapolis 500, one of three legs of the Triple Crown of Motorsport.

Auto racing

Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts one of the most famous and prestigious auto races, the Indianapolis 500. It is the world's most attended single-day sporting event, and is part of the IndyCar Series. IMS also hosts NASCAR's Brickyard 400, and previously hosted the Formula One United States Grand Prix.

Indianapolis is also the central base of many successful IndyCar racing teams. These include Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, KV Racing, and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

Events hosted

Indianapolis has hosted the Men's and Women's NCAA Final Fours, as well as other rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament, several times. Conseco Fieldhouse will host the Big Ten Men's Tournament for five straight years starting in 2008 after it won the Big Ten bid over Chicago and the United Center. Indianapolis has also hosted the Big Ten Women's Tournament every year except 2001 since it started in 1995.

Starting in 2011, Lucas Oil Stadium became the regular home of the Big Ten Football Championship game. To date, every addition of the game has been played in Indianapolis.

Indianapolis hosted the Indianapolis Tennis Championships until 2009, which was part of the U.S. Open Series.

Indianapolis is well known for its ability to host large events. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts two major races every year, the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. Starting in 2008, the MotoGP Motorcycle series will host a weekend at the speedway for the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Lucas Oil Stadium and the city of Indianapolis made a bid to host Super Bowl XLV in 2011 but lost to Dallas and Cowboys Stadium by only two NFL Owner votes. However, the city made another bid to host Super Bowl XLVI and managed to beat out Houston, Texas and Phoenix for the rights to host the Super Bowl.

Indianapolis hosted the National Sports Festival in 1982.

Indianapolis also hosted the Pan American Games in 1987. Over 4,000 athletes from 38 nations participated in 30 sports at these games.

Indianapolis hosted sixteen international basketball teams at the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

Amateur sports

Indianapolis teams

• The Indianapolis Tornados are a Men's AAA minor league football team of the Premier Amateur Football League-Tier 1
• The Indiana Speed are a women's football team of Women's Football Alliance.
• The F. C. Indiana (NPSL) are a soccer team of the National Premier Soccer League.
• The Indianapolis Braves are a soccer team of the National Premier Soccer League.
• The F. C. Indiana (WPSL) are a soccer team of the WPSL Elite League.
• The Indianapolis Impalas are a Division 1 rugby team of USA Rugby.
• The Indiana Ice are an ice hockey team that is a member of the United States Hockey League, but is considered on hiatus.
• The Indy Eleven Women are a soccer team set to begin play in the USL W League inaugural season.

Ice hockey

The Indiana Ice played in the United States Hockey League, an amateur junior ice hockey league for players age 20 and younger. They played the majority of their home games at the Fairgrounds Coliseum, located in the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis before going dormant after the 2013–14 season. Some of its home games were also played at Conseco Fieldhouse. The president of the Ice is Paul Skjodt. The Ice filled a hockey void left by the Indianapolis Ice franchise that existed from 1988 to 2004 when they relocated to Topeka.

Cricket

Cricket is a street-level sport among the South Asian communities that live in Indianapolis. Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard identified the international appeal of cricket after his trip to South Africa, where he watched an Indian Premier League game that had been relocated to South Africa due to terrorist tensions in India during 2009 season. He initiated construction of the Indianapolis World Sports Park and its cricket stadium to make the city a global venue for cricket games. Cricket is a popular sport among Indian and South Asian communities and Ballard said that the city has a large enough South Asian community to start a cricket village. The plans for the stadium were started in 2009. Indianapolis has one club, Cricket Club of Indianapolis, that is registered with USACA. Multiple local amateur teams play with tennis balls in central Indiana, including ones in Bloomington, Carmel, Columbus, Fishers, Fort Wayne, Kokomo, West Lafayette, and also downtown at the IUPUI campus. Indiana (Youth) cricket (INYCA) with USYCA FREE cricket equipment and education program is expanding youth and school cricket in Indiana schools and colleges. Jatin Patel of USYCA and founder of the USA Center for Excellence in Cricket introduced the nation's first cricket coaching certification program for physical education teachers in Indiana schools during 2012. INYCA is targeting a future inter-school cricket tournament. The Indianapolis World Sports Park cricket ground is the home of the ICC Americas Cricket Combine – team to play in the WICB's Nagico Super50 and 2015 ICC Americas Twenty20 Division One.

Hurling

Hurling is a summer sport played among Irish communities in Indianapolis. Indianapolis Gaelic Athletic Association, formerly Indy Hurling Club, has been playing hurling in Indianapolis since 2002, and began competing on a national level in 2007. Indy GAA plays a summer co-ed hurling league, but also fields a team to compete in Gaelic Football and Camogie (female hurling) at the NACB Championships every Labor Day weekend. Indy GAA has several national championships, and is sponsored by local businesses around the city.

Little League baseball and softball

Little League, founded in 1939 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, opened its Central Region Headquarters in Indianapolis in 1989. Since 2011, the Little League Central Region Headquarters has hosted tournaments for the 11–12 age group to determine the Central Region representatives for the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport and the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Oregon. The Reuben F. Glick Little League Center is located on 9802 E. Little League Drive in Indianapolis and provides operation support to the 13 states located within the Central Region.

Images for kids

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  Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Colts

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  Gainbridge Fieldhouse is home to the Pacers and Fever.

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  Victory Field during an Indians baseball game.

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  Formula One cars wind through the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the start of the 2003 United States Grand Prix.

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  The city hosted Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2012.