Not Just Another Game, A Stronger Community

A university town is always more than a campus. It is a talent engine, a research lab, a cultural district, a startup launchpad, and a quality-of-life magnet. When that town also has a winning football team, something magical happens: national visibility, high-energy weekends, and a shared pride that spills beyond an alma mater or a stadium.

Indiana University football’s rise under Coach Curt Cignetti has become that motivation. On-field success has lifted the IU brand, amplified Bloomington’s profile, and created real, measurable opportunities for Monroe County’s visitor economy, business attraction pipeline, and long-term growth strategy.

Winning football does not just change a scoreboard. It changes perception.

When a program breaks through, it earns more national coverage, more game-day travel, more alumni engagement, and more reasons for people to talk about the community. That attention matters in economic development, where decisions often start with a simple question: “Is this a place people want to be?”

A sustained winning season also gives a university town something priceless: recurring, predictable weekends where visitors arrive ready to spend, explore, and return. In Bloomington, that shows up in crowded restaurants, full hotels, and a busier local calendar. Visit Bloomington has cited hotel occupancy reaching up to 95% on game weekends, with about $10 million in economic impact during those weekends.

It’s more than a nice-to-have activity. This is real demand flowing through local businesses, new jobs, talent attraction, and tax receipts.

The visitor economy is the immediate win. Game days are a high-frequency economic engine. Hotels fill, restaurants add shifts, bars and retailers see spikes, and local services benefit from foot traffic and bookings.

Research consistently finds that college football has an impact in smaller markets, where visitor spending is not diluted across a massive metro area. Another example: an analysis of hotel receipts in a college-town market found an average lift of about $1.2 million per home game in local hotel receipts. 

And when a program becomes a national destination, the upside can be dramatic. An example, the University of Mississippi reported $325.3 million in visitor spending across seven home games in 2024. While every market is different, the point is clear: winning football can turn a fall schedule into a recurring economic event.

For Monroe County, the message is straightforward: IU football’s momentum helps stabilize and grow visitor-driven revenues and supports the broader case for additional hospitality, entertainment, and conference activity.

The longer game is talent and business attraction. Visitor spending is the first wave. The second wave is talent.

A winning program adds to a community’s “story” when candidates and companies compare locations. Bloomington already competes well on fundamentals: Indiana University, Ivy Tech, strong healthcare, high quality of place, and proximity to key state and federal assets. Winning football strengthens the brand wrapper around those fundamentals: it increases pride, visibility, and the likelihood that a first-time visitor becomes a repeat visitor, a student, an employee, or a relocating family.

And it helps with recruitment in a very practical way. For many companies, site visits are persuasion moments. When leaders fly in and see energy, momentum, and a community that feels like it is moving forward, that impression sticks.

Monroe County Airport is where regional momentum meets future capacity. If IU football is the spotlight, Monroe County Airport (BMG) is part of the infrastructure that helps convert attention into investment.

The airport is not only a gateway for visitors and corporate travel. It is also a development platform. The airport’s own materials emphasize a strategy focused on shovel-ready development and aviation-related industry, supported by a significant land base (nearly 400 acres) and an incentive environment that includes personal property tax exemptions for certain aviation-related businesses on airport-owned property.

The airport is also planning for growth with a Master Plan process looking out 20 years to meet aeronautical and community demand.

That long-range planning matters because it signals readiness. Businesses want certainty: sites, utilities, access, and a public partner that can move at the speed of opportunity.

The future of the Monroe County Airport is already taking shape. The Monroe County Airport is increasingly discussed not just as a place where planes land, but also as a place where businesses can build.

A recent local civic summary notes that the airport has over 120 acres of developable property within its fences and highlights airport tenants, including Swift Energetics & Engineering, which is connected to regional defense and innovation needs. That kind of tenant mix strengthens the business case for additional aviation, advanced manufacturing, and dual-use technology companies that value proximity to research talent and strategic assets.

This is where the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation’s work becomes connective tissue. BEDC’s role is to translate momentum into projects: identifying site-ready opportunities, aligning partners, and courting companies that are exploring a new home for operations and growth. The airport is a key part of that story, and the current pipeline activity around BMG is a strong signal that Monroe County is being evaluated in new ways.

“We’re genuinely excited about the opportunity at the Monroe County Airport,” said Clark Greiner, interim director of the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation. “We’ve met with several companies, and Monroe County has been placed on the short list for future investment. The national visibility created by Indiana Hoosiers football is helping elevate our story at exactly the right time. When that attention aligns with prepared sites and long-term strategy, exciting things happen, and exciting times are coming for our community.”

Companies like university towns with winning programs, who doesn’t? For companies weighing relocation or expansion, a university town with a winning team offers a specific blend of advantages:

• Brand and visibility: National attention helps reinforce a thriving, relevant community.
• Recruitment edge: Candidates are more likely to visit and more likely to say yes, when the community has energy and pride.
• Corporate hospitality: Game weekends and airport access create built-in opportunities for client visits, leadership travel, and community engagement.
• Innovation proximity: University talent pipelines, research partnerships, and a culture of problem-solving.
• Quality of place: Restaurants, arts, outdoor amenities, and the kind of downtown activity that helps retain talent.

Winning football does not replace the fundamentals. It shines a light on them, revealing the strength and character of our community.

Monroe County does not experience an economic boom from a single season alone. Real impact comes from sustained success, paired with intentional strategy and the courage to invest ahead of the moment. That is why gratitude is due to those who were bold enough to see what was needed and willing to act.

That is why this moment deserves support. Coach Curt Cignetti’s leadership has elevated IU football, changing Bloomington’s national story. Athletic Director Scott Dolson and President Pam Whitten have helped shape an environment where excellence is the expectation and the investment matches the ambition. 

Supporting IU’s rise is about more than rooting for the home team. We are strengthening a regional brand to expand nationally, energizing local businesses, and reinforcing Monroe County’s position as a place where people and companies can build champions.

It is exciting all the way around. The opportunity now is to keep aligning: town and gown, airport and industry, community pride and economic strategy. When those pieces move together, Monroe County does not just host big Saturdays; it builds from them.

Momentum creates opportunity, but sustained commitment turns that opportunity into lasting impact. Now is the time for businesses, institutions, and community leaders to lean in: to support Indiana University athletics, invest in local economic development efforts, and champion the infrastructure and partnerships that position Monroe County for long-term success.

The BEDC exists to turn moments of success into measurable growth. Those interested in Monroe County’s future are encouraged to learn more about BEDC’s work and the many ways the organization helps amplify what is already working and scale it for long-term impact.