Picture this: Snoop Dogg running along the White River canal. Tyrese Hailburton atop the Conner Prairie hot air balloon, waving the stars and stripes during a thunderstorm. Simone Biles doing her gold medal-winning floor routine in the middle of the IMS track.
Now that the Paris 2024 Olympics are halfway through, we’re dreaming of lighting the torch in Indy. What would the games look like in our hometown? Here are our wildest ideas.
Opening Ceremony
Call us the Statue of Liberty, because we’re getting this one from France. Just like the Opening Ceremony along the River Seine, we’d take this one to the White River State Park, with viewing all along the banks.
Gymnastics
For one of the summer games’ most popular events, we’re heading to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Its downtown location makes it a perfectly accessible centerpiece for the Olympics, with 18,000 seats for spectators to witness the next rising superstar.
Golf
The Olympics may not be in the month of May, but that doesn’t mean that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is just going to sit vacant. We could see it being used for a variety of events — but golf in particular, set in the Brickyard Crossing course with its magnificent views of the Pagoda, would be especially breathtaking.
Athletics
Lucas Oil Stadium is the obvious choice here. But seeing as the host cities for the next few summer games are already confirmed, we’re looking to the future — and the possibility of a new MLS stadium in which track and field events could take place.
Rugby
Indy is already throwing its hat in the ring for hosting duties during the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup + the 2033 Women’s Rugby World Cup with its planned renovations for Kuntz Stadium. The project reportedly calls for the seating capacity to increase to 8,000, the perfect audience size for some exciting yet intimate Olympic rugby matches.
Rowing
Unless the White River is suddenly going to get deeper, we’re gonna need a bigger body of water. Rowers could take to the 1900-acre Geist Reservoir, known for its smooth, clean (ahem, sorry Seine) waters, or Morse Reservoir just north of the city for less traffic congestion.
The land that is now Geist Waterfront Park used to be a quarry and industrial area.
Photo via Browning Day
Marathon
With 17 years of success behind the annual event, it only makes sense to adopt the Monumental Marathon route for the Olympics. It’s one of the 15 largest marathons in the US for a reason, with a fast flat course that dozens of Olympians have already ran.
Beach volleyball
Indy is full of wide open spaces where a small arena could be set up, and we’re eyeing the open space in front of the Lilly House. Thanks to its location within Newfields, it’s already set up well for a small-sized Olympic event, with ticketed entry points, food and beverage offerings, and plenty of parking.
For ongoing coverage of the Olympics from Paris, our friends at WTHR have got you covered.
