Indiana Motorsports

The flurry of activity during the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race weekend included nearly 100 U.S. and Chinese auto executives and government officials coming together for the first U.S.-China Advanced Technology Vehicle Summit in downtown Indianapolis.

The event was produced by the Energy Systems Network (ESN), an initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and a sister organization in Indiana economic development to Indy Partnership. ESN is focused on the development of the energy technology or “clean-tech” sector.

The weekend concluded with many signed deals, promising future partnerships and more business opportunities for Hoosier automotive companies.

Indiana participants in the Summit included:

• Allison Transmission
• Cummins
• Delphi
• EnerDel
• Remy International

• Allison Transmission
• Delphi
• EnerDel
• Magna E-Car
• Remy

• quality of life
• sense of place
• quality of people
• low taxes
• terrific business environment
• arts and culture
• sports (especially motorsports)
• life sciences and quality health care
• ever growing diversity
• proximity to great universities
• location in the country
• availability of real estate
• low cost of housing
• and just a wonderful place to raise a family

--A new, 1.2 million-square-foot, 40-gate terminal building featuring outstanding architecture, the ability to accept international arrivals, enhanced retail and dining opportunities and the capacity to handle growth from the airport’s current 8.2 million annual passengers.

--A new, five-story parking garage that can accommodate 5,900 cars and 1,200 rental cars.

--More than 17,000 parking spaces, including the garage and surface lots.

--Direct access from Interstate 70 just west of Interstate 465.

--The FedEx expansion will increase package processing capacity more than 30 percent, from 75,000 packages per hour to 99,000 packages per hour, at the second-largest domestic FedEx Express hub behind Memphis.

--The additional capacity is needed to meet forecast long-term package-volume growth, particularly for international shipments. FedEx operates international flights from Indianapolis to Europe, Asia and Canada.

--The expansion includes a 400,000 square foot expansion to the hub's existing sort facility and construction of a 175,000 square foot secondary sort building.

--Two maintenance buildings — including a 40,000 square-foot facility for aircraft maintenance and an 8,000 square-foot facility for ground support equipment — will push total hub growth by more than 600,000 square feet.

From an economic development perspective, the new Indianapolis International Airport is obviously of great benefit to the Indianapolis Region and its business clusters such as advanced manufacturing and transportation logistics. But its also beneficial to the other business clusters, such as life sciences, technology and motorsports because of the expansion of the FedEx hub (which is already the second largest in the world) and the improved ease of both commercial transport and consumer travel.

A few photos of the new Indianapolis International Airport provided by Rob Banayote of Banayote Photography (www.banayote.com):


















































Visit http://www.indianapolisairport.com/ to learn more.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 28, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS -- Faculty members of the Indiana University School of Medicine have been awarded research grants from Susan G. Komen for the Cure. John Foley, David Gilley and Hiromi Tanaka are among recipients of an unprecedented $100 million in grants Komen awarded to American and international scientists.

Foley, assistant professor in the IU School of Medicine's Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and a researcher with the IU Simon Cancer Center, received a $463,499 grant for his research in breast cancer cell resistance to drugs and how that may lead the cancer to develop elsewhere.

Komen presented Gilley, assistant professor in the IU School of Medicine's Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics and a researcher with the IU Simon Cancer Center, with a $600,000 grant to study breast tumor formation in cancer stem-like cells.

Hiromi Tanaka,of the IU School of Medicine's Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, was awarded a $450,000 grant for her research focusing on a simple blood test to identify genetic marker alterations for very early detection of breast cancer.

"Our researchers continue to contribute to national efforts to reduce the burden of breast cancer," said Dr. Stephen Williams, the director of the IU Simon Cancer Center and HH Gregg Professor of Oncology with the IU School of Medicine. "They are making discoveries in their laboratories, and in turn, are helping to make real differences in the care of patients here and elsewhere."

Komen's pledge represents the largest commitment to breast cancer research funding by a single non-profit organization and will be distributed among 81 universities and hospitals in 27 states and five countries. The grants will be channeled toward research efforts offering the highest likelihood of producing results for patients during the next decade.

The Indianapolis Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure played an integral role in raising funds to support the research initiatives. Through the local Race for the Cure and other fundraising events, the Indianapolis Affiliate contributed more than $800,000 toward the national research pledge.

"The Indianapolis Affiliate provides opportunities for everyone to help make a significant difference in the fight against breast cancer," said Dana Curish, executive director of the Indianapolis Affiliate. "Everyone who supports our work by volunteering or participating in an event like the Komen Indianapolis Race for the Cure can feel good about meeting breast health needs within the community we serve while helping to move Susan G. Komen for the Cure closer to our mission of a world without breast cancer."

For more information, visit the IU News Room.

Source: Indiana University

The Indianapolis Region, a 10-county economic development area in Central Indiana which includes Bloomington, Ind., provides incredible value to its residents. A study released last week by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) shows that the quarterly composite cost of living index scores for the Indianapolis MSA and the City of Bloomington are just 90.7% and 91.5% of the national average, respectively.  The composite index score incorporates metrics for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare and miscellaneous services. 

"These data are continued positive news for companies considering relocating or expanding in the Indianapolis Region," said Matt Waldo, director of research for the Indy Partnership. "The Indianapolis economic development region offers numerous advantages for advanced manufacturing and logistics, life sciences, technology and motorsports industries among others, and the ability to extend a low cost of living to employees is critical."

The scores for each of the cost categories for Indianapolis and Bloomington, may be found on The Indy Partnership web site at

http://www.iredp.com/reportInterface/iw_p1.aspx?fsheet=qol&county=indianapolis%20region

In a recent report for MSN Real Estate, Melinda Fulmer ranked the Indianapolis Region sixth on a list of “cheap places to live where the economy is strong, home prices are appreciating and the quality of life is good.” Putting it another way, Fulmer wrote that “you won't need to trade the good life for the boring” in Indianapolis.

Based on the criteria reported on MSN, it was no easy task to make it into this top nine “Best Bargain Markets” list. MSN asked Bert Sperling of Sperling's Best Places to evaluate the most affordable housing markets from the 100 largest U.S. metro areas and pinpoint the nine most livable areas: places where unemployment is low, commute times are short and there's enough interesting entertainment or recreation to keep most people busy. MSN defined affordability by the ratio of median income to median home price.

This is one of the most interesting quotes from the article: Moving to one of these cities could allow you to "sell your two-bedroom bungalow in Southern California … and buy a house on a number of acres and suddenly have a nest egg you've never had before," Sperling says.

Here are the highlights of what helped the Indianapolis Region make MSN’s Nine Best, Livable Cities:

·         Indianapolis has become a model for urban renewal

·         Diverse economic base ranging from agriculture to financial services to industrial automation and technology

·         Headquarters to pharmaceutical and research giant Eli Lilly

·         Downtown Indianapolis has undergone substantial renovation and now boasts attractive new buildings, pedestrian zones and a state-of-the-art sports arenas

·         Spectator sports, including the NBA Pacers, NFL Colts and a few minor-league franchises, are a huge draw

·         The venerable Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400 and other events

·         Arts and cultural opportunities are abundant

·          Affordable residential neighborhoods spread out in all directions from the compact downtown

·         Higher incomes and affordable housing give city residents more buying power than most others around the country.

Of note: The Indianapolis Region scored very well in the evaluated categories including affordability, cost of living, median home price, commute time and home price appreciation.

"There's a ton of stuff to do here," says Brad Slack, a 35-year-old surgical supplies salesman who moved here from Walnut Creek, Calif., nine years ago. But, he says, it's also a city from which you can escape. "You can be out in the wilderness within a 20-minute car ride of the city."

For more information about the quality of life in the Indianapolis Region as well as detailed demographics and workforce data, please contact The Indy Partnership research or business development departments.

By: Ron Gifford - President & CEO, The Indy Partnership

In winning the right to host the 2012 Super Bowl, Indianapolis beat out some tough competition: Houston and Phoenix had both hosted the game before, and both offered the promise of sunny weather and plenty of financial incentives for the NFL.

As seen on Inside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick



Despite these advantages, the Indianapolis region scored a victory with a shrewd and aggressive strategy, selling three decades of experience and investment that has made our region uniquely suited to host major championship events.

Now take this three-city contest and expand it to include every metropolitan area in America – and in some cases, around the world. That’s economic development today, a dog-eat-dog competition for new jobs. In this battle, Indianapolis has built a similarly focused approach – combining our geographic advantages and competitive business climate with strengths in industries like the life sciences, advanced manufacturing, logistics, technology and motorsports.

As a football fan, I was happy to hear that Indianapolis landed the big game. But I’m even more excited about this event in my day job as the head of our regional economic development effort. I’m confident that winning the Super Bowl will help us score more victories in the broader competition for business opportunities.

First, there’s the marketing value. The Super Bowl will bring many of the nation’s most influential corporate executives to Indianapolis – a first-time visit for several of them. Why does this matter? Well, we see this phenomenon time and time again: We’ll host someone who’s never been here, and typically they don’t have much of an impression of the region. And then they get to experience first-hand all that our city has to offer, and they are uniformly blown away. “I had no idea what a great city this is,” is a common refrain. Almost nobody moves their company on the spot, but this exposure certainly builds relationships and lays the groundwork for future business relocations or expansions.

Showing our region at its best to the audience of millions who tune in for the game also provides an invaluable brand-building opportunity. My organization, the Indy Partnership, is a consortium of local economic development organizations from ten counties tasked with marketing the region. Funded by private investment, we engage in a program of advertising, public relations, tradeshow participation and personal outreach to site selection consultants and business leaders.

Our efforts have borne success; 2007, for example, saw relocation, expansion and retention projects committed to create nearly 13,500 new jobs and bring new capital investment of $1.36 billion to the region. We’ve won these competitions despite the fact that our leading competitors spend millions on mass advertising to shape public awareness. The Super Bowl erases much of this advantage, bringing a wave of publicity so significant it would be impossible to buy…and if the city manages the event with its typical aplomb and hospitality, the boost to Indianapolis’ image will give us a solid new foundation to build upon.

There’s also the race for human capital. Dynamic economies are fueled by concentrations of talented people – the regions with the most educated workforces also tend to rank high in per capita income and job growth. Today, the Indianapolis metropolitan area ranks above the national average in college graduates as a percentage of the adult population. But this position is threatened by a ‘brain drain’ that sees too many of our young people leave the state after earning their degrees.

To thrive in the knowledge-based economy, we have to attract and retain more educated workers – Richard Florida’s ‘creative class.’ We can’t offer mountains, beaches, or year-round golf weather to entice tomorrow’s workforce. But a steady diet of world-class sports and cultural amenities, with the excitement that comes with hosting high-visibility events like the Super Bowl, helps put Indianapolis on the map as a great place to live, start a career and raise a family.

The Super Bowl will certainly provide a short-term bonanza for our region’s economy, with more than $120 million in direct spending of the course of game week. But the long-term ramifications are even more powerful: If we take full advantage of this opportunity, we’ll be more than just a destination for football fans in four years – we’ll be further down the road towards being a prime destination for capital, new job opportunities and top talent.