Indianapolis's success at drawing conventions offers lessons for the planned Lake County Convention Center, Visit Indy President and CEO Leonard Hoops said.

Hoops addressed a business crowd at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond Wednesday as part of the South Shore Convention and Visitor Authority's new "Ideas That Drive Tomorrow" speaker series.

Indianapolis hosts three annual conventions with more than 65,000 visitors, including GenCon and the FFA. The city has enough hotel rooms to accommodate 120,000 people.

Indianapolis started prioritizing convention and tourism in 1923, when the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce created the Indianapolis Convention and Publicity Committee to capitalize further off the Indianapolis 500, Hoops said. Visit Indy is now 102 years old and one of the ol

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