Four major middle Midwest metros: Kansas City, Saint Louis, Omaha, Indianapolis (Los Angeles, states)
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Indy -
This just seems like a middle of the road, average Midwestern city. Nothing bad, nothing great. Brand recognition? Um, Peyton Manning... Wait, nevermind. On a serious note, definitely college bball. While the corporate presence isn't on the same level as STL or KC, the economy is supposed to be performing solidly above average in the Indy. And I have heard positive things about the downtown area. Academia is lacking however. At least Indy has the state capitol. That is a strong plus. Skyline is decent
I'm not going to argue with your rankings because it's your opinion and you're entitled to it. But I see comments like yours with respect to Indy often, and I have to wonder if folks are willfully ignorant or living under a rock.
Brand recognition? Hello, the Indianapolis 500 -- one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Auto racing means much more internationally than American football or college basketball.
Corporate presence? Let's see:
1. Eli Lilly and Co. -- one of the WORLD's largest pharmaceutical firms.
2. Wellpoint -- the second largest managed health care company in the U.S.
3. Simon Property Group -- largest REIT in the U.S. (owns a ton of shopping malls)
4. U.S. headquarters for Roche Diagnostics
5. Dow AgroSciences
And more....
Academia? True, there's no WashU-type school in Indy, but it hosts a solid regional liberal arts school in Butler, plus it hosts IU's Medical School and a campus of the Law School.
None of this is meant to take away from the other cities, which are all fine in their own right. Omaha probably doesn't get enough recognition for being the home to Berkshire Hathaway and the College World Series.
The Indy 500 kinda has its own identity that has little to do with Indy itself. You can't really imagine what Indy is like by watching the Indy 500. You know the race is in Indy, but that's about it.
I think all four cities are highly underated on a national scale though.
The Indy 500 kinda has its own identity that has little to do with Indy itself. You can't really imagine what Indy is like by watching the Indy 500. You know the race is in Indy, but that's about it.
I think all four cities are highly underated on a national scale though.
It's the Indianapolis 500 how does it have a separate identity? It has a racing series named after it (indycar). Brickyard yes, the 500 no.
Bu is a good school. Iupui for the longest was solely treated like a commuter campus. Thats changed over the last decade as iu is propping it up big time. Another 10 years and it will be up there big in research. Iu med, law, dentistry and kelley there.
It's the Indianapolis 500 how does it have a separate identity? It has a racing series named after it (indycar). Brickyard yes, the 500 no.
Bu is a good school. Iupui for the longest was solely treated like a commuter campus. Thats changed over the last decade as iu is propping it up big time. Another 10 years and it will be up there big in research. Iu med, law, dentistry and kelley there.
I see a TON of similarities between Iupui, UMKC and UNO. Soon to be all Summit League as well .
Location: Midwesterner living in California (previously East Coast)
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msamhunter -
I admit, I did leave out the Indy 500 (which was my mistake). And yeah, it is a big deal domestically, so that is important.
However, I don't believe NASCAR is even popular abroad (this coming from my personal experience of living in Europe, Asia, and Latin America). Formula 1 would destroy NASCAR in terms of international popularity. I digress though.
In regards to corporate presence, yes Eli Lily and Wellpoint are probably Indy's most recognizable company brand names. I did not deny that Indy does in fact have a corporate presence. However, my original statement remains the same, both STL and KC have a greater number of nationally/internationally recognizable companies (STL with Energizer, Anheuser-Busch, Enterprise RentACar, and KC with Hallmark, Sprint, and Garmin). Advantage to the MO cities.
Academia is still a disadvantage for Indy.
Omaha certainly isn't the "flyover, farm town" that many would like to believe. However, it lacks in big city ammenities and characteristics. I think a more suitable comparisson for it would be to Tulsa, or even Oklahoma City to a certain extent.
I admit, I did leave out the Indy 500 (which was my mistake). And yeah, it is a big deal domestically, so that is important.
However, I don't believe NASCAR is even popular abroad (this coming from my personal experience of living in Europe, Asia, and Latin America). Formula 1 would destroy NASCAR in terms of international popularity. I digress though.
In regards to corporate presence, yes Eli Lily and Wellpoint are probably Indy's most recognizable company brand names. I did not deny that Indy does in fact have a corporate presence. However, my original statement remains the same, both STL and KC have a greater number of nationally/internationally recognizable companies (STL with Energizer, Anheuser-Busch, Enterprise RentACar, and KC with Hallmark, Sprint, and Garmin). Advantage to the MO cities.
Academia is still a disadvantage for Indy.
Omaha certainly isn't the "flyover, farm town" that many would like to believe. However, it lacks in big city ammenities and characteristics. I think a more suitable comparisson for it would be to Tulsa, or even Oklahoma City to a certain extent.
Triple crown of racing: 1. Monaco. 2. Le Mans. 3. Indianapolis 500.
As far as corporate recognition, Simon is now actually the worlds largest Real Estate broker. That was announced last month. They own a lot of stuff worldwide and you also forget Cummins down in Columbus and Brightpoint as well.
Omaha certainly isn't the "flyover, farm town" that many would like to believe. However, it lacks in big city ammenities and characteristics. I think a more suitable comparisson for it would be to Tulsa, or even Oklahoma City to a certain extent.
To this note Omaha is definitely behind when it comes to pro sports and shopping. Although there are hopes that shopping will take a big jump up in a few years with Omaha's oldest mall due for a big overhaul.
Pro sports are probably not happening anytime soon so the sports fix is mostly the college route. CWS is a blast, Creighton basketball averaged over 16,665 this past season 6th best in the nation. Actually looking at things they had the highest average attendance of any basketball team in these 4 metros. Why was the Pacer's attendance so low? The are really good this year. UNO hockey has the 4th highest college average attendance.
By the way I am definitely not comparing college basketball to NBA so please don't overact to that, just more curious why the 3rd seed in the East had the 2nd worst average attendance in the NBA .
To this note Omaha is definitely behind when it comes to pro sports and shopping. Although there are hopes that shopping will take a big jump up in a few years with Omaha's oldest mall due for a big overhaul.
Pro sports are probably not happening anytime soon so the sports fix is mostly the college route. CWS is a blast, Creighton basketball averaged over 16,665 this past season 6th best in the nation. Actually looking at things they had the highest average attendance of any basketball team in these 4 metros. Why was the Pacer's attendance so low? The are really good this year. UNO hockey has the 4th highest college average attendance.
By the way I am definitely not comparing college basketball to NBA so please don't overact to that, just more curious why the 3rd seed in the East had the 2nd worst average attendance in the NBA .
Pacer issues stems from its recent past. Ron Artest brawl in Detroit followed by several high profile incidents from players in nightclubs and such, including guns. That doesn't sit well out here where the players can do and act anyway they deem fit. Those players are gone but it's taking more time for the fanbase to return to the point of attending the games. Those types of incidents took a toll on the Pacers and fan support and sadly they have to rebuild it.
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