At its first meeting of the year, the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority board voted to sponsor a pickleball tournament and approve contracts for the 2025 Gary Air Show.
The SSCVA will work with the Hammond Parks Department and Jean Shepherd Center to sponsor an inaugural pickleball tournament from Feb. 20-23.
The organization is putting at least $10,000 toward the event to offset the costs of the tournament, according to SSCVA documents.
“Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America,” said SSCVA President Phil Taillon. “I don’t expect us to, as an organization, help with sponsoring certain events after that initial one. … We’ll kind of hold their hand and get them to where they need to get, and then hopefully they can take it from there.”
For the tournament, the SSCVA will host a reception at the Indiana Welcome Center, Taillon said Thursday. The organization also blocked out 200 rooms at local hotels, and according to documents, participants will be able to book online through MeetingMax.
Taillon said it’s slow early on, but they’ve had 150 people sign up so far. The maximum number of participants is 350 people.
“We’re actually going to be pushing some marketing 75 miles outside of the area to try and bring in some more people,” he added. “Obviously, the goal here is to bring in new dollars.”
The SSCVA board also approved three contracts for 2025 Gary Air Show acts. Kristin Taylor, the organization’s chief of events and facilities, said the SSCVA will approve about 10 before the air show.
The board approved a $10,900 deposit for Rob Holland Ultimate Airshows, $10,900 for Bill Stein Airshows, and $22,500 for Dacy Airshow. These are the normal deposits for the acts, Taylor said Thursday.
In December, the SSCVA board announced it signed the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds to perform. The 2025 Gary Air Show will be Aug. 9-10 at Marquette Park in Gary’s Miller neighborhood, according to the SSVCA’s website.
The Gary Air Show came back to Northwest Indiana in 2023 after a seven-year hiatus, according to Post-Tribune archives. Former Gary Mayor Scott King launched the air show in 2000, and the SSCVA started sponsoring the event in 2006. The city of Gary took over operations from the SSCVA in 2015.
In November, the SSCVA approved a contract with a new air show consultant that saved the organization about $67,000. Air Snow and Show Inc. will charge the organization $97,000, down from Air Show Consultants’ $166,000 quote, Taylor said at the November meeting.
On Thursday, SSCVA Board President Andy Qunell thanked the board for its help in approving the various contracts.
“I appreciate you guys going through the fiduciary responsibilities of revealing these and taking the time to do this,” he said. “I know it’s a little cumbersome, but it’s part of our duties.”
