Every year the NBA All-Star Weekend is held in a different major city, and one of the major questions always asked by fans, the media, and team leadership is "Did this event feel like it truly took over and mattered to the host city?"
We wanted to make sure the answer to that question in 2024 would be a resounding "yes." And so the idea was born -- that as soon as any out-of-town guest would step foot in Indianapolis, we wanted them to recognize that NBA All-Star 2024 was happening here. We needed to own the very first space they would step foot on.
Three key parties were involved in this activation: Pacers Sports & Entertainment, Indianapolis Airport Authority, and the NBA All-Star 2024 Host Committee. As part of brainstorms for how to activate the airport, many different basketball-related ideas popped up, but none of them initially felt big enough. Then the magic idea was thrown out: "why don't we place a full replica court in the atrium of the airport?"
That immediately caught our hearts and imaginations, as nearly no other airport would be able to pull it off as IND would, because of the space required. We had the perfect layout for it, and we felt this would immediately become a major attraction for hoopers everywhere. So we worked with a local company, Miles Printing, to create a massive, full-court-sized sticker of our 2024 All-Star Game court. We also installed official baskets so it would be a complete replica court, and rolled it out in the Airport one month prior to All-Star Weekend. The installation lived for six weeks.
The airport court was an instant sensation in the basketball world and the marketing world. It instantly gained massive traction on social media after it was installed, earning more than 300 million social media impressions in the first 72 hours after launch. It was picked up by ESPN, FOX Sports, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, and many other media outlets. The platform X exploded with posts from fans calling this a "dream court" and a haven for "real hoopers," with many fans joking they were ready to book a flight to Indy just to play on the court.
It also was featured on TV on ESPN and TNT and ABC, and major personalities such as Shaq and Tamika Catchings recorded videos on the court to engage with the activation.
Throughout the campaign, more than one million people came through the Indianapolis Airport, and because of its positioning, every single passenger had to walk directly by or on the court.
All-in-all, this was a complete success for us.
