INDIANAPOLIS – Former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos player Peyton Manning was in Indianapolis Wednesday to receive Visit Indy’s highest tourism award.
Manning was given the Bill McGowan Award for his impact on tourism. The honor came during Visit Indy’s annual State of Tourism event.
More than 1,200 community leaders watched at Visit Indy announced the city had a record number of visitors in 2017.
Manning talked about how much Indianapolis has grown since he first came here 20 years ago. “My first year in indy, I lived downtown. I lived at the old Indianapolis Athletic Club … free laundry, free room service … and I spent a lot of time downtown and used to go eat at the old Palomino grill, and, of course, St. Elmos, but to see the development of this city and especially downtown has really been phenomenal.”
A record 28.8 million people visited Indianapolis in 2017, which made the city $5.4 billion.
(PHOTO: WISH TV)
