GenCon will stay in Indy until at least 2015

Great news via the Indy Star!

Gen Con, the annual convention for gamers and fans of science fiction and fantasy, has agreed to hold its convention in Indianapolis for four more years.The new contract runs from 2011 to 2015. This year is the last year under the old contract.

The growing four-day convention typically draws about 30,000 attendees — many clad in costumes or black T-shirts and carrying backpacks — who spend about $26 million at local shops, hotels, bars and restaurants.

Gen Con is the city’s fourth-largest convention and one it worked hard to keep.

Today, officials from the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association led visiting executives from Gen Con LLC on a hard-hat tour of the expanded Indiana Convention Center.

“Gen Con is an important example of a convention that has grown up here, continues to grow and needs the facilities to do so,” said Chris Gahl, a spokesman for the ICVA.