INDIANAPOLIS — Renewed energy surrounds Circle Centre Mall.
The vice president and senior general manager said the NBA All-Star, NFL combine, and other conventions are to happily blame. The events brought increased foot traffic, pop up shops and revenue.
That momentum continues as local and out of towners visit daily.
New businesses are even filling space at Circle Centre which is encouraging for shop owners.
"There is a real energy in downtown following the NBA All-Star and the event calendar is not getting any lighter. I think NBA All-Star was a good opportunity for downtown and how going forward it's such an exciting diverse environment," said Vice President and Senior General Manager Luke Aeshcliman.
Visit Indy said NBA All-Star alone had a $320 million economic impact. 21 pop up shops filled Circle Centre Mall along with dozens of permanent stores.
"It's been great for the mall," said Aeshcliman.
Now, some of those stores are here to stay.
"We have Klooz Brewz, Bobalicous, Video Game Palooza, Elegance, More than Burgers and Mt. Fugi sushi will be opening in the spring," he said.
Daki Glumack owns WNS Apparel and Elegance. He said foot traffic has increased with locals and out of towners.
"It's been nice. It's been a lot of locals here that were under the impression that Circle Centre Mall was closed before All-Star and I think with All-Star game in town they all visited downtown and saw it's not closed. There is still some great stores in this mall. Some have asked me how long have I been here and I say eight years," said Glumack.
Karianna Bilbee and her friend drove an hour and a half on Tuesday, just to visit Circle Centre.
She's excited for the growth.
"I think it's great. We don't have a mall where I am from and to see there are more stores than what I've seen, its nice. I have more variety places to shop, more places to see," she said. "This is the luxurious that we get when it comes to a mall."
"We are going to continue to drive value with the space that we have whether that's a permanent retail use, dining use or pop ups that want to take advantage of major events. We are happy to do so and we have used the space creatively," said Aeshcliman.
Something else new for Circle Centre mall visitors is live music every Tuesday night from 5 to 7 p.m. at Klooz Brewz in the food court.
"For everybody that hasn't been, there are a lot of small businesses still here and we love the support," said Glumack.
