Little 500 attracts crowds, boosts local business

Any other week of the school year, senior Kyle Tutton goes out to a bar twice a week on average.

During Little 500, Tutton was one of thousands of IU students who extended the “World’s Greatest College Weekend” into a full week.

Tutton started with Kilroy’s on Kirkwood on Monday and made a trip almost nightly to the bars until Saturday. His celebrations, along with a majority of the rest of campus, had an effect on Bloomington.

Mike McAfee, the executive director of Monroe County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said while there aren’t any specific numbers, the Little 500 and the week leading up to it made a definite impact on Bloomington’s economy.

“It’s a lot of friends coming in to party with friends,” McAfee said.

More couches in Bloomington were taken up, leaving hotel rooms still vacant.
Restaurants absorbed most of the impact, McAfee said.

Susan Bright, co-owner of Nick’s English Hut, said Little 500 is one of Nick’s biggest weekends. Patrons started trickling in more than usual Tuesday, but the big culmination was the weekend.

“We probably saw 2,000 people on Saturday and Friday,” Bright said. “It’s like our big football weekends. We have to add staff and add deliveries of beer, liquor and food.”
At Nick’s, every employee of the 75-member staff is expected to work.

It’s something each employee knows when they are hired, Bright said.

“You have to have a pretty good excuse not to,” she said with a laugh. “We like it. We look forward to it, but we’re glad when it’s over though too.”

Big Red Liquors also saw an increase in sales. Wade Shanower, president of Big Red Liquors, said a majority of their Little 500 activity is on Friday and Saturday.

“Little 500 is our largest week of the year overall in Bloomington,” Shanower said.
Although he declined to give specific numbers, Shanower said the week before Little 500 and the week after the races are normal sales weeks.

However, Little 500 sales compare with Welcome Week, Labor Day weekend and tailgates before football games.

“We have lots of impact in the fall, but it’s over five to seven home games,” Shanower said. “Little Five is really concentrated.”

The real impact Little 500 has on Bloomington is the attention it draws.

“It’s one of the best events in the country for a university,” McAfee said.

That is why the “World’s Greatest College Weekend” drew students from other universities such as Notre Dame, Ball State and Purdue.

“Once you’ve come to Little Five once, you’re going to want to come back,” Tutton said.