What may be Indy‘s biggest convention ever will arrive in April with the National Rifle Association‘s annual meeting.
Indy expects at least 65-thousand N-R-A members for the gun rights group‘s annual gathering.
The N-R-A signed the deal in 2010 and announced it to its members, but asked Indy‘s convention bookers to hold off on publicizing the event. Chris Gahl with VisitIndy says that‘s in keeping with the N-R-A‘s usual practice. He says the group initially had planned on a news conference, but reverted to asking for the P-R lid after travel plans fell through. He says the request is not without precedent, and hasn‘t prevented the agency from using the convention as a sales tool in trying to attract other big conventions.
Country stars Alabama, Sara Evans and Joe Nichols will perform for N-R-A delegates. The group hasn‘t announced its lineup of speakers yet. Last year‘s meeting in Houston featured former Republican presidential hopefuls Rick Perry and Rick Santorum, former G-O-P vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, conservative talk show hosts Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, and rocker Ted Nugent.
