NIPSCO supports 16th Annual XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix boat race in Michigan City

The 16th Annual XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix boat race took place in Michigan City on August 2-3. Festivities for the fun-filled week started on Monday, July 28. On Thursday, July 31, a ribbon cutting and VIP party at Sunset Grille set the mood for an epic weekend on the water to follow at Washington Park Beach. The weekend brought in plenty of sponsors, media outlets, local residents, and more to celebrate one of the biggest events of the summer in the Michigan City community.

One sponsor organization that has been supporting the XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix since the very beginning is NIPSCO. Katie Eaton, public affairs manager with NIPSCO, looks forward to the opportunity for her organization to sponsor an award-winning event that showcases some of the world’s fastest and most powerful offshore boats.

“We have been a key sponsor of this event for a very long time,” Eaton said. “We’re here to continuously support the quality of life and tourism here in Michigan City, La Porte County, and the entire Region. This year, we were asked to come in as the exclusive safety sponsor. The team at the Convention and Visitors Bureau that organizes the event is really making sure that this week of activities goes on safely, from the racers and boat team members to the spectators here on the beach and in the tents.”

XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix week provides a number of free opportunities for the people who come to watch the boats at the Washington Park Beach. Attendees are free to sit on the beach to watch the boat races and are able to enjoy more free events downtown in Michigan City in the days leading up to the races.

While Eaton knows this event is a great time for the racers, it’s also making a monumental impact in benefiting the community as a whole.

“The amount of economic dollars that come in during an event like this and the sheer number of people here is really beneficial to not just Michigan City or La Porte County but really all of Northwest Indiana,” Eaton said. “This area is definitely busy during the summer months, especially on the water in Michigan City.”

NIPSCO had a tent set up on the west end of the shore with drinks, tables, and lawn chairs to watch the boats. This tent also included some of NIPSCO’s partners to enjoy the show with them.

Spencer Summers, economic development director with the Northwest Indiana Forum, is a member of one of these partner organizations. With such an impressive turnout from the community and devoted partners such as NIPSCO, Summers is grateful for how this event spotlights something that you can’t find everywhere.

“NIPSCO is a great partner of ours, and they’re great partners to so many throughout the Region,” Summers said. “It’s incredible for them to support this event. I think the main purpose of driving visitation in Northwest Indiana, and even from an economic development perspective, is that it’s great to have people come and experience the places that we call home. Our goal is to turn those visitors into vacationers, and then turn those vacationers into residents. This is one of the best ways to showcase the quality of life we have here.”

With more than 40 sponsors and media outlets such as ESPN Chicago coming to support the XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix, this event has already garnered a lot of attention from outside communities in less than two decades of time.

“I think it’s incredible for the work that’s consistently being put into this race in Michigan City,” Summers said. “Getting recognized by Chicago networks and national networks is always a great thing for the Region. We’re sometimes a little left out of the pool, but getting a chance to showcase something that the community gravitates behind on a beautiful day like this is a special opportunity.”

NIPSCO is one of many partners who have all intentions to continue supporting the Convention and Visitors Bureau in an attempt to keep increasing tourism across Northwest Indiana.

The VIP tents and race viewing experience ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the final day of the Grand Prix. Brunch was also served for attendees from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thousands of visitors filled hundreds of tents lined up along the shore to have a front row seat of the action.

For more information on NIPSCO, you can visit nipsco.com.