Eight show days and two dark days
The Ford 72nd Annual Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show runs Feb. 19-21 and Feb. 24-28, 2027 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 E 38th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46205. That is eight public days across a ten-day span, with Monday Feb. 22 and Tuesday Feb. 23 dark. Renfro Productions & Management, Inc. produces it and publishes the exhibit rules in its 2027 exhibitor guide.
Sixty-three public hours is the number a crew rota has to cover. Friday Feb. 19 runs 1-8 p.m. Saturday Feb. 20 and Saturday Feb. 27 run 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday Feb. 21 and Sunday Feb. 28 run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday Feb. 24 and Thursday Feb. 25 run noon to 7 p.m. Friday Feb. 26 runs noon to 8 p.m.
Every public hour carries a staffed stand
Renfro publishes the rule plainly: all exhibits must be staffed during all hours open to the public, and the lease makes it a contractual obligation. Exhibitor Pass Gates open one hour before show time. A two-person stand across 63 hours is 126 person-hours.
Electricity, trailers and passes
Show management furnishes one 500 watt outlet per 10 feet of booth space at no extra charge. Spot lights rated 500 watts and above must be contracted with ERMCO, the Fairgrounds electrician, on (317) 423-3766.
Parking a trailer on the grounds is free. Empty box trucks and empty boat or cargo trailers must park on the north side of the Fairgrounds, north of the racetrack. A stock trailer carrying inventory goes to a separate Stock Truck and Cargo Trailer Parking Area in the alleyway between the Champions and Blue Ribbon Pavilions. Staff direct you to the right area at check-in.
Stock Trailer Permits are first come, first served. Request one at check-in and display it on the vehicle. Once parked, a stock truck or trailer stays until Feb. 28.
Parking passes are allotted, not sold. The Fairgrounds gives the show a fixed number to distribute, pass holders park free, and a worker without a pass pays the Fairgrounds fee. There are no additional passes to purchase. Anyone short should ask the Show Office once every exhibitor has checked in, because unused passes are sometimes handed back.
Credentials: who gets in, and how
A 10-foot booth space carries three eight-day credentials and four one-day credentials. Each additional 10 feet adds one eight-day and four one-day credentials. Bulk space under 1,000 sq ft carries four eight-day and fifteen one-day credentials, with one more eight-day per 1,000 sq ft over the first 1,000 and one more one-day per 100 sq ft on the same basis.
An eight-day credential scans once a day. A one-day credential scans once and is spent. Credentials are collected at check-in at the Show Office in the Champions Pavilion, and none are mailed. Extra one-day credentials and guest passes both cost $10.00, and both are handled only at the Show Office. A worker who leaves and returns the same day must exit through an Exhibitor Pass Gate and have a hand stamped.
Insurance before anything else
A Certificate of Liability Insurance is required for bulk space exhibitors, any booth 8' x 10' or larger the public can enter, exhibitors with fishing or hunting products, hooks or knives, and any food exhibitor. The limits are $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate. Policy dates must cover setup and teardown too. The additional insured wording has to read exactly "Renfro Productions & Management Inc. and Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show Inc.", and the certificate holder is Renfro Productions & Management Inc. at 6405 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Anderson, IN 46013.
Crew housing with published rates
The organiser publishes a rate for every property on its lodging list. Five hotels appear, each asking for a reference of "Indy Boat Show" or "Indy Sport Show": Best Western Fishers Indianapolis at $89 king and $99 two-queen; SpringHill Suites Indianapolis Fishers at $99 king suite and $104 two-queen suite; Home2 Suites Indianapolis Keystone Crossing at $99 and $104 on the same split; Homewood Suites Indianapolis NW at $119 and $124; and Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Fishers at $126 and $136. The Fishers properties sit 9 to 9.5 miles out, Keystone Crossing sits 7 miles out, and each publishes car, trailer and bus parking.
The rate-guarantee dates printed on that page read January 30, February 1 and February 3, 2026, which is the prior cycle. Confirm the 2027 cut-off with each hotel before you count on the figure.
Three double rooms across the full run, checking in Thursday Feb. 18 and out Monday Mar. 1, book 33 room-nights. At $99 that is $3,267, or $544.50 a head. At $104 it is $3,432, or $572. At $124 it is $4,092, or $682. At $136 it is $4,488, or $748.
The two halves allow a split crew. A first-weekend team in Friday Feb. 19 and out Monday Feb. 22 books three nights. A second-run team in Wednesday Feb. 24 and out Monday Mar. 1 books five.
The Fairgrounds campground is the other option at $45.00 per night plus 7% sales tax across 50 sites, with a $2.50 booking fee, a $5 dump station and 24-hour security. February has an electrical hook-up only, because water and sewer are shut off for the winter, and there are no pull-through spots. Call (317) 927-7520 to have the electrical box unlocked. The Fairgrounds' own camping page adds check-in from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., check-out at noon and a late fee for an overstay.
Getting the rooms, then checking the whole plan
File the room request through the team rate request form before you price the booth, because the block and the credential count have to land in the same week. The group rate calculator holds the room-night maths, how it works explains who replies and how fast, and the Indianapolis directory lists 273 properties with 21 more in Fishers.
Then build the rota on 63 hours rather than eight even days, and file the certificate of insurance before the freight window opens on Wednesday Feb. 17, 2027.
