Gen Con is back! Where to park, get tickets, and what to know in 2024

Hoosiers traveling through downtown Indianapolis next week may notice a pack of katana-wielding Deadpools (plural) and cigar-smoking Wolverines bounding down Georgia Street toward the Indiana Convention Center. Trailing behind them could be a horde of demons claiming to be staying at the Hazbin Hotel and a Ghostbuster or two stalking them.

No, Halloween didn’t come early — Gen Con is back, baby! The longest-running, largest gaming convention in North America returns to Indy for four days of fun filled with cosplay, nerd merchandise, and more events than you can shake a lightsaber at.

Here’s what you need to know about Gen Con 2024: how to score tickets, where to park, and what to do if you (horribly) lose your coveted convention badge.

When is Gen Con 2024?

Gen Con takes place this year August 1-4 at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 S. Capitol Ave., in downtown Indianapolis.

Can’t make it in person? Gen Con will offer streamed online content via the Twitch channel and Discord.

How many people are going to Gen Con?

Oh boy, A LOT. More than 70,000 people attended last year’s convention, according to an earlier press release from Gen Con officials. That’s roughly the equivalent of the entire population of Muncie, Indiana (along with 5,000 of their pets), who left town to spend nearly a week in the Circle City.

Visitors should therefore find out where they can park well in advance of their arrival at the conference centre.

Parking at Gen Con

Gate Ten Events & Parking is the official parking partner of Gen Con, according to convention organizers. Please note that online sales for the 345 W. McCarty Street lot have already closed, so parking there is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Can’t find a spot on McCarty Street? No problem. There are more than a dozen other parking options within walking distance of Lucas Oil Stadium, including the Capitol Commons Garage and Marriott Garage along West Maryland Street.

More parking options can be found online at DowntownIndy.org/explore/parking.

What is Gen Con?

Gen Con is a four-day event for fans of all things gaming (minus sports and gambling): board games and role-playing games (RPGs), as well as video games, computer games and collectible card games.

What do people do at Indy Gen Con?

There’s a lot to see and do at Gen Con, so make sure to pack a comfortable pair of shoes if you’re planning on attending this year’s convention. The main events and exhibits include gaming tournaments, a film festival, hundreds of exhibit booths, thousands of scheduled programs, a costume contest, an art show, and much, much more.

Organizers say the 2024 convention will feature 665 exhibit booths, a 10,000-square-foot “True Dungeon” in Lucas Oil Stadium, one of the nation’s largest science fiction and fantasy art exhibits, a block party with food trucks on South Street, “Authors’ Avenue” books, seminars, panels and Q&As with industry and media luminaries.

How Much Is Gen Con? What You Need to Know About Badges and Event Tickets

Badges and ticketed events are available online at the convention’s official website: GenCon.com. It costs $143 for a four-day pass, $74 per person for Thursday or Friday, $90 for Saturday, and $18 for Sunday. Children under 10 are free but must be accompanied by an adult with a valid Gen Con badge.

Tickets for the convention’s 23,000+ scheduled events are available online. Some events are free. Gen Con attendees are strongly advised to check the availability of each event to ensure they are not fully booked or sold out.

What happens if you lose your badge?

First off, don’t do it. Gen Con cannot replace or refund lost, stolen, or forgotten badges or ticketed events per the terms of service. That means if your badge goes missing, you’ll have to buy a new one (assuming they’re still available) at full price.

When is the exhibition hall open?

The exhibition hall is open from Thursday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm and on Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

Why is it called Gen Con?

What does the “Gen” in “Gen Con” mean? Generosity? Generosity? Kneeling? Actually, the answer is in Wisconsin of all places.

Gen Con was founded in 1968 by Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax while playing games with friends in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, according to organizers at GenCon.com. That’s how the name Gen (Geneva) Con (Convention) came about.

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John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at [email protected]Follow him on Twitter at JTuftsReports.