The booking clock on the 99th convention
The 99th National FFA Convention & Expo runs October 21 to 24, 2026 in Indianapolis. The venue publisher forecasts 70,000 attendees. The venue counts 7,100 hotel rooms downtown, with 4,700 connected to the Center by skywalk.
Housing opened May 13 at 6 p.m. EDT. The last day to cancel without penalty was September 2 at 5 p.m. EDT. Housing closes September 23 at 5 p.m. EDT. The organiser runs chapter and alumni reservation links, with housing webinars for chapter and state staff.
What the room base carries
70,000 attendees against 7,100 rooms reads as 9.86 attendees for every downtown room. Four nights yield 28,400 room nights in the base.
Group occupancy moves the room requirement. Two attendees per room puts it at 35,000 rooms, which is 4.93 times the base. Three per room puts it at 23,333, or 3.29 times. Four per room puts it at 17,500, or 2.46 times.
The skywalk set carries 66.2 percent of the downtown stock. The organiser names the connected properties in its A to Z guide: the JW Marriott complex, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, Westin, Hyatt Regency, Omni Severin, Crowne Plaza and Circle Centre Mall.
The registration deadlines behind the rooms
Registration opened September 9. The early-bird rate of USD 95 a person ends at 7:59 p.m. EDT on September 30. The standard rate runs USD 115 a person. The on-site rate runs USD 120 from midnight on October 20. Daily registration runs USD 55 Wednesday to Friday and USD 30 on Saturday before October 20.
Registration and badge pickup sit in Hall A. The desk runs 1 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 6:30 to 9 a.m. Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Housing Desk holds Room 116. It runs 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. The desk takes no Saturday shift.
The four-day clock behind the stay pattern
The organiser publishes eight general sessions. Opening Session 1A starts at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Thursday runs 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday runs 8 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday closes with the American Degree Ceremony and Session 7 at 1:30 p.m. All times are EDT.
Wednesday and Thursday each carry a 6 a.m. shift. The CDE/LDE courtesy shuttles leave the Center from Maryland Street west of Capitol Avenue at 6 a.m. and run to 6 p.m. on both days, every 15 minutes with 20 minutes of one-way travel.
Rodeo shuttles to Corteva Coliseum run 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday at USD 13 a person round trip, sold through convention registration.
The room turn
Thursday and Friday each carry three general sessions. The room turn sits between the 8 a.m. session and the 2 p.m. session on both days. The 6 a.m. shuttle sets the deadline for group breakfast service and room servicing.
Departure lands on Saturday after the 1:30 p.m. close, which puts the checkout window in the afternoon.
Group handling and food volume
Student members must be accompanied by an advisor or chaperone to replace a lost badge, at USD 15 each. The School Leaders' Summit runs 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday or Thursday for superintendents, principals, counselors and career and technical education directors.
The organiser states that several concession stands and three food courts offer dining inside the Center, and that every concession stand in the expo halls opens during expo hours.
Security screening covers every building, with bag checks, metal detectors and wands at the Fairgrounds. Every attendee presents a badge at the door.
What the organiser publishes
The housing page carries the three dates and the reservation links. It publishes no rate for the block and no occupancy figure.