A mix of Near Eastside community leaders and representatives of the 2012 Super Bowl host committee will lead the city’s effort to revitalize the community around Arsenal Tech High School as the football event’s lasting legacy.
Columnist Justin Cohn of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette believes the Colts' victory over the Chargers proves they are a surprise top contender to make a playoff run this year. He makes the case in his column here.At 7-4, they look downright scary.Look at who the Colts defeated in this streak: their biggest rivals, the New England Patriots, the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers, the feisty Houston Texans and the Chargers.
The Colts still have problems. Their defense is porous and they continue to be hindered by injuries, like the one to the knee of star safety Bob Sanders.
But considering the Colts’ weak schedule the rest of the way, they should have plenty of time to work out the kinks and maybe even rest some players who need to get healthy.
The IBJ this week has an interesting conversation with Don Welsh, the new CEO of the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association. Welsh, 52, left Seattle to take over for Bob Bedell in August. He's making aggressive moves to steal big conventions from other cities and to spread the word about Indy's great transformation over the last several years. Read the full conversation here. Here's what he had to say about the impact of the 2012 Super Bowl:I think the Super Bowl in 2012 will serve as a catalyst for people to say, "Wow, I never knew Indianapolis had that much to offer." I think the NFL has been so cautious of where they hold their event, as is the NCAA, I think that will be a testament to what this city has become.
A web site that covers NFL and other sports betting makes a strong case for the Indianapolis Colts not only to beat the Houston Texans this weekend, but to make the playoffs and possibly more. The site, BetUs.com, says the team's recent wins against New England and Pittsburgh make it a top contender despite a rocky start to the season. Here's what they say:Speaking of the Colts, can online betting fans think of a team that’s starting to heat up more than these guys? I mean, they beat the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers in back to back weeks. That’s pretty amazing considering. I know that I can’t think of any other team. The Colts are starting to play the sort of offense that made them Super Bowl winners in 2006 – 2007 and Super Bowl contenders last season. Their defense is playing better as well. Watch out for the Colts.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay raised the possibility that Los Angeles could host the Super Bowl in 2016, despite having gone without a team since 1995. Irsay has a home in the area and serves on the NFL's Super Bowl Committee. He discussed the possibility in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, a member of the league's Super Bowl committee, raised the possibility of L.A. playing host to that landmark game.The full story is here.
"In L.A., it's there for the taking," Irsay, who spends a lot of time here and is a member of Riviera Country Club, said in a telephone interview.
"People there are going to have to make it happen, make it work. But I know right now people are ready to put their time and effort into making this work."
There is a historical reason for staging that game in L.A. The first Super Bowl, pitting Kansas City and Green Bay, was played at the Coliseum in January 1967. In the years that followed, one more Super Bowl was played at the Coliseum, and five were played at the Rose Bowl.
At last year’s game, the average price of tickets on StubHub, the online resellers, was $4,300.The face value on the seats is expected to be about $1,000 apiece, though seats already are selling for much more on the secondary market through various ticket brokers and sports travel outfits.
Ticket prices for the first Super Bowl, played at the Los Angeles Coliseum 43 years ago, were $6, $10 and $12. They went over the $100 mark in 1988 and have increased regularly since.
State GOP officials say Indianapolis has it: the volunteers, the hotel rooms and the appeal to host the 2012 Republican National Convention.
But whether they're ready to push for it is another question.
Indiana Republican Party Chairman Murray Clark said that having the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis makes things a bit more complicated.
"I'm more convinced than ever that Indianapolis would be a superb place for a national convention for either party," he said. "Having said that, the 2012 Super Bowl obviously is a big deal for the community, and we certainly wouldn't want to be at cross-purposes with the Super Bowl.
NFL owners have chosen Indianapolis to host the 2012 Super Bowl.
The 32 team owners meeting here today picked Indianapolis over Houston and Phoenix, which hosted the 2004 and 2008 Super Bowls, respectively.
Indianapolis officials had gone to great lengths to secure the 25,000 hotel rooms required by league bid specifications. They also hammered home the city’s strengths, including downtown connectivity and history of hosting big events, from the 1987 Pan Am Games to the Indianapolis 500 and NCAA men’s basketball Final Fours.
Indianapolis also came up with $25 million in corporate and individual support to fund various Super Bowl operations, including event hosting, transportation and building a practice facility. NFL sources said Indianapolis has more money secured to host the 2012 Super Bowl than either Phoenix or Houston.
In the end, those strengths — along with the rising clout of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay among his peers — carried the day.
The score will be no small prize for the city. Sports economists estimate that more than 250,000 visitors will descend on Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI, with the game carrying a $300 million to $400 million economic impact.
Indianapolis’ bid to host the 2012 Super Bowl calls for turning downtown into a big party, complete with massive fire pits to keep revelers warm.
Officials hope to beat out Indianapolis’ larger rivals—Phoenix and Houston—in part by casting the city’s smaller size as a strength.
“When the Super Bowl comes to Indianapolis, the NFL will own the joint,” reads an executive summary of the bid released last night.
And, perhaps feeling the sting of being beaten last year by a larger facility in Dallas, local officials found a way to promise an additional 5,000 seats in Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Indianapolis delegation will make its pitch to the 32 NFL owners here today. The city’s bid includes creating a $9 million practice facility for the NFC Super Bowl representative on the Arsenal Technical High School campus. The facility would serve as a Super Bowl legacy to help youth on the city’s near east side and spur redevelopment in the area. The AFC champion would use the Indianapolis Colts' 56th Street training complex for preparation in the days leading up to the game.
Call it a rough draft if you will, but a meticulously prepared preliminary bid to host the 2012 Super Bowl is being delivered to the NFL today.
Mark Miles, who is heading up the city's second effort to land the big game, said corporate fundraising is three-quarters of the way toward its $25 million goal, and the city has promised up to $2 million for public safety. The Indianapolis submission is complete, Miles said, but not final.
It fills 14 binders that are at least 3 inches thick.
The bid lays out the event's basic logistics, such as where the committed hotel rooms and public meeting spaces are, the city's transportation plan, the seating availability and configuration, and the number of suites available to the NFL.
Excitement is building as Lucas Oil Stadium nears completion. The $675-million stadium is set to open to the public in about 150 days. Columnist Bill Benner, for one, is excited.It’s no longer an architectural rendering. It’s no longer a toylike model. It’s no longer a “ground breaking” in a pile of dirt on an asphalt parking lot. It’s no longer bare girders and precast concrete. In a month, it will no longer be, temporarily at least, open to the heavens. And in less than five months—if, as we used to say in Center Grove, the Good Lord’s willing and the cricks don’t rise—it no longer will be just that mammoth structure rising between West and Missouri streets.
It will be ours, and in that personal pronoun, I mean, sincerely, that Lucas Oil Stadium will belong to all of us, not just residents of Indianapolis and the contiguous counties who have pitched in on the funding, but to all Hoosiers who will find their way to its doors and share in the pride that will accompany its opening.
It's Our Time!
In 2007, the Indianapolis Colts brought the Lombardi Trophy home to the Circle City.
Today, another hometown team is working to win the big game for Indianapolis – earning the right to host the 2012 Super Bowl.
Join our team, and help the committee bring the Super Bowl to Lucas Oil Stadium: Offer your ideas, volunteer, or just be part of the conversation. This is the community's bid, and we need your help to make the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl a reality.
Seed Newsvine
