Indianapolis Development News [Archive] - Page 30

jjgn

January 31st, 2012, 05:03 AM

January 30, 2012, 1:41 PM
Everything Indy: The Invasion of the Roman Numerals
By MIKE TANIER
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/everything-indy-the-invastion-of-the-roman-numerals/
Michael Conroy/Associated Press
Big numbers in Indy.
Throughout the week, Mike Tanier will be out and about and filing dispatches from the Super Bowl city.

INDIANAPOLIS– Like a despotic ancient empire, the N.F.L. carves its oppressive iconography into the very face of the cities it conquers.

Here at the site of Super Bowl XLVI, there are banners and monuments, streets renamed and avenues re-purposed. A 20-story high image of the Lombardi Trophy looms over the city from the face of the J.W. Marriott hotel like an obelisk. Indianapolis has not just been invaded, but annexed.

In Monument Circle, the center of downtown, 20-foot-high Roman numerals on a 7-foot riser dwarf the passing cars and obscure the Indiana Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument from street view. The N.F.L.’s fascination with Roman numerals is one of the league’s most bombastic traits, but the commitment to classical pretense pays off when the league builds on an epic scale. Park a giant “46” in the middle of a city, and passers-by scratch their heads. Erect a hulking “XLVI” into town central, and watch everyone stop to take pictures in front of it.

The huge numerals drew an escalating commotion on Monday morning. Before 9 a.m., a sparse trickle of tourists and locals stopped for photographs, including two local E.M.T.’s. “Hurry up before they tow our ambulance,” one said, as his partner fiddled with his camera. “They can’t do that, can they?” the other asked. High school students conducted person-on-the-street interviews for video projects. Photographers hustled into the middle of Meridian Street, snapped pictures, then rushed back before traffic rounded the circle.

As morning passed, crowds picked up. The staff of Exact Target, an e-mail services company headquartered just off Monument Circle, organized a company photograph in front of the numerals. With dozens of workers dodging traffic to get to the attraction and a photographer high on a ladder in the middle of the street, the E.M.T.’s would have been wise to stick around.

Luckily, no one was hurt. Employees approached the circle by the dozens, the crowd in front of the numerals swelling into the hundreds; Exact Target must be the largest e-mail services provider in the world, or else it delivers all of its e-mails by hand. When the employees finally cheered for their group photograph, the whoop was audible from two blocks away, if not from space.

If the Super Bowl Village, located two blocks from Monument Circle, is the Epicenter of Awesome (as the promotional copy claims it is), then the giant numerals are the Nexus of Transcendence, or something. Still, the N.F.L. may reach the point of diminishing returns on its Roman numeral fetish in a few decades. We are just 42 years from Super Bowl LXXXVIII, at which time the league will be forced to choose between smaller fonts and larger cities.

The Village itself, a four-block, closed-off expanse of Georgia Street, was quiet on Monday morning: ice sculptures, zip line rides and makeshift midstreet lounges await throngs that will arrive by evening and increase throughout the week. Football heraldry and iconography is predictably denser along the disorienting stretch of downtown, but at least the “Super Bowl Village” name and signage remain constant along the entire pedestrian thoroughfare.

The names of all of the other streets in downtown Indianapolis have been temporarily changed to represent the 32 N.F.L. teams, and the names change every few blocks. Meridian Street is Bears Boulevard near the giant “XLVI” but Bengals Boulevard as you approach Georgia Street. The whimsical new signs hang at roughly the same height as regular street signs, and with their bold colors they are often more prominent: perfect for the out-of-towner whose G.P.S. is unaware that his hotel now lies near the corner of Seahawks Street and Texans Terrace.

The rear of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church juts incongruously into the western edge of the Super Bowl village. The church’s back courtyard, usually an alcove of calm, has been invaded along its fence line by power cables, pylons and pallets. Its parking lot is temporary home to satellite vans and noisy power generating trailers. Still, the church gamely goes about its business, with banners of its own to announce mass times and welcome fans. “If you thought the zip line was a thrill … come in and spend some time with Jesus!!!” a sign outside the church reads.

While monolithic and omnipresent, the N.F.L.’s makeover is obviously temporary upon close inspection. The enormous numerals are made of fabric fastened over mesh, the sunburst pattern on the sides of the numerals resembling plywood when viewed from a distance.

The orange barricades that secure the Super Bowl Village will be marshaled in the service of other civic events in a few weeks. Ice sculptures melt. Even the greatest empires of antiquity learned that conquest was temporary, and for all its might, the N.F.L. knows how to stake a claim and move on. Those Roman numerals invite mortals to look upon the league’s works and despair. In just over a week, nothing but good old Indianapolis will remain.

Mike Tanier writes about the N.F.L. for The Times, Football Outsiders and NBC Sports. If you are in Indianapolis, look for him out and about: he will be the one complaining about the lack of authentic cheese steaks.

GarfieldPark

January 31st, 2012, 06:08 AM

JohnM Indy: "A year ago this week was that horrible ice storm that all but shut the city down for a few days. Thank God it didn't happen this year."

And the weather situation makes for all that much better of a story when you realize that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones pulled some of his powerful strings to make sure Dallas bumped out Indy to land the 2011 Super Bowl. He basically guaranteed that Indy would win in 2012 if Dallas were chosen to host in 2011 and basically worked out some kind of deal with several of his fellow NFL owners. He thought he was being sly to get Dallas away from hosting in 2012 - because he thought there was a good chance the 2012 Super Bowl could be cancelled due to the potential NFL labor strike. He left Indy in that timespot -- thinking we would potentially be the city to be sitting emptyhanded in February of 2012.

As we all know, Dallas got iced in in 2011 and couldn't handle the snow and freezing temperatures and had all kinds of problems. Meanwhile -- Indy has lucked out with weather about as ideal as one could wish for for the last week of January / first week of February in the middle of Indiana. Not exactly sure what the moral of the story is -- but it does seem like some kind of justice was served -- and I'm sure Jerry is quite aware of the situation and will be thinking about what could have been if he had just left things alone, especially since its 70 and sunny in Dallas this week.

Indy'd

January 31st, 2012, 02:32 PM

The only argument that works to eliminate surface parking is what worked on Lilly and OneAmerica: build me a lot somewhere else and I'll think about it. Sweeten the deal enough, it happens.

I seem to remember learning about this in the last millenium, when I took Econ 1a. Still works.

That's my point. There IS a large series of parking garages and on street parking available for all retail users downtown.........

idyllic indy

January 31st, 2012, 04:25 PM

Ya know, it's that kind of New Urbanist planner dogma that really turns people against planners and planning. Regional specialty shops DO belong downtown. You really, truly don't know better than the business owners who've spent their entire adult lives at it, and you really, truly won't force Hoosiers out of their cars. Instead of fighting that, embrace it.

In Indy, you can't have a whole downtown of mini-Disney Main Streets with people strolling along, sipping lattes and buying baguettes, t-shirts, and trinkets...and nothing else. Downtown cannot be a "neighborhood" first. It needs office jobs, retail shops, regional attractions, and lots of people coming in from the suburbs. The reality is that downtown shopping IS competing with Fashion Mall and Greenwood Park and Castleton Square and Hamilton Towne Centre and Clay Terrace and their hundred-acre parking lots.

(BTW, Roberts stayed downtown even after they opened a store in Carmel too. People outside the favored quarter buy cameras too.)

Holy tirade dude! Does Roberts need convenient parking nearby? Yes. But does it have to be a private exclusive parking lot? I doubt it. Unfortunately, we don't have a parking meter system that provides much short-term parking. I've always believed the City needed many more 15-minute and 30-minute meters, instead of the 2-hour and 4-hour meters that seem to be prevalent, in order to maintain convenient available parking on every block. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how successful the City could even be in getting meters changed at this point since it would require an improvement to ACS' revenue stream. I've also heard that with the new internet app, one can reload their time on meters, thus, effectively eliminating the parking time limits, although I haven't confirmed that.

My main point is that many downtown businesses do need convenient parking. I just don't believe that the only such solution is surface parking lots, however, a better metering strategy for on-street metering is key to providing that convenient parking without surface lots.

Indy'd

January 31st, 2012, 05:03 PM

anyone aware on any movement for 16 tech and the stadium lofts?

ablerock

January 31st, 2012, 05:55 PM

FYI, I posted a few more renderings of Block 400, including the parking garage, over in that thread a couple of days ago:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1482645

flavius

January 31st, 2012, 06:10 PM

Just finished watching Naptown to Super City. It was really, really great. Although the Star refreshes their page automagically every 15 minutes to recycle ads and thus blows up the video. Nice job fellas.

Try it on WFYI's site. I didn't have any ads or interruptions there.

cdc guy

January 31st, 2012, 07:34 PM

he will be the one complaining about the lack of authentic cheese steaks

Most of us gave up on that years and years ago. The only places to get an authentic cheesesteak are on the streets of Philadelphia or "down the shore" in AC.

JohnM Indy

January 31st, 2012, 08:01 PM

cdc guy

January 31st, 2012, 08:12 PM

That's my point. There IS a large series of parking garages and on street parking available for all retail users downtown.........

And the Union Station garage is RIGHT NEXT DOOR to Roberts' own parking lot, which holds 10-15 cars. What does that tell you?

No business owner would keep tens of thousands of dollars tied up in owning a parking lot and paying property taxes on it if he, his customers, and his employees did not value it highly. It would cost him $50-100 a week to park each employee and himself nearby. 10 people = $25-50,000/yr. in parking cost.

That's why there are all those "sliver" parking lots downtown: it made financial sense for building/small-business owners when comparing to the price of garage parking contracts or building their own structured parking.

Plus, it's a night/weekend revenue source.

Indy'd

January 31st, 2012, 08:32 PM

And the Union Station garage is RIGHT NEXT DOOR to Roberts' own parking lot, which holds 10-15 cars. What does that tell you?

No business owner would keep tens of thousands of dollars tied up in owning a parking lot and paying property taxes on it if he, his customers, and his employees did not value it highly. It would cost him $50-100 a week to park each employee and himself nearby. 10 people = $25-50,000/yr. in parking cost.

That's why there are all those "sliver" parking lots downtown: it made financial sense for building/small-business owners when comparing to the price of garage parking contracts or building their own structured parking.

Plus, it's a night/weekend revenue source.

There are certainly lots that charge cheaper monthly rates........$40-$50 a month. Done deal.

flavius

January 31st, 2012, 09:04 PM

Indy'd

January 31st, 2012, 09:25 PM

I think I've missed something on this Roberts Camera thing. Is there a reason he needs to care whether anybody on Skyscrapercity likes him having a parking lot? He does actually own the lot, right? Did somebody propose condemning it to build an extremely skinny hotel or office building?

No, I said it was cool seeing so many tiny parking lots converted to temporary tents or other uses for the SB, and people were still able to live. Thne the discussion came up of Roberts needing that sliver of parking to operate. I said, he said........old news.

GarfieldPark

January 31st, 2012, 09:32 PM

That's the thing. His parking lot is 40 - maybe 50 feet wide at the most - and extends right up against a tall cement wall that previously was an embankment for the raised railroad tracks that ran adjacent to the property. Now there is a six or seven story parking garage filling in the space behind that wall. No one is going to be able to build anything in that small space -- so any discussion about getting rid of that parking lot is probably a moot point. The only way that space could be filled would likely be if the "Roberts" building were torn down and then a new building were built that covered the space previously occupied by the Roberts building as well as its adjacent parking area. I like the historic building just fine and if given the choice, would prefer that it stay - along with its sliver of parking next to the cement wall (as opposed to tearing it down and building a slightly wider building).

Now there are wholesale district lots that are in a different situation. Hopefully the lot on S. Meridian to the north of the "Tilted Kilt" building will be built on soon. I believe proposals have even been discussed recently for that lot. Hopefully the lots along the west side of Pennsylvania Street (between Maryland and Georgia) will also be built on soon. That was the proposed site for the Penn Place development four or five years ago. Also - the lot south of the Spaghetti Factory will also hopefully be developed sometime soon. Discussions were occurring about that site a while ago as well. The Omni was working on some plans to develop some type of connected, mixed use facility on the site I believe.

If we take care of those three or four key, "larger" lots in the wholesale district -- we'll be in a lot better shape. There would still be a few skinny lots between some buildings -- but we might just have to live with those for a while.

I think Robert's parking lot situation probably works just fine for them. I'm sure they have many, many customers who work and/or live downtown who often walk in to do their business -- and for those who need to drive in from other areas, they have fifteen or so spaces that they can use. It seems to work pretty well for them considering they've been around for decades.

ablerock

January 31st, 2012, 10:00 PM

Glowing review of Indy from UK based Sky:

http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,25212,13283_7467354,00.html

GarfieldPark

January 31st, 2012, 10:34 PM

^^ WOW.

thehoss257

February 1st, 2012, 02:49 AM

There've been multiple messages sent by multiple groups to multiple recipients. :)

While I understand they needed a trailer for their projection equipment, I think a good compromise would have been to use a small, ultra modern prefab building like the Wee House.

thehoss257

February 1st, 2012, 03:02 AM

thehoss257

February 1st, 2012, 03:12 AM

I didn't say DT doesn't need small retail and large retail and office and industry and all kinds of fun zoning colors. What I said, is that if Roberts thinks they have to have a parking lot outside of their front door, then maybe the CBD isn't the right location. I followed up by saying there is a massive public investment in the Circle Center Garages located all around Roberts and normal times provide meter spaces as well. This isn't new urbanism, it is efficient land use.

For the record, I don't really support "new urbanism" as it is misleading.

What's misleading about New Urbanism? Do you just not like the name or do you have a beef with what they support? I would encourage you to read their charter and point out what you disagree with. I think it is easy to say you don't like New Urbanism because you've seen a bad example. The fact is, they have changed the conversation, developed many great strategies to accommodate the reality of the automobile in both the suburbs and center cities. It ticks me off when people completely miss the point that its not about style, its about urbanism adapted for the 21st century.

thehoss257

February 1st, 2012, 03:33 AM

Glowing review of Indy from UK based Sky:

http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,25212,13283_7467354,00.html

Great Article! I guess I often worry that Indianapolis won't seem urban enough for folks... It's great to see that sometimes all you need is a little enthusiasum, a letter from a kid and a snickerdoodle. :)

Drewbie

February 1st, 2012, 03:39 AM

The Onion's news stands have be installed around town ! They launch February 2nd, surely with an Indy related cover story... What do you think they'll choose to dwell on ?

cdc guy

February 1st, 2012, 03:57 AM

Chris, I don't see how his comment are representative of New Urbanist thought... New Urbanist are the ones that have done the heavy lifting on figuring out how to reintegrate the reality of the automobile with urban massing. New Urbanists are keenly aware of how parking supports business because their designs fail if they don't accomodate it.

From the CNU Charter:

"In the contemporary metropolis, development must adequately accommodate automobiles. It should do so in ways that respect the pedestrian and the form of public space."

This "respect the pedestrian" tenet is too often used as a (bogus) argument against urban parking lots, in the sort of comment made by Indy'd.

That little remnant lot doesn't damage the streetscape or interfere with pedestrians.

arenn

February 1st, 2012, 04:20 AM

DowntownIndianapolis

February 1st, 2012, 05:54 AM

Arenn heres a good topic that you should post on the Urbanophile.
You know Super Bowl 46 is going to come to Indianapolis.
So what will the long term impact be for the city in both its image and population and job growth and will Indianapolis grow faster after being on the world stage?
Also what about the economy of Indianapolis after the Super Bowl and will Indy host another one?
Curious to see your predictions.

cdc guy

February 1st, 2012, 03:14 PM

I must say, the weather for the Superbowl simply couldn't be better for this time of year. This might be the best stretch of weather ever for this time of year. As long as the forecast doesn't change, it should be a good (even if wet) event.

Also, this highlights another Indy advantage: it's willingness to turn the entire downtown into basically a soundstage for events. It can be rebranded into whatever the event sponsor wants. Hard to imagine Chicago (which says it wants in on the sports hosting game) to put a gigantic Lombardi trophy on the sides of its premier hotel and similar such.

Downtown last night (early; I'm an old guy and my friend has a bum knee) we saw tens of thousands of people. Georgia Street was packed when we got there before 6. Half a block in from the Fieldhouse, we ran into one of the urban designers at Ratio. As we turned away to walk on, there was Mayor Ballard.

Georgia Street was packed, end to end. The south half of the Circle and Meridian, likewise. Everyone had cameras up for pictures of the giant Lombardi Trophy, and for the giant roman numerals. Clearly it was a local crowd, for the blue and white clad fans far outnumbered the Giants and Pats regalia.

Many media comments are focused on the walkable, compact nature of our downtown Super Bowl "complex", in contrast to the sprawl of other host cities. Probably only New Orleans can hope to outdo Indy, with the stadium downtown and almost adjacent to the French Quarter and casino.

Touchdown, Indianapolis.

We've already outdone Dallas. The ultimate justice would be game-time temp of 47 just like at the Colts win (Miami SB XLI). With an open roof. :lol:

cdc guy

February 1st, 2012, 03:22 PM

With regards to Roberts and parking, one reason they are able to keep the lot is that their taxes on it are low because we primarily tax buildings. If we, as we should, switched to a land value tax, Roberts might reconsider the use of that space.

I suspect they might also reconsider staying downtown.

That shop is a perfect example of the economy of cities: it is a regional-scale business and needs to be centrally located. [Jane Jacobs reference fully intended.]

Any policy that drives off such attractors in favor of chain restaurants and other "adult theme park" attractions aimed at a party crowd (Hard Rock, etc.) has a negative impact on the livability and local-ness of downtown. Allowing land use as parking is indeed a concession to the current place of the automobile in American life. But as I've pointed out, there is a rational business case for it, and changing the rules mid-game would have lots of unintended outcomes.

Changing tax assessment policy especially has unintended outcomes. Just look at the mess created by Indiana's shift to "market value" assessments. Just ask Bart Peterson what happened to him on the way to higher office.

arenn

February 1st, 2012, 03:41 PM

The fact is we reward people who maintain vacant lots with low tax bills. While we punish people who do socially useful things like build new buildings with high tax bills. Maybe they would leave, maybe not. But we shouldn't be making policy with an eye towards any one specific business. The essence of healthy economies is dynamism, and there are always entries and exits.

In any case, I don't hate small parking lots as such. But I do dislike the taxation policy that in effect subsidizing them. When you can get a lower tax bill by demolishing a historic building, there's something wrong.

arenn

February 1st, 2012, 03:42 PM

I have something on the Super Bowl coming out tomorrow, though not that specific angle. I actually don't think a one off event like the Super Bowl or the Olympics does much for you unless you are able to use it as a real redevelopment platform. In this case, Indy is getting a redone Georgia St. and a few things like that out of it. That to me is probably the legacy. If there are other benefits, I'd look at them as gravy.

Indy'd

February 1st, 2012, 03:44 PM

What's misleading about New Urbanism? Do you just not like the name or do you have a beef with what they support? I would encourage you to read their charter and point out what you disagree with. I think it is easy to say you don't like New Urbanism because you've seen a bad example. The fact is, they have changed the conversation, developed many great strategies to accommodate the reality of the automobile in both the suburbs and center cities. It ticks me off when people completely miss the point that its not about style, its about urbanism adapted for the 21st century.

I am referencing the idea that a completely new city located in the middle of nowhere is neither urban, nor sustainable. The most efficient city and infrastructure is that which is already built. I realize new urbanism is applied in different contexts, but context seems to be the major issue. Kind of like LEED Certification. You can have a super-d-duperty energy efficient building located in a greenfield with only highway access for cars.

Indy'd

February 1st, 2012, 03:52 PM

From the CNU Charter:

"In the contemporary metropolis, development must adequately accommodate automobiles. It should do so in ways that respect the pedestrian and the form of public space."

This "respect the pedestrian" tenet is too often used as a (bogus) argument against urban parking lots, in the sort of comment made by Indy'd.

That little remnant lot doesn't damage the streetscape or interfere with pedestrians.

Listen Chris,

All I said was it was awesome to see the activation of surface lots for this event and that people were still able to function. Yes, Roberts has based their model off of people driving to the door, walking 6 feet and getting a camera and this week has changed that. Big Deal, Sometimes things change. If his model involved bus transit and walkability, this week wouldn't be a shock.

If you woke up one day and found yourself to be a woman, it would be different. If you lived your entire life as a woman, one week wouldn't be a shock.

You brought Roberts into the simple comment I made. I imagine for every one retail business put off by this week, there is an equal business counting the profits. Roberts made a decision to live or die by a suburban model and then located in an urban setting. This stuff happens. I'm really done talking about it. I don't care anymore. This wasn't even about Roberts, but the city in general. I get that people have cars and even the greatest transit system in the world wouldn't change that in a day, but the thought process that cars MUST be front and center and must be accomodated and are always going to be the main source of transportation is short-sighted, under-developed and the kind of thinking that got us into our current situation of over-whelming auto based infrastructure with a lack of funds to pay for it.

jjgn

February 1st, 2012, 04:05 PM

This morning at 9:00 am, maybe 150 people or more waiting in line for tickets to the zip line, maybe not even for today. Some had been waiting since 5:00 am, probably earlier.

Also, parking rates yesterday at New Jersey, Washington and Maryland were at $40.00 with our small lot filled by 4:00 PM, and then there was turnover. Neighboring big lots, where the attendants could not increase prices on the fly, were runing from $7.00 - $20.00. I think today - activity starts mid-afternoon - will push $50.00.

jjgn

February 1st, 2012, 04:17 PM

....Yes, Roberts has based their model off of people driving to the door, walking 6 feet and getting a camera and this week has changed that. ....
Roberts made a decision to live or die by a suburban model and then located in an urban setting. This stuff happens. ....
I believe that Roberts has rented the lot this week or the latter part of this week to the S B Committee and it is to remain free of cars to provide vehicle access to an exit/entrance to the garage to the south. This morning, the lot was empty.
....
Roberts was downtown before it was in the suburbs and did not start as a photography store. Any retailer anywhere would retain some parking spaces, if practical. Much of Roberts business is online, phone and mail.

mobyhead

February 1st, 2012, 05:34 PM

From Steve Hammer at Nuvo~

Welcome to Indy! Now please go home.
by Steve Hammer

Dear Super Bowl visitors,

Welcome to Indianapolis. We hope you enjoy your stay here and spend as much of your money as possible. Then please hurry up and go home because your presence here annoys, inconveniences and irritates us.

Don't get us wrong. There really is such a thing as Hoosier hospitality and on any other occasion we'd be more than happy to extend it to you. But not now. Our city is in desperate need of improvement in housing, public transportation and jobs. Your being here hurts us in all of those areas.

Certainly the city will see an uptick in revenue while you are here. We, the citizens of Indianapolis who never asked for you to be here, won't see a penny of it. And when the last of you has flown back home, those problems will have gotten worse from your being here.

All of the wonderful and magnificent attractions that the NFL has created for your entertainment this week were never designed for the use of the citizens who live here. They will be dismantled the moment the game is over and will never return.

Meanwhile, people who work downtown are unable to drive to work or find parking spaces, let alone enjoy the festivities arranged on your behalf. We are the drones who must endure your invasion and somehow survive it. It's nothing personal against any of you, but we'd rather you stayed at home and watched the game on TV like almost all of us.

We've rounded up the homeless people of our city and kept them out of your sight. We've also built enormous new hotels that will be abandoned after you leave, creating even more unemployed and homeless people than existed before you arrived.

Your presence here means that platoons of police and Homeland Security agents have been deployed to protect you from interacting with any of us. They, too, will leave when you do, so that you wouldn't know about the increase in violent crime we've had lately.

Our bus system will be offering free rides to you later this week. You may appreciate the convenience that this affords. You're not supposed to know that our public transportation system is among the worst in the nation and is about to get even worse due to cuts that will take effect long after you've returned to your mansions.

You may have the chance to meet our governor, Mitch Daniels, while you are here. You may know him as the candidate whose wife didn't want him to run for president. You may also know him from his embarrassing response to the president's state of the union address last week.

He was the budget director under President George W. Bush. Daniels oversaw the transformation of record budget surpluses into record budget deficits, then came home and was elected governor as a fiscal conservative.

There's a very good chance you may meet with him if your annual income is $400,000 or higher. Democratic lawmakers, union leaders and average citizens have been trying to meet with him for eight years without luck, so consider yourselves fortunate.

Indianapolis has been trying obsessively to get folks such as yourselves to take notice of us. Thirty years of civic planning has led up to this week in the national spotlight. Since we have no further development plans for the future, other than ridding the state of unionized labor, poor people and Democrats, we're planning to enjoy this week as much as possible.

Our streets are being blocked off for your convenience. Since this has led to our massive inconvenience, please wave hello to the locals standing behind the police barricades awaiting a glimpse of you, the affluent tourists. You are not permitted to speak with any of us unless we are serving you food, alcohol or have been hired as a prostitute for your pleasure.

There is a rich cultural history and many historic neighborhoods, all of which you are being encouraged to ignore while you are here. In fact, we've gone the extra step and destroyed many of those historic neighborhoods in order to erect hotels, malls and restaurants to serve you this week.

Yes, we the people of Indianapolis are required by law to welcome you to our city, which we've given over to the NFL and corporate sponsors this week. The football stadium where you will enjoy the Super Bowl was built just with you in mind. We are being asked not to think about the schools that could have been built or the transportation system that could have been rejuvenated with the stadium money.

This week is all about you. How can we serve your needs? We have been preparing since the 1970s for your arrival and have mortgaged our future in order for you to be here. Just let us know what you want and we'll try and make it possible.

Thank you for coming and, with absolutely no disrespect intended, please vacate the city as soon as possible in order that we may have our lives back. Enjoy the game!

http://www.nuvo.net/indianapolis/welcome-to-indy-now-please-go-home/Content?oid=2407996

GarfieldPark

February 1st, 2012, 05:45 PM

I think he's an idiot and plan to send him a note to tell him what an obnoxious editorial (idiotorial) he wrote. I don't care if you don't like sports -- he's got to be clueless if he can't see how this is benefitting our community and how it is bringing enormous, positive attention to our city. I used to think he was a halfway intelligent guy -- but not so much anymore.

mobyhead

February 1st, 2012, 06:11 PM

moochie

February 1st, 2012, 06:55 PM

He does sound rather rude. Someone pissed in his Wheaties?

Meh. He's a contrarian. That's what he's paid to do, give an alternative viewpoint. take it with a grain of salt.

cailes

February 1st, 2012, 07:35 PM

He is not altogether wrong if you can see through the boastful attitude he presents. He lays out some fundamental pros vs con that really sting when put in context.

moochie

February 1st, 2012, 07:45 PM

He is not altogether wrong if you can see through the boastful attitude he presents. He lays out some fundamental pros vs con that really sting when put in context.

I was thinking the same thing. a lot of good points in his article.

At the same time, if Indy hadn't gotten the Superbowl, he'd have written an article bemoaning that Indy got looked over by the NFL and isn't taken seriously etc. etc. He's awfully defeatist at times. He's rubbed me the wrong way before.

vitamin R

February 1st, 2012, 08:47 PM

Glowing review of Indy from UK based Sky:

http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,25212,13283_7467354,00.html

A wonderful article that only increases my pride in our city! Go Indy!!

GarfieldPark

February 1st, 2012, 08:55 PM

http://www.indystar.com/article/20120201/NEWS11/202010317/Tully-Indy-hit-foreign-journalists?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com

Matthew Tully of the Indpls Star interviewed some of the foreign media during media day yesterday. Here are some of the comments he heard - as taken from the article linked above:

-- the foreign reporters I talked to seemed genuinely impressed by what they'd learned about Indianapolis since arriving.

Most said they stepped off the plane here with little idea of what to expect, perhaps knowing only that it is home to a famous auto race. But after only a few days, most were downright nuts about the city.

"I'm not just saying this: Indianapolis has put the super back in Super Bowl," said Simon Veness, who writes for the London Sun.

Veness, who has covered the past five Super Bowls, filed a piece Tuesday that flatteringly summed up the feel in Indianapolis compared to cities such as Dallas and Miami.

"This city is the first one we've seen that has really embraced the Super Bowl concept," he said. Then, sounding very British, he added: "My word of the week is effervescent."

A Canadian journalist, Stéphane Cadorette with Journal de Quebec, pointed to the exciting vibe Downtown, which even on a Tuesday morning was filled with thousands of football fans doing everything from zip lining to shopping to celebrity-watching.

"What strikes me is that everyone is so pumped up," Cadorette said. "All the volunteers are so friendly. Everywhere I walked today, people were saying, 'Hello' and 'Good morning.' You could tell people wanted us to be here."

Time and again, the foreign journalists I talked to said it was cool to see a city so jazzed about hosting such an event. Many pointed to the thousands of locals who showed up to watch Media Day at Lucas Oil Stadium. It might be a sign that the Indianapolis area is smaller than previous host cities and regions, and that it hasn't often been the center of the cultural universe, but it created a welcoming feel, they said.

Jeremy Langdon, a reporter with British Sky Broadcasting, said Dallas' Downtown was deserted in the days leading up to last year's Super Bowl. All of the events were spread out, and it didn't feel like the Super Bowl was even in town, he said.

"There was no sense of bustle like there is here," he said. "Some cities have more going on Downtown, and this one certainly does."

Langdon's producer, David Miles, said he was struck by the interesting mix of "new and old" Downtown. And, he added: "It's not as cold as they told us it was going to be."

Because of language barriers, some of the reporters I approached struggled to answer my questions. But Kunyakorn Krusuansombat, a reporter from Thailand, worked hard to express her thoughts.

"I think everyone is very friendly," she said haltingly and with a smile.

Jens Arnborg, who will do play-by-play for a station in Denmark, agreed, calling Indianapolis "honestly, the best Super Bowl city ever."

unvrsty07

February 1st, 2012, 09:11 PM

^^^^ That is awesome!! I bet we host again within the next ten years... Any disagreements?

mobyhead

February 1st, 2012, 09:22 PM

^^^^ That is awesome!! I bet we host again within the next ten years... Any disagreements?

I would have to agree. I do however doubt we could luck out with this type of mild weather again.

GarfieldPark

February 1st, 2012, 09:56 PM

Regarding the negativity of the NUVO editorials, I think the writers demonstrate a clear lack of understanding of the entire forty year history of improving downtown and how sports have played a part in that. It has been far from the sole reason for the turnaround of the core -- but it has played a very important role.

One of the Nuvo editorials criticizes the economics of building the $700 million Lucas Oil Stadium for the Super Bowl. The author of one piece -- Robert Annis, seems to be clueless in that he does not recognize that building the stadium was not just about this one time event, but rather, has helped the city land numerous huge conventions and other huge sporting events -- and will continue to do so for several more decades.

Comments were made about the Super Bowl only having a $250 million - $300 million impact -- and they compare that to the $700 million cost of the Stadium (of which around $200 million or so came from private sources -- namely Irsay and the Lucases). To make a reasonable comparison of the real benefits of building the stadium, they also need to add in the economic impact of all of the other events that are here because the stadium was built. For example -- ten (and likely more) World Drum Corp championships; a dozen or two Grand National Marching Band Championships; Five (and likely many more) Big Ten Football Championships; several NCAA basketball championships; and a total of dozens and dozens of other huge conventions that use the facility every year (Police & Firefighters Training Convention; Do it Best; Numerous Huge Religious Conventions; numerous FFA Conventions; etc., etc. plus many others to be attracted in the future.) Just looking at the past two years and the next fifteen -- there will probably be 100 major events that are in our city because of Lucas Oil Stadium. (And hundreds of others because of the greatly expanded convention center -- of which LOS is a part.)

At a conservative $25 million in economic benefit for each event that acutally uses LOS - that totals at least $2.5 billion. The hotel, rental car, food and beverage, and other sales tax revenues over that time will be well over $250 million - probably close to $300 million. Add to that the indirect additional spending that is generated from these events; all of the other positives relating to increased visibility and positive national and international awareness; spill-over benefits as the SB helps land new events and conventions (and attract a few actual businesses) that come to the city as a result of its hosting of the Super Bowl, and it seems ludicrous to complain about having the big event here in town.

They are also just wrong to insult our guests and talk like the people of Indianapolis don't want all of these out of towners in town. That may be the case for some -- but definitely no where close to the majority. They need to step out of their boxes on midtown N. Meridian Street and take in the fun vibe downtown and see what is really going on - because they seem to be clueless about the reality of what is going on. So far what has been going on hasn't even been about sports too much -- but rather has been about music and entertainment -- which is what I thought Nuvo is supposed to be about.

I guess the cover of their paper calls Nuvo "Indy's alternative Voice" -- so in that respect -- I guess they are providing an alternative opinion. It just seems particularly rude though to tell our guests to leave.

I haven't had much trouble at all getting around during the past week -- and have driven downtown and parked for free all four times. I've had to walk an average of 3/4 of a mile each time -- but it has been no big deal. Its free fun and lots of positive attention for our community. Overall -- I think the Nuvo folks are just a bunch of attention seeking whiners.

cdc guy

February 1st, 2012, 10:19 PM

Hammer is a grumpy young man, though probably not so young anymore. He thinks he's Harrison Ullmann, but he's not nearly as clever.

He has probably not stopped to think of all the extra servers hired downtown, or how much the tips on those $300 minimums in restaurants will be this weekend. THAT money will most assuredly go to "regular people" and will be spent in Indy on rent, food, gas, clothes, cars, daycare, and the servers' other bills.

unvrsty07

February 1st, 2012, 10:20 PM

I would have to agree. I do however doubt we could luck out with this type of mild weather again.

At the end of that article one of the journalists are quoted as saying something along the lines of "I know people think the super bowl should be hosted in warm cities... but with a party atmosphere like this, who cares?"

Forget the weather, we are putting on an utter show of how one hosts a super bowl!! :lol:

arenn

February 1st, 2012, 11:24 PM

idyllic indy

February 1st, 2012, 11:42 PM

[QUOTE]Regarding the negativity of the NUVO editorials, I think the writers demonstrate a clear lack of understanding of the entire forty year history of improving downtown and how sports have played a part in that. It has been far from the sole reason for the turnaround of the core -- but it has played a very important role.

One of the Nuvo editorials criticizes the economics of building the $700 million Lucas Oil Stadium for the Super Bowl. The author of one piece -- Robert Annis, seems to be clueless in that he does not recognize that building the stadium was not just about this one time event, but rather, has helped the city land numerous huge conventions and other huge sporting events -- and will continue to do so for several more decades.

Dude, having the Super Bowl in town is pretty cool, but that's no reason everyone should drink the Kool Aid about it being some great economic boost for the city.

Comments were made about the Super Bowl only having a $250 million - $300 million impact -- and they compare that to the $700 million cost of the Stadium (of which around $200 million or so came from private sources -- namely Irsay and the Lucases).

I'm pretty sure the Lucas money went straight into Irsay's pocket, not the stadium nor to the taxpayers, and isn't Irsay's supposed contribution simply a low-interest loan from the NFL, which will be paid off by taxpayers? Unless I'm wrong, that does get us back to a ~$700 million dollar public cost, not to mention the extra $20 million a year in additional operating costs which aren't in the least bit covered by Irsay/Colts or any money spent at LOS.

To make a reasonable comparison of the real benefits of building the stadium, they also need to add in the economic impact of all of the other events that are here because the stadium was built. For example -- ten (and likely more) World Drum Corp championships; a dozen or two Grand National Marching Band Championships; Five (and likely many more) Big Ten Football Championships; several NCAA basketball championships; and a total of dozens and dozens of other huge conventions that use the facility every year (Police & Firefighters Training Convention; Do it Best; Numerous Huge Religious Conventions; numerous FFA Conventions; etc., etc. plus many others to be attracted in the future.) Just looking at the past two years and the next fifteen -- there will probably be 100 major events that are in our city because of Lucas Oil Stadium. (And hundreds of others because of the greatly expanded convention center -- of which LOS is a part.)

I never bought the argument that the convention center couldn't be expanded anywhere except on the RCA Dome site. I think that was a red herring or whatever to build support for the new stadium. Build up, build across the street. Plenty of options, if one were looking for them.

At a conservative $25 million in economic benefit for each event that acutally uses LOS - that totals at least $2.5 billion. The hotel, rental car, food and beverage, and other sales tax revenues over that time will be well over $250 million - probably close to $300 million. Add to that the indirect additional spending that is generated from these events; all of the other positives relating to increased visibility and positive national and international awareness; spill-over benefits as the SB helps land new events and conventions (and attract a few actual businesses) that come to the city as a result of its hosting of the Super Bowl, and it seems ludicrous to complain about having the big event here in town.

You've really got to look at how much spending is coming from people outside our metro area to get an accurate reading on net economic benefit. As we've seen, most of the people taking in the Village and whatnot so far have been locals. They would've spent their money somewhere else around town. Will there really be a net economic benefit? I don't know, but apparently, the CIB, which is the collector of those downtown hotel and rental car taxes has already stated that they are going to lose money on the Super Bowl. And we know the CIB is using scores of taxpayers' millions annually to cover all operating costs at LOS while Irsay and the Colts suck every dime of revenue from every event that takes place there. Overall, I don't think anyone has ever given a solid accounting of how building LOS will provide a net economic impact. If part of the economic debate has to hinge on all the intangibles about big-league image, free advertising, etc. that can't be quantified, then I think it's certainly fair for people to question the incessant drumbeat from the city elites indicating that the ever-increasing subsidies of pro sports equate to good economic policy.

They are also just wrong to insult our guests and talk like the people of Indianapolis don't want all of these out of towners in town. That may be the case for some -- but definitely no where close to the majority. They need to step out of their boxes on midtown N. Meridian Street and take in the fun vibe downtown and see what is really going on - because they seem to be clueless about the reality of what is going on. So far what has been going on hasn't even been about sports too much -- but rather has been about music and entertainment -- which is what I thought Nuvo is supposed to be about.

I guess the cover of their paper calls Nuvo "Indy's alternative Voice" -- so in that respect -- I guess they are providing an alternative opinion. It just seems particularly rude though to tell our guests to leave.
-
Hammer's a jerk who gets paid to be contrarian. It's already been pointed out. I don't think anyone from the East Coast is going to read his column and be turned off from visiting here because of the insults. They're probably more likely to look down on us because he's just not that talented of a writer.

I haven't had much trouble at all getting around during the past week -- and have driven downtown and parked for free all four times. I've had to walk an average of 3/4 of a mile each time -- but it has been no big deal. Its free fun and lots of positive attention for our community. Overall -- I think the Nuvo folks are just a bunch of attention seeking whiners.

Agreed (except that I appreciate hearing an alternative to the endless of self-promotion and backslapping.) Everyone get out there and enjoy the party!

idyllic indy

February 1st, 2012, 11:45 PM

cdc guy

February 1st, 2012, 11:46 PM

Nuvo might be off base, but there are certainly legitimate questions to be asked. First, this is a hugely expensive stadium, and one for which every revenue stream has already been given to Jim Irsay. The city itself had to raise taxes just to operate the building. Which brings up the point that a large amount of the taxes that are generated by the economic activity of the stadium, etc. are already captured and pledged merely to fund the engine of conventions and events - not filling up the general coffers (unless you count sales taxes that go to the state, not local government).

I support the sports strategy, but you can't just say because the sports strategy is good, everything anyone wants to do related to it is good. Very clearly Indy has directly a huge percentage of civic resources and time and attention into this. That has meant other items like neighborhoods have remained starved of funds. I think there's a real question the community ought to have about how long its going to ride only this one horse.

This is one reason I'm glad I'm not a "quant".

No one has really ever been able to measure "spinoff effects" (positive externalities of commuter spending) very well.

Did Rolls Royce relocate 2500 jobs to downtown in part because of visibility and access? Only the decision-makers at Rolls can actually answer that question.

But unquestionably, other downtown businesses will benefit from their presence. Especially your "favorite" urban-suburban fast food places (Arby's, White Castle, and Subway on South). Probably also the Slippery Noodle and Red Garter, as engineered-products companies tend to skew well-paid, young and male. :lol:

There's a huge number of such questions.

Why did Exact Target choose downtown instead of Park Whatever Business Park? What are the "measurables"?

Angie's List? And so on.

Utterly without proof, I assert there has to be a "cool factor" associated with big-league sports teams and fine dining and entertainment clusters downtown. Florida has run correlations, but as he always points out...correlation does not equal causation.

And you've written extensively on talent attraction, Aaron. We don't have only a "sports strategy". We really have a "big event" strategy, which is conceptually nothing more than a "brand extension" of the world's biggest single-day event out at that "racetrack in a cornfield".

Indy has morphed from a "one event town" into an "event center city". Rave reviews mean we've actually done it better than anyone to date.

Yes, it cost a billion or two. But a previous post did suggest some notion of the annual cash stream it generates. It looks to me like positive cash flow into the local economy.

pig

February 2nd, 2012, 05:16 AM

It's too bad about the NUVO piece. There are plenty of legitimate ways to criticize the sports strategy and the Super Bowl in particular, but Hammer took a rather wild swing and missed the nail here. He's vague and passive aggressive in tone while his argumentation is sloppy and shallow, but we're all talking about it so maybe that's good enough for NUVO.

Very clearly Indy has directly a huge percentage of civic resources and time and attention into this. That has meant other items like neighborhoods have remained starved of funds. I think there's a real question the community ought to have about how long its going to ride only this one horse.

Whenever I hear that other civic programs are starved for funds I always wonder how likely we would been to spend our money there if it weren't for the fieldhouse and stadium and convention center. Could we have raised taxes to lay sidewalks in the townships? Would IndyConnect be an easier sell (ignoring momentarily legislature's meddling)? Would kids be spending their Saturday nights at well-programmed community centers instead of Circle Centre? The city has had its services starved, strangled, or ignored for more than half a century now. Would whatever extra funds we came up be spent refurbishing neighborhoods or bulldozing them?

I don't think we'd be one of those cities that's struggling to pay the light bill or auctioning off its city hall on ebay, but, frankly I think we lack the sort of leadership that it takes to make that sort of community oriented spending a reality. We are and have been for a very long time a low tax/low service city.

So, anyway, I think we agree, arenn, I was just doing the internet equivalent of thinking aloud. (Why didn't we at least try to grab a sliver of that stadium tax increase for transit or built the damn thing with a fixed roof and not slashed library hours? (I'm doing it again, aren't I?)) We absolutely need more horses and we need skilled men and women at the reins. I'm not bemoaning our current neighborhood and civic leaders--not all of them anyway-- but prodding.... Use the crop a little more (and not on the horse) please.

pig

February 2nd, 2012, 05:24 AM

That still feels a little more negative than I mean it too. I apologize. I've let the thing going on inside the Statehouse Time Machine (no clue what decade it is in there) get to me. So here's something more positive:

My favorite thing about the Super Bowl so far? Sitting on the circle with people milling around, drinking from a bullet filled at one of our local breweries, and eating food from one or two or three of the food trucks lined up around the circle.

If we don't do this constantly when the weather's nice then we have failed as human beings.

cdc guy

February 2nd, 2012, 12:55 PM

Whenever I hear that other civic programs are starved for funds I always wonder how likely we would been to spend our money there if it weren't for the fieldhouse and stadium and convention center. Could we have raised taxes to lay sidewalks in the townships? Would IndyConnect be an easier sell (ignoring momentarily legislature's meddling)? Would kids be spending their Saturday nights at well-programmed community centers instead of Circle Centre? The city has had its services starved, strangled, or ignored for more than half a century now. Would whatever extra funds we came up be spent refurbishing neighborhoods or bulldozing them?

I don't think we'd be one of those cities that's struggling to pay the light bill or auctioning off its city hall on ebay, but, frankly I think we lack the sort of leadership that it takes to make that sort of community oriented spending a reality. We are and have been for a very long time a low tax/low service city.

In a word: no, because we thought we had spent on the other stuff. Hoosiers are thrifty at heart (sometimes this turns into "cheap") but we tend to spend big on "extras".

Look at RePave Indy, and how much we (folks here) have criticized its focus on basics...even most of us want new shiny bus and light-rail instead. Idyllic Indy is one of the few voices for county-wide sidewalks.

During the Goldsmith years, we voted to bond "Building Better Neighborhoods", the last big civic infrastructure rehab.

Under Peterson there was much public outcry for "police on the streets" and we got them. (But we couldn't afford to keep them, and the force has shrunk through attrition.)

I did vote (as did a majority) for more money for IPS several years ago. (The payback has been dubious "urban" school designs and no better outcomes.)

So we're (as a civic body) not as ignorant of need as one might think, nor are our civic priorities as misdirected as you and others sometimes express.

cdc guy

February 2nd, 2012, 01:05 PM

Nobody commented on it, but Andrea Neal had an op-ed in the Star claiming transit is the most expensive form of personal transportation and expressing barely-contained joy that HB 1173 died.

She used some fuzzy math, claiming that car travel "costs" 23 cents a mile. (Doesn't look to include maintenance, parking, or capital cost of roads.) Then she divided the whole IndyGo budget by the number of annual rides and the number was big, but she missed the "divide by average ride length" part and didn't understand that this is a real, full-cost number that doesn't compare to a "gas-oil-tires" number for auto travel. She compared a full average cost per bus trip with a marginal cost per mile for a car.

Grr.

cdc guy

February 2nd, 2012, 03:22 PM

And then there's the seriously retrograde Indiana Legislature. I awoke yesterday, after a wonderful evening wandering SB Village Tuesday evening, to the headline saying the Indiana Senate voted in favor of a bill to permit the teaching of creationism in public schools.

Then this morning, there was the headline that "transit is dead again" for this session.

When did we vote to relocate Indy to the middle of Oklahoma or Arkansas?

Outstate people have criticized me for saying (on Aaron's blog) that (1) Indy is different from the rest of the state, (2) rural, small-town, and exurban legislators from the rest of the state can't be trusted with Indy's fiscal or operational future as our "super-city-council", and (3) the rest of the state is welcome to their legislature and its petty crap.

Grr.

cdc guy

February 2nd, 2012, 03:31 PM

Indy'd

February 2nd, 2012, 03:32 PM

CorrND

February 2nd, 2012, 04:35 PM

Blog post today in the Atlantic Cities (http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/02/super-bowl-building-boom-indianapolis/1114/).

Excerpt:

Thanks at least in part to the Super Bowl, people in Indianapolis will wake up to the football off-season next week with a newly expanded convention center, a new central civic space, a newly revitalized low-income neighborhood, even a new downtown skyline. The Super Bowl, in short, has done more to catalyze change in Indianapolis than it does in most cities – and all of this has taken place over the course of a recession.
They've got things a little backwards there.

Indy spent billions on LOS, the ICC and the JW-M to expand convention capacity and netted the Super Bowl on the side. Because we got the Super Bowl, we spent 10's of millions on civic space and neighborhood revitalization.

Billions......10's of millions.....

That said, their point is still well taken. Even if it's faulty to cite the larger projects as a direct benefit of the Super Bowl, most cities don't even see 10's of millions in tangible benefits from hosting the Super Bowl.

GarfieldPark

February 2nd, 2012, 04:50 PM

I was thinking the same thing when I read that. I noted a few other things that I didn't particularly like or agree with - as well as at least one other thing that was completely incorrect when I read the editorial he wrote in the Star this morning. He really just brushed over the destruction of 2,500 "dilapidated" homes (as he referred to them) when he talked about the growth at the Med Center and IUPUI campus. Also -- he mistakenly referred to the White River Park plans being based on Tivoli Gardens "in Paris". In reality it is in Copenhagen. Its good to get your facts correct when you are writing something that will likely be read by 100,000 or so people.

cdc guy

February 2nd, 2012, 05:19 PM

My hope is that it gets so bad this session, that even the content voters of Indiana get annoyed enough to change out these bums.........probably not. Don't question the process or authority.........

Legislature is like Congress: as a group, it's terrible, but I like my own representative as long as s/he brings home the bacon.

cdc guy

February 2nd, 2012, 05:21 PM

They've got things a little backwards there.

Indy spent billions on LOS, the ICC and the JW-M to expand convention capacity and netted the Super Bowl on the side. Because we got the Super Bowl, we spent 10's of millions on civic space and neighborhood revitalization.

Billions......10's of millions.....

That said, their point is still well taken. Even if it's faulty to cite the larger projects as a direct benefit of the Super Bowl, most cities don't even see 10's of millions in tangible benefits from hosting the Super Bowl.

You forgot the billion for the new airport terminal.

A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to serious money. :)

arenn

February 2nd, 2012, 08:45 PM

GarfieldPark

February 2nd, 2012, 09:09 PM

While we're checking things out .... Check out this Urbanophile Post! :

http://www.urbanophile.com/

Great story Aaron. Good to see your insightful thoughts about Indy's sports strategy and its impact on the City's economic development and revitalization.

cailes

February 2nd, 2012, 09:17 PM

Tully's column brings a stark contrast to what is otherwise a pretty successful week downtown. I had a quote in Nuvo this week in an article quantifying the economic success of the Super Bowl and while the event may be a wash, I technically think it helps us up the ante and the event will help move the needle on other matters.

Rounding back to Tully's article, I sure hope that some of our seemingly outdated lawmakers can see this as a way of thinking a little more progressively on some items. It makes me steaming mad that the transit bill got tabled especially when the Senator from Ft Wayne said that Indy needs to "talk about it some more". Really? All we have done is talk about it.

There are plenty of items worth arguing over, but transit in a big city? Its disappointing to see them putting this one down. For a group who has pinned their entire short session on freedom of choice for workers, they won't authorize a choice for locals who want to improve a local (or regional) issue.

*sigh*

flavius

February 2nd, 2012, 09:31 PM

UrbanIndy

February 2nd, 2012, 09:52 PM

Check out this UrbanCincy post:

http://www.urbancincy.com/2012/02/chinatown-buses-offer-direct-overnight-travel-from-cincinnati-to-new-york-city/

According to a graphic in it, there's also some type of daily Chinatown bus service from Indy to New York. Anybody know anything about this?

I just talked about this yesterday with some people from the MPO, apparently it is real and still operating. One person said that she knew some people who have actually taken it. Out of curiosity, a few years ago I visited the lot on this address, and the building looked abandoned. So, buyer beware.

DowntownIndianapolis

February 2nd, 2012, 10:38 PM

JohnM Indy

February 2nd, 2012, 10:42 PM

http://online.wsj.com/article/APcd343c8873f14590b3568748a196b3de.html
this is GREAT NEWS!
If Roger Goodell says the Super Bowl in Indianapolis exceeded all expectations then i say theres is a 100% chance we will host another Super Bowl and become part of the rotation :)

"Though he says the city is off to a great start, he wouldn't talk about the possibility of hosting another Super Bowl. He said it's 'still in the second quarter,' and that he'd like to see the city finish strong over the weekend."

Sounds encouraging, but somewhat less than 100 percent.

k2h

February 3rd, 2012, 02:45 AM

Just watched Late Night with Jimmy Fallon taped yesterday in Indy. Loved the opening! You can tell Fallon has really embraced the City and is showcasing it very well to a national audience. Thank you, Jimmy!

cdc guy

February 3rd, 2012, 12:49 PM

Was out for a beer and dinner last night on Mass Ave, and there didn't seem to be an abnormal crowd. Walking up to catch the bus, we saw fire dancers and a fire-eater on the parking lot next to Goulding and Wood (across St. Clair from Indy Fringe). That was random, unexpected, surreal and pretty cool all at once for Indy.

After 30 years, a real city seems to have joined me in Indy. Now if we could just figure out how to deal with America's Worst State Legislature. Last year, transit was "too much" for the long budget session. This year it's too much for the short session and that Ft. Wayne senator urged trying next year's long session.

Really? The passive-aggressive daddy crap is just too much (right from the "go ask your mother" school). Worse, coming as it does from people who want to allow creationism in the science classrooms of our state. Even the religious HS my son attended (Catholic) had separate teachers and classrooms for religion and biology.

Grr.

cailes

February 3rd, 2012, 02:41 PM

Indy'd

February 3rd, 2012, 03:06 PM

I'd speak cautiously about Indy gaining another super bowl. The politics behind the decision are rediculous. We could blow this thing out of the water and have it be the most memorable event ever, but if owners want hookers in Miami...then it be so.

cdc guy

February 3rd, 2012, 04:16 PM

Be careful chris, you are at risk of sounding like the rest of us hippies at Urban Indy ;-) I put a post up this morning that sounds a lot like your rant.

Remember Curt, we have shared a pitcher or two on the patio at Scotty's with The Urbanophile and some other fellow travelers...on a work night. :)

At least none of us sounds like Hammer after a few beers. :cheers:

cailes

February 3rd, 2012, 05:28 PM

Remember Curt, we have shared a pitcher or two on the patio at Scotty's with The Urbanophile and some other fellow travelers...on a work night. :)

At least none of us sounds like Hammer after a few beers. :cheers:

haha Yeah but the way we argue, people would think we were complete enemies ;-)

GarfieldPark

February 3rd, 2012, 07:30 PM

Interesting article about thoughts on how Indy is managing its hosting responsibilities from the New Orleans and New York/New Jersey Super Bowl Host Committees:

http://www.ibj.com/ny-new-orleans-taking-page-from-indys-super-bowl-playbook/PARAMS/article/32450

A few quotes from the article:

“The Super Bowl changes and grows every year, so there’s a lot to take in,” said Jay Cicero, executive director of New Orleans’ Host Committee. “Although we’ve held this event many times before, Indianapolis is breaking a lot of ground and we’re learning many things from them.”

“This is the cleanest city I’ve ever seen, especially for a big event,” said New Orleans’ Cicero. “So we’re looking at how city crews have worked during the event and in the late night and early morning hours to keep everything clean. We’re also looking at how they place their waste receptacles to encourage people to put trash where it belongs.”

On Wednesday, former NFL player and broadcaster Boomer Esiason said “Indianapolis is like New Orleans without the dirty.”

“Your hospitality through the volunteers is the best I’ve ever seen,” New Orleans’ Romig said. “It starts at the airport, and permeates through the whole city.”

“Too often, New York and New Jersey gets bad press for being gruff and mean-spirited,” Kirkos said. “Seeing the high level of customer service here really reaffirms that [customer service] needs to be a high priority. The type of greeting and service we’ve gotten here leaves a lasting impression.”

“You have raised the bar and challenged us to follow,” Cicero said. “You’ll be a hard act to follow.”

cdc guy

February 3rd, 2012, 09:35 PM

NFL commissioner says Indy is 'viable candidate' for another Super Bowl (http://www.indystar.com/article/20120203/SPORTS0701/120203030/NFL-commissioner-says-Indy-viable-candidate-another-Super-Bowl?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|IndyStar.com|p)

Excerpt:

Goodell said, "I think they've done an incredible job. Their organization, their hospitality, the volunteers--this community is so well prepared for this. They've done a great job."

ablerock

February 3rd, 2012, 11:32 PM

High praise ... from Baltimore? :)

"Hate to Admit It, but Indianapolis Has Been the Best Super Bowl Site Ever"

by NESTOR APARICIO

INDIANAPOLIS — If you’ve tuned into my programming or radio show or WNST at any point over the past two decades, you’ll know there is no love lost with me and Indianapolis...

http://wnst.net/wordpress/blog/2012/02/03/hate-to-admit-it-but-indianapolis-has-been-best-super-bowl-site-ever/

aavmarine

February 4th, 2012, 10:18 AM

unvrsty07

February 4th, 2012, 10:43 AM

Great article from the IBJ. www.ibj.com

Talk of bringing another Super Bowl to Indianapolis began soon after week-long festivities kicked off for the 2012 game.

Sportswriters and visitors raved about the city’s sharp new airport, compact downtown and festive Super Bowl Village. The week’s unseasonably mild weather and a record turnout for NFL Experience—both in contrast to last year’s game in Dallas—added to the narrative of Indianapolis as a more-than-capable host city.

Only a few weeks earlier, the common wisdom was that Super Bowl XLVI is a one-time thank you from the NFL for the publicly financed Lucas Oil Stadium, years of strong community support for the Indianapolis Colts, and a nod to the team’s respected owner.

But the idea of hosting the big game in future years isn’t new to the city’s Super Bowl planning team.
People attending the NFL Experience in Indianapolis The NFL collected all revenue from record attendance at this year’s NFL Experience. (AP Photo)

It’s true that when money is the only factor, the game winds up in warm-weather cities with larger stadiums. But those behind this year’s game have always seen it as something more: an opportunity to prove a city once known as Naptown is ready to host events on a global stage. Including future Super Bowls.

City leaders will have to find a way to generate more revenue for the NFL and its 32 team owners for Indianapolis to muscle its way into a regular Super Bowl rotation. Lucas Oil Stadium has fewer seats than regular-rotation Super Bowl stadiums in Florida and Arizona. And the bid for last year’s Super Bowl, in Dallas, promised the league $20 million more than Indianapolis could muster, most of it thanks to the Cowboys’ 103,000-seat stadium.

City leaders are on the case: They’re floating plans to incorporate NFL sponsors and other revenue-generating features into future iterations of the Super Bowl Village. And they’re emphasizing Lucas Oil Stadium can actually accommodate 7,000 more fans than the 68,000-person capacity on Super Bowl Sunday. (The league wants another event to try out temporary seating first after unsafe seats marred the event in Dallas.)

As for the relative shortage of hotel rooms in central Indiana compared with other Super Bowl host cities, the city plans an incremental approach. It’s counting on hoteliers to add rooms supported by events at the newly expanded Indiana Convention Center.

Remember when it was novel for Indy to host a Final Four? Now it’s old hat; Indy has hosted six of them and is on a five-year rotation to host the men’s and women’s events.

“I don’t want people to think this [hosting] is one-and-done,” Mayor Greg Ballard said in an interview on Media Day at Lucas Oil Stadium. “We can pull people together and make it happen.”

A day earlier, Ballard suggested at a press conference that the NFL put Indianapolis on an eight- to 10-year rotation for hosting the Super Bowl.

The comment got the attention of Frank Supovitz, the NFL’s senior vice president of events and its point person for the Super Bowl, who spoke with IBJ a few days before the game.

“Indianapolis has proven to be an ideal host for Super Bowl 46,” he said.

As to whether Indianapolis could land in a regular host rotation: “We have to play this one first,” he said, adding the decision ultimately is up to the league’s owners.

Repeat engagement?

Lucas Oil Stadium is both a blessing and a drawback for the city’s chances to host future Super Bowls. Its amenities and central location are among the advantages.

“The stadium’s terrific—it’s a world-class facility with a lot of bells and whistles,” Supovitz said. “But when you have a smaller stadium, it’s very, very difficult to make up that revenue.”

Based on the stadium alone, Indianapolis can’t compete with cities like Dallas, said Indiana University Athletics Director Fred Glass, a former president of the city’s Capital Improvement Board who led the city’s bid for last year’s game.

Revenue and attendance numbers for 2009 through 2014 Super Bowls“Dallas just had more money-making inventory than we had,” Glass said. “Cowboys Stadium was a financial juggernaut we simply couldn’t compete against.”

Indianapolis did have at least one ace to play when it bid in 2007 for last year’s Super Bowl and in 2008 for this one.

Colts owner Jim Irsay, unlike Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, was willing to give up all the money, primarily money from suites, that he was entitled to from the game.

The city also promised an engaged fan base and a physical set-up it said would result in better NFL Experience attendance and Super Bowl merchandise sales.

NFL Experience attendance easily exceeded the 200,000-person record set by Glendale, Ariz. The attraction in the Indiana Convention Center is right next to Super Bowl Village, which had drawn more than 430,000 people by the time IBJ went to press; event organizers expected the total to exceed 750,000.

Another feather in our cap: Indianapolis is small enough that the Super Bowl would always take center stage.

“Anyone who comes into Indianapolis knows the Super Bowl is in town,” Supovitz said. “The Super Bowl won’t get lost here.”

It’s a particularly popular host city among NFL staff members, he said, because the proximity of downtown’s hotels meant the league’s morning meetings could start 30 minutes later than usual.

Getting a few extra minutes of shut-eye wasn’t the only thing about Indianapolis that impressed the NFL staff. They gave Super Bowl Host Committee CEO Allison Melangton and her top deputies a standing ovation early in the week at one of several morning briefings.

No room at the inn?

By population, Indianapolis is the smallest Super Bowl host city since Jacksonville, which saw its first and likely last Super Bowl in 2005, one in which cruise ships were floated in as auxiliary hotels.

Indy’s hotel inventory also is seen as a liability. Downtown has 7,100 hotel rooms, but that’s far fewer than the 17,000 the NFL requires for its management, team players and personnel, media and sponsors.

Indianapolis has 33,000 hotel rooms city-wide, but still there have been complaints that some league partners and other corporate interests are staying too far from the action.

Former Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association CEO Don Welsh had advocated for another 1,000-room convention hotel to be built downtown in the next five years. That would go a long way toward helping earn Indianapolis another Super Bowl.

But Leonard Hoops, who took over for Welsh in May, is more conservative.

“We have to let market demand drive hotel development,” Hoops said. “I’d say when you get to 68 to 70 percent year-round hotel occupancy, you can start thinking about a project of that magnitude.”

In 2011, downtown hotel occupancy was 66.4 percent, up 1.8 percent from 2010 despite the opening of the 1,005-room JW Marriott in February. In the metro area, 2011 hotel occupancy was 57.5 percent, up 5.9 percent from 2010.

The ICVA’s ability to book annual conventions could be more of a driver than the Super Bowl in expanding the hotel market.

This year’s game has been a powerful tool to that end. The ICVA was set to host three big groups Super Bowl Sunday that currently hold their convention in Chicago, Hoops said. Those groups could bring more than $100 million in annual economic impact if they are impressed by the way Indianapolis handles the Super Bowl.

“The economic impact of this Super Bowl is just the tip of the iceberg,” Hoops said. “Feb. 6 is the beginning of a new era. It’s our coming-out party, and we certainly hope luring another Super Bowl party is part of the celebration.”

Built for the Super Bowl

This year’s Super Bowl might never have come to fruition if city fathers didn’t specifically plan and design Lucas Oil Stadium to host the NFL’s biggest game.

The stadium was placed on the lot in a way that allows people to easily enter and exit the stadium and walk to and from the heart of downtown.

It was as if city leaders already had the Super Bowl Village in mind in 2006, said Brian Trubey, design principal for Dallas-based HKS Sports & Entertainment, which was the lead architect on the project.

“The way the stadium was laid out on the site and linked to the Convention Center was key to luring a Super Bowl,” Trubey said.

Key to the design was maximizing revenue potential without making the stadium too big for Colts regular-season ticket demand.

To do that, HKS put all the club seats between the 20-yard lines instead of the traditional ring around the bowl. More suites were put along the sidelines and fewer in the corners than in traditional football venues.

All that premium seating in prime real estate allows the NFL to generate more money than it would from a similar-size venue built in an earlier era, Trubey said.

Still, there’s no getting around the NFL’s thirst for revenue, and the city’s stadium makes Indianapolis a Super Bowl underdog, said Marc Ganis, a Chicago-based sports business consultant who counts the NFL and several of its teams as clients.

“You have to sell a lot of NFL Experience tickets at $25 each and T-shirts for $30 to make up for each and every extra seat another stadium can fill for $1,000,” Ganis said.

Downtown an asset

A future Super Bowl bid could lean on the city’s compact downtown and the stadium’s proximity to help generate additional revenue.

“Indianapolis is hosting one of the most urban Super Bowls ever,” Ganis said. “There could be some real untapped opportunities there.”

Host committee Chairman Mark Miles, Melangton and other city leaders are pondering ways to drive more revenue to the NFL through the massively popular Super Bowl Village.

“The village is so unique, we think it gives the NFL a new option [in revenue generation],” Miles said. “If I were [NFL officials], I’d think about coming back and partnering in the village and weave sponsors throughout that attraction.”

Miles doesn’t want to charge admission to the village, but thinks there are ample opportunities for the league to use the stretch along Georgia Street to serve its corporate partners.

If Indianapolis and the NFL partnered in such a deal, it would be the first such Super Bowl business collaboration.

Miles said the village, operated by the host committee, is a financial loser because it was set up as a test attraction and not a money-generator.

“Honestly, we set up this party, and we didn’t know how many people would come,” he said. “The response to it from the local community and visitors has been overwhelming.”

Miles wouldn’t say how much of the committee’s $29 million budget was spent on operating the village other than, “It is a significant expense. It cost millions.”

The pitch

Ultimately, the NFL’s owners are the folks the city would have to convince to bring back the league’s marquee event.

At least one of them, Colts owner Jim Irsay, is committed.

“On the face of it, when you think about hosting a Super Bowl, you wouldn’t necessarily think about Indianapolis, Indiana,” Irsay said. “But I really think we have a serious case for this event returning. I’m fully committed to trying to make that happen.”

The host committee paid special attention to the league’s owners during the Super Bowl festivities: A special VIP Services Committee assigned a local business executive—including representatives from Hunt Construction, KPMG and Indiana University Health—to personally attend to the needs of each of the 32 NFL owners.

Before they arrived in town, team owners were given cards with the name and contact information for their personal concierge. The volunteers helped arrange hotel rooms, offered travel advice, and reserved tables at St. Elmo.

It’s not a new approach for Indianapolis, which set up similar arrangements to welcome high-profile visitors for the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis and the World Basketball Championships.

“Our goal is to make Indianapolis the best city to host any event, including the Super Bowl,” said Ersal Ozdemir, CEO of Keystone Construction and co-chairman of the VIP committee. "Do we hope to host the Super Bowl again? Sure. Who makes the decision? Team owners. When we go back and bid again, hopefully they remember the extra touches."

ablerock

February 4th, 2012, 12:38 PM

Since leaving Indy 3 1/2 yrs ago, I spend a lot of time on here reading and enjoying everything that you guys have to talk about. I really am enjoying this week and the different sites some of you guys put up about "what other people are saying about Indy." But tonight, after going to wishtv and wthr sites and reading what happened downtown, might put a damper in what some (or alot) of people will say about their SB experience. I really hope not thou. One thing that I am disapointed in, is that 4 yrs ago when Indy got the votes for this SB, they showed this nice little video to the NFL of what downtown would look like. The party started from the circle, down to Conseco, up Georgia St to the CC and down to the stadium. If Indy would have kept that idea, I don't believe what happened tonite would have been a problem. Maybe the should have put one of the stages on the circle. Oh well, live and learn for when the next SB comes to Indy.

P.S. I still wish they would have used my idea of taking the teflon roof of the RCA Dome and put it over Victory Field for concerts and parties. I remember Mark Miles emailing me back and saying that was a terrific idea, but would not go through with it because the city had already promised to sell pieces of it to the public.

I'm not really sure what you mean by "what happened downtown." I haven't read anything "negative" except for some crowding and additional road closures last night to create room for pedestrians, which is a good thing IMHO. Georgia was super crowded for a couple hours, but everyone still had a good time. Honestly, it's been insane every night. The Indy Star would report as quick as they could if there was an actual scandal of some sort. The sensationalized wish tv article really isn't worth basing your opinions on. There've been tons of cops out every night, all over downtown. And it's been a blast.

I agree that more public space should be captured to alleviate crowding. I think the village/Georgia st design should wrap up Pennsylvania and they put the stage on a diagonal facing both streets.

Btw, did you know there's a giant enclosed tent on Victory Field? Maybe you can take a bit of credit for that? :)

aavmarine

February 4th, 2012, 01:06 PM

I'm not really sure what you mean by "what happened downtown." I haven't read anything "negative" except for some crowding and additional road closures last night to create room for pedestrians, which is a good thing IMHO. Georgia was super crowded for a couple hours, but everyone still had a good time. Honestly, it's been insane every night. The Indy Star would report as quick as they could if there was an actual scandal of some sort. The sensationalized wish tv article really isn't worth basing your opinions on. There've been tons of cops out every night, all over downtown. And it's been a blast.

I agree that more public space should be captured to alleviate crowding. I think the village/Georgia st design should wrap up Pennsylvania and they put the stage on a diagonal facing both streets.

Btw, did you know there's a giant enclosed tent on Victory Field? Maybe you can take a bit of credit for that? :)

Sorry, I need to correct myself. It was the videos that I saw on their sites and the comments that I read. They had interviewed some people who were saying that it was to crowded, and seem to say at times it was unsafe. Some were saying that they were getting smashed up against the fence. The comments below the video are the worse I've read so far about the village. Maybe I'm just reading to much into it, but here is the link to the video:

http://www.wthr.com/story/16674540/crowds-pack-streets-of-super-bowl-village

ablerock

February 4th, 2012, 02:46 PM

Sorry, I need to correct myself. It was the videos that I saw on their sites and the comments that I read. They had interviewed some people who were saying that it was to crowded, and seem to say at times it was unsafe. Some were saying that they were getting smashed up against the fence. The comments below the video are the worse I've read so far about the village. Maybe I'm just reading to much into it, but here is the link to the video:

http://www.wthr.com/story/16674540/crowds-pack-streets-of-super-bowl-village

Some locals just aren't used to cramming tightly into spaces. And imho bringing kids and strollers to this part of downtown at 10pm is asking for it. I've seen way too many strollers. It's a huuuge bar and everyone knows it. You want family friendly, come at 3pm, or earlier.

It was nothing that isn't seen at Times Square every New Year's Eve. You can tell from the video that most people are having fun. Using language like "smashed against the fence" and starting out with the screaming crossing guard and whiny girl pointing at all the people looking worried sets a slanted tone. They're just hyping up the "drama" for the home viewers. I'll believe what I've seen and what the videos actually show if you look past all the slant editing, not what some random complainers on wthr.com write. The commenters sound like they didn't know what they were getting into.

Truth is, it's been difficult to walk on parts of Georgia every night this week. (though Last night was next-level crowding.) And very inconvenient at times. And it's been a blast. And 99% of the people are still smiling and partying. Maybe some people got shoved, maybe not. I never saw anything like that in person. But there's definitely not some cover up or scandal. It was just crowded at the peak. And it was fun. The only area it's really really packed is Georgia. People can avoid that and there's still lots to see and absorb without the wall-to-wall people. Pan am plaza's had plenty of mingling room.

Basically what I'm trying to communicate is that it's going great and not to worry about the little pseudo-drama being stirred up by that article. :)

ablerock

February 4th, 2012, 04:08 PM

Star weighs in with changes to Georgia St setup tonight:

http://www.indystar.com/article/20120204/NEWS11/120204011/Massive-Friday-crowd-brings-new-restrictions-tonight-Super-Bowl-2012-Village-Indianapolis

“There were no stretchers, not stampedes, no Tasers and no use of force,” by police, Bates said.

I checked in with friends who were there last night. They also confirmed it was safe and calm from their vantage points as well. (That's not to say it wasn't insanely packed with people!)

ablerock

February 4th, 2012, 04:18 PM

More sampling of high praise from various sports sources, current as of yesterday:

http://www.vigilantsports.com/2012/01/29/national-media-react-to-indys-super-bowl/

On-air personalities:
Brian Billick: “We should do it here every year.”

Mike Tirico: “I think Indianapolis should host another Super Bowl. I’d give this Super Bowl experience so far a 10 outta 10.”

Colin Cowherd: “Indianapolis has done a great job. They’ll get another Super Bowl.”

Steve Levy: “I will go on record, they should play the Super Bowl here every year.”

Drewbie

February 4th, 2012, 04:26 PM

I saw about ten IndyGo Buses that were at capacity last night. People were being turned way, but just stood by and waited for the next one. The crosswalks all got upped to 100 second cross times.

cdc guy

February 4th, 2012, 06:06 PM

I saw about ten IndyGo Buses that were at capacity last night. People were being turned way, but just stood by and waited for the next one. The crosswalks all got upped to 100 second cross times.

Saw a"sorry bus full" sign on the front of a bus on Meridian about 330pm yesterday. Hope Rep. Espich saw it too. :)

Went to First Friday @ Harrison Center; attendance was light, but picked up toward the end. Saw cailes across the room but was "posted" at the Pogues Run Grocer soup station.:cheers:

As with Mass Ave on Thursday, it seemed "normal" except for the number of people outside around 16th St. on a February evening.

libertybell-donna

February 4th, 2012, 06:51 PM

Since leaving Indy 3 1/2 yrs ago, I spend a lot of time on here reading and enjoying everything that you guys have to talk about. I really am enjoying this week and the different sites some of you guys put up about "what other people are saying about Indy." But tonight, after going to wishtv and wthr sites and reading what happened downtown, might put a damper in what some (or alot) of people will say about their SB experience. I really hope not thou. One thing that I am disapointed in, is that 4 yrs ago when Indy got the votes for this SB, they showed this nice little video to the NFL of what downtown would look like. The party started from the circle, down to Conseco, up Georgia St to the CC and down to the stadium. If Indy would have kept that idea, I don't believe what happened tonite would have been a problem. Maybe the should have put one of the stages on the circle. Oh well, live and learn for when the next SB comes to Indy.

P.S. I still wish they would have used my idea of taking the teflon roof of the RCA Dome and put it over Victory Field for concerts and parties. I remember Mark Miles emailing me back and saying that was a terrific idea, but would not go through with it because the city had already promised to sell pieces of it to the public.

aavmarine, you might be interested in the work of People for Urban Progress, the non-profit that salvaged much of the RCA Dome fabric (I don't know of any the City sold to anyone; my understanding is most of it was destined for the landfill). Disclosure: I'm on the Board at PUP. We've used the fabric for lots of things, starting small with bags and wallets and such that we sell to fund our larger projects. Larger projects with the fabric include small canopies at two neighborhood greenspaces and a community farm; a larger project that does not use the fabric but is funded in part by sales of Dome fabric items is salvaging the stadium seats from Busch Stadium and using them at IndyGo stops and other publics spaces.

Website here: http://www.peopleup.org/ (note: There's sound upon opening)

By the way, thank you for your service to our country. I'm trying to say this more frequently lately.

And, as long as I'm pushing my local involvement here: everyone please head down to the Murphy building where we've installed a Super Bowl pop-up shop called Outpost, with T-shirts and other items by local apparel companies Vardagen, Hayes & Taylor, United States of Indiana, and PUP. NUVO review here: http://www.nuvo.net/ArtsBlog/archives/2012/02/03/diy-apparel-shop-outpost-opens-doors

BosartBrown

February 4th, 2012, 10:18 PM

Saw a"sorry bus full" sign on the front of a bus on Meridian about 330pm yesterday. Hope Rep. Espich saw it too. :)

I rode the #8 Washington st bus around noon on Friday. I had to wait about an hour because the 1st one was completely full, although I did get on a second one that was standing room only. Later on in the route I heard the pleas from would-be riders that they had waited for 2 buses and need to get to work/school. Its a sad situation to be in when you're dependent on a system like Indygo but can't get on the bus because the demand's too high.

Later on in the night I tried to take the bus again downtown with some friends but I did not see any bus for about an hour in either direction on wash st. This was between 7-8pm when there is usually a bus every half hour. I imagine that all the buses were stuck in the mess downtown. We then tried to call for a cab, but all of the lines were busy (for every cab company). We finally got through after about 20 minutes, scheduled the cab but he cab never showed or called. Basically for about a 2-3 hour period of time if you wanted to get to downtown but didn't want to drive your options were to walk or ride a bike. I can imagine quite a few of our visitors were annoyed by this.

moochie

February 5th, 2012, 12:59 AM

I've had the amusing experience of watching New Yorkers stand on curbs hailing cab after cab after cab, not knowing that they don't stop and usually respond only to called in fares... except that sometimes they do.. when said New Yorkers fling themselves bodily in front of them and force them to..

So, following up from a conversation months earlier in this thread, some cabs are picking up fares that hail them.

jjgn

February 5th, 2012, 01:20 AM

....
I checked in with friends who were there last night. They also confirmed it was safe and calm from their vantage points as well. (That's not to say it wasn't insanely packed with people!)
My friend who was on Georgia St. with his wife last night said that people could not move and it was very scary. He note that mid-block exit points were limited.

billionbucks

February 5th, 2012, 01:57 AM

And again your liberal garbage gets in the way of your thinking.

This is about the SUPER BOWL. Not Right to Work so the protestors better not screw this up.

You're a bright little ray of sunshine.

EddieB317

February 5th, 2012, 02:38 AM

cdc guy

February 5th, 2012, 02:48 AM

I went out last night. Packed, very. Scary, not at all. I think that some people just didn't expect those kinds of crowds. I got pushed through a mass of people at a bottleneck, but my safety was never in jeopardy.

I only saw a handful of people upset or scared. The people who were upset seemed like they were kind of "rural" and were already outside of their comfort zone before they had to squeeze through the bottlenecks.

If this is the only problem we have this whole thing will be a huge success.

Amen. Anyone who's been to a race at IMS and walked up Georgetown Road after the race understands that a large crowd in a confined spce isn't scary or dangerous in and of itself. And there probably aren't nearly as many falling-down-drunk people downtown.

PS. aavmarine, I also thank you. Both my sons went to engineer school at Courthouse Bay.

ablerock

February 5th, 2012, 03:58 AM

Amen. Anyone who's been to a race at IMS and walked up Georgetown Road after the race understands that a large crowd in a confined spce isn't scary or dangerous in and of itself. And there probably aren't nearly as many falling-down-drunk people downtown.

As someone who grew up in Speedway and has been to more races than weddings ;), I'll give a double amen. 99.99% of the people downtown have been having a blast.

Btw, I know someone who works at the Starbucks on the Circle. They overheard a rumor "that a cop car was turned over by the crowd." That obviously didnt happen (it would've made national news). The hyperbole is getting a little ridiculous.

ablerock

February 5th, 2012, 04:01 AM

arenn

February 5th, 2012, 04:04 AM

Was having a drink in a neighborhood bar in Chicago. I saw some type of NFL awards show on the TV. It was at the Murat Theater??? Anyhow, assuming this was Indy, it certainly looked swank enough to have been NYC or LA.

ablerock

February 5th, 2012, 04:16 AM

ablerock

February 5th, 2012, 04:19 AM

Just saw this humorous article about our lack of taxis. It's actually a fairly positive article for one that's pointing out a negative.

"Super Bowl scene: Good luck hailing a cab in Indianapolis"

http://mobile.nj.com/advnj/pm_112005/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=puJIpiwH

ablerock

February 5th, 2012, 04:35 AM

Articles like this are becoming very common. It's pretty awesome:

"Just a thought: Indy ranks up there with best super bowl sites"

http://www.montereyherald.com/sports/ci_19894820/just-thought-indy-ranks-up-there-best-super

"Indy put on a show, showcasing itself as an elite city, shaking its small town image."

cdc guy

February 5th, 2012, 04:54 AM

k2h

February 5th, 2012, 05:27 AM

cdc guy

February 5th, 2012, 04:21 PM

Thought you all might be interested in knowing that word on the street in Los Angeles is more of the same that we have been hearing and reading about...Indianapolis is being recognized as a great host for the Super Bowl. Apparently, media coverage of the "Super Bowl Village" has left an impression on people. This seems to be the first thing that comes up when discussing the big game. I think this event will serve as a big turning point for Indy...in terms of national recognition anyway.

I am very interested in how NBC and its on-air talent present the city. By all accounts, Jimmy Fallon has enjoyed it. Al Michaels almost always has good things to say about the city and stadium on SNF.

The sun has just come out on a cool, clear day. The city should show very well on TV this afternoon/evening. (I did not read it anywhere, but assume DT office buildings will be lit up. Loved seeing the Rolls-Royce logo up on the Faris complex this week. Even if it signifies jet engines to us, it says "elite" to the rest of the world.)

Saw a couple of FB posts from folks trying to ride IndyGo from the northside. Even with the rain yesterday, buses had "sorry bus full" signs. Too bad the legislators have parking passes; wish they'd have had to park at Glendale and ride the bus in. :)

EddieB317

February 6th, 2012, 01:02 AM

300 n meridian, chase tower, and regions are all dark... You think they would have lit up like one America did with 100,000,000 people watching.

jjgn

February 6th, 2012, 04:54 AM

300 n meridian, chase tower, and regions are all dark... You think they would have lit up like one America did with 100,000,000 people watching.
or not doing so and burning less coal.

BenIndy

February 6th, 2012, 05:03 AM

300 n meridian, chase tower, and regions are all dark... You think they would have lit up like one America did with 100,000,000 people watching.

It almost seemed like it was intentional. When they did the city view shots with them semi-dark, the Luke was well lit and really popped.

cdc guy

February 6th, 2012, 05:06 AM

It almost seemed like it was intentional. When they did the city view shots with them semi-dark, the Luke was well lit and really popped.

Even more so, the giant XLVI and Lombardi trophy graphic on the JW...featured in every aerial shot.

cdc guy

February 6th, 2012, 05:08 AM

Best of all, a Manning beat the Patriots. What other ending could a fairy-tale SB week in Indy have?

hoosier

February 6th, 2012, 05:24 AM

indyfan

February 6th, 2012, 06:16 AM

In person, damn you lucky dog. You missed a lot of great skyline shots on TV. Peyton will have to come back to us now to see if he can equal his brother. It's no longer Brady vs Manning. It's Manning vs Manning.:lol: Brady is no longer in the debate.

GarfieldPark

February 6th, 2012, 06:25 AM

Not only did the Murat look good during the NFL Honors award show on Saturday - but the Circle Theater has also looked very good during the Jammy Falon show this past week. The walls have a cool looking pinkish-orange glow along with some neon blue lighting as well.

GarfieldPark

February 6th, 2012, 06:36 AM

I thought this was an interesting article from the Chicago Tribune. It compares Indy hosting the Super Bowl and Chicago hosting the upcoming G-8 Summit in May. Basically, Chicago wishes it could switch events to be hosted.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ct-biz-0205-phil-20120205,0,2443143.column

unvrsty07

February 6th, 2012, 08:34 AM

Wow, what a great game to see in person. I had to sit in the NE section but Giants fans far outnumbered Patriots fans in the stadium. It got LOUD when NE had the ball, especially on third down.

Kelly Clarkson did a great job with the national anthem and Madonna put on a great halftime show. Indy was the anti-Dallas as far as hosting the Superbowl is concerned.

Are you serious? you preach this anti-corporatism and anti-capitalism message, yet you sit in a multi-thousand dollar seat!? are you freaking kidding me right now? What a joke!!

mobyhead

February 6th, 2012, 02:21 PM

Are you serious? you preach this anti-corporatism and anti-capitalism message, yet you sit in a multi-thousand dollar seat!? are you freaking kidding me right now? What a joke!!

:ohno:

cdc guy

February 6th, 2012, 03:16 PM

Are you serious? you preach this anti-corporatism and anti-capitalism message, yet you sit in a multi-thousand dollar seat!? are you freaking kidding me right now? What a joke!!

Even liberals are allowed to like football and to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And maybe he's a big Madonna fan.

Face value of SB tix is typically $800, and if you get one at that price there's always the temptation to sell out. Even though I could have paid for several years' worth of Colts tickets by reselling them and not paying for airfare, rental car, and hotel, I went to Miami for XLIV and don't regret doing so. (Two things off the Boomer bucket list in one trip: attended a Super Bowl and saw The Who perform in person, even if it was from 150 yards away.)

Having done it once, I won't do it again unless the Colts are playing in the next LOS Super Bowl.

Indy'd

February 6th, 2012, 03:17 PM

The whole event was awesome. I wasn't at the game, but it didn't matter. Fans filled bars and restaurants and even hung out in the streets. The concerts were great fun and yes it got crowded, but the people i was smashed up against didn't seem to hate it and many people just understood it was part of the deal and had a great time. I feel like I did something amazing last week and now I am exhausted. I can't imagine what the host committee and city leaders must feel like. This may never "pay" itself off in terms of direct economic benefit, but I think we just took a giant leap in the inds of the country, but more importantly, our city and state. We have shown that a vision and a lot of determination can produce something fantastic and we should all be proud of our city. It was great, and will be something to tell the kids about...............I was at SB 46 in Indy, it was amazing.

mobyhead

February 6th, 2012, 05:29 PM

300 n meridian, chase tower, and regions are all dark... You think they would have lit up like one America did with 100,000,000 people watching.

When I worked security at the Regions Tower years ago we would purposely turn on all of the office lights along the bldg's exterior for Monday Night Football. Not sure if that was a request by the city or ABC Sports. I'm sure there was a valid reason behind the decision for last night.

dtIndydweller

February 6th, 2012, 05:43 PM

The 30 story Lombardi Trophy on the JW Marriott sure shined last night on the aerial shots of Indy.

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa215/baronalex/jwmarriott.jpg

Anyone able to get a picture of it from the air?

cailes

February 6th, 2012, 05:50 PM

Some images I took on Super Bowl Sunday downtown

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6829799383_889c07cceb_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6829798499_d4f14d309e_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6829788627_5ba1be7171_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6829787569_88e222a5a1_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6829783651_46cdf386a1_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6829782721_c1dd312ef5_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6829773963_978659bab4_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6829768299_670da32614_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6829767363_67fc1427d2_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7167/6829757449_a7fcf11b25_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6806576163_faba54b2cf_z.jpg

libertybell-donna

February 6th, 2012, 06:04 PM

Those numerals and the football on the Marriott are stickers, right? Are they spotlit from outside? They glow so strongly that in the aerial outdoor shots last night it was hard to tell if they were part of the skyline or some floating graphic superimposed on the image.

cailes

February 6th, 2012, 06:19 PM

They are some sort of graphic that was placed on the outside glass of the hotel and lit with ground level lights. I saw the name of the company responsible for it this weekend, but Ive read so much in the past week, I cant remember who it is

unvrsty07

February 6th, 2012, 06:23 PM

Even liberals are allowed to like football and to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And maybe he's a big Madonna fan.

Face value of SB tix is typically $800, and if you get one at that price there's always the temptation to sell out. Even though I could have paid for several years' worth of Colts tickets by reselling them and not paying for airfare, rental car, and hotel, I went to Miami for XLIV and don't regret doing so. (Two things off the Boomer bucket list in one trip: attended a Super Bowl and saw The Who perform in person, even if it was from 150 yards away.)

Having done it once, I won't do it again unless the Colts are playing in the next LOS Super Bowl.

I can think of much cheaper ways to see madonna.

ragerunner1

February 6th, 2012, 06:47 PM

Congrats to Indy for an outstanding Super Bowl event. I live in the Denver area and even here people are talking about how great Indy looked and the positive comments made all week by the national media. Hopefully they will get another one in the future. They put on a show worthy of a repeat.

Its these types of moments that can change how a community is preceived nationally and internationally. Of course you have to first get that moment, than make the best of it. I think Indy did just that.

cdc guy

February 6th, 2012, 07:59 PM

Some images I took on Super Bowl Sunday downtown

Showing my age, but a couple of your pictures made me think of the Elton John song "Tiny Dancer", which includes the lines:

Jesus freaks
Out in the streets
Handing tickets out for God.

Pepsi for All! :lol:

cdc guy

February 6th, 2012, 08:00 PM

cailes

February 6th, 2012, 08:17 PM

Sport Graphics, an Indy company that did the Super Bowl stuff for the NFL last year in Dallas.

Thanks Chris. I have been on twitter so much reading the positive press, that it all starts to blend together into this huge ego boosting thing. One needs a list to keep tabs on who said what positive thing about the city.

arenn

February 6th, 2012, 08:28 PM

mobyhead

February 6th, 2012, 09:36 PM

Sport Graphics, an Indy company that did the Super Bowl stuff for the NFL last year in Dallas.

Yes. One of our clients where I work. The owner Frank Hancock is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

ablerock

February 6th, 2012, 09:39 PM

All I can say is, the Super Bowl was a grand slam for the city. Even the airport seems to be going trouble free today. I don't think the city could have asked for anything more in terms of execution, weather, or recognition.

It's absolutely nuts how picture-perfect everything was.

Even the team that won was perfect for us. It's great Indianapolis will have a emotionally-positive connotation in the minds of a ton of New Yorkers. It's subliminal and unquantifiable and whatnot, but I think it's another one of those helpful little things that pushes the dial a couple of small degrees forward for Indy's future. If Green Bay or another smaller market team had won, it still would've been a great, but they're not a market that has more weight power to shape how the nation perceives a place after all the hype has died down and the nation moves on to the next big thing.

I was at the live Jimmy Fallon taping last night. You can tell the city really had an impact on him. He gave a very heartfelt thanks to the city after the taping was over. We scored a ton of goodwill points this week.

moochie

February 6th, 2012, 10:04 PM

I read a poll a few days ago, and can't find it now, but the jist was that when New Yorkers were asked a few weeks ago if they had a positive or negative opinion of Indianapolis, 30% said positive and 70% had no opinion. It'd be interesting to see the results if they took it again.

It's absolutely nuts how picture-perfect everything was.

Even the team that won was perfect for us. It's great Indianapolis will have a emotionally-positive connotation in the minds of a ton of New Yorkers. It's subliminal and unquantifiable and whatnot, but I think it's another one of those helpful little things that pushes the dial a couple of small degrees forward for Indy's future. If Green Bay or another smaller market team had won, it still would've been a great, but they're not a market that has more weight power to shape how the nation perceives a place after all the hype has died down and the nation moves on to the next big thing.

I was at the live Jimmy Fallon taping last night. You can tell the city really had an impact on him. He gave a very heartfelt thanks to the city after the taping was over. We scored a ton of goodwill points this week.

cdc guy

February 6th, 2012, 10:22 PM

DowntownIndianapolis

February 7th, 2012, 04:23 AM

I think ill post this reply to another thread cause it does bring up a good point on how to make mass transit more viable in Indianapolis. Also this would encourage expansion of transit and maybe get rid of some of the roadblocks we have.

My plan for the Market Square arena by turning it into the Indianapolis Exchange Center to lure big companies like CBOE, Franklin Templeton Investments, and other large corporations into both Indianapolis and Downtown would be a great boost for both the city and Downtown. I would like to have this building taller than the Chase Tower. 2nd depending on how much room new corporations that could relocate into this idea of a tower. You also could consolidate jobs from companies like HHgregg/Republic Airway Holdings/Celadon/Finish Line inc from the Suburbs and outside Downtown into the Downtown area. Bringing more jobs to Downtown actually would have another benefit because it makes it more practical for Transit to be developed. If not a big chunk of the population is going in one place transit is not very effective but if alot of jobs and people have to commute to downtown it makes it more attractive to build transit. Which would satisfy the Urban Indy folks too. :) Plus lets not forget having major financial companies like CBOE or Franklin Templeton Investments and so on HQ in Indy is a huge boost for the economy not only due to all the capital going in and out of the city but the high paying jobs. Indianapolis can and does have the workforce to support it due to the all the Universities and Colleges around Indy. Heck i even think the IU Kelly School of Business has a major in Business Financials.
CBOE is also only 3 hours away from Indianapolis so its easy to relocate them from Chicago.
All in all though i like the idea of expanding our transit but i realize its only going to be expanded if we can get more jobs in the Downtown area.
Also having a major company like CME group or CBOE in Indy would provide a huge tax benefit to the city and its still possible to get them here. Illinois corporate welfare can't last forever. Financial companies are always a boom for a city look at Charlotte NC a sister City of Indy thats growing faster than our city. Because of Financials in addition to sports.

cailes

February 7th, 2012, 05:02 AM

k2h

February 7th, 2012, 07:35 AM

If any of you haven't yet had a chance to see the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon shows taped in Indy this past week, I recommend doing so. Fallon's team couldn't have made downtown and the City look any better. Seriously, I have never seen Indianapolis portrayed in such an urban context.

It was very refreshing and something that those overseeing the City's marketing strategy have always neglected to understand. If I were in college in Indiana and watched the show this week, it would certainly leave an impression, and one that might make me consider a move to Indy after college.

Now I might be exaggerating the impact, but one of the reasons I ultimately left Indianapolis was due to the fact that it lacked a certain urban environment I was seeking at the time. It didn't help that the only marketing message at that time and still today is, "Indy is a great place to raise a family". I'm not saying this is a bad message, but it is sure not a message that will get a response from new college graduates that are looking to change the world and find a place that nourishes their ambition and creative energy.

mobyhead

February 7th, 2012, 04:08 PM

DowntownIndianapolis

February 7th, 2012, 05:15 PM

There is no bigger job center in the entire state. Granted, there is a lot of decentralization, but I dont know how adding the jobs, and the required parking, THEN the transit is doing it the right way. IMO, this should be conducted opposite. Create the transit system, and the jobs will gravitate towards the transit centers.

Thats a gamble and when your talking Billions in a transit system you don't want to be wrong otherwise there will be a huge public uproar. :bash:
Don't get me wrong i support a short term fix to mass transit by tripling bus service and offering it to Hamilton County and Hendricks county but we need to take a balanced approach to transit and not just blow money away with no return.

Also FYI adding parking is simple we have plenty of parking *lots* that can be converted to parking *garages*
as one of the pictures on UrbanIndy showed if we converted those lots and added 7 stories we added 7X the parking space to downtown and so on.

moochie

February 7th, 2012, 05:18 PM

Wow, out of all the positive articles about Indy, I think Forbes will have the most impact. Being as I am essentially an investor in the city, reading all this crap is like porn or crack or something (fill in your own clever analogy, I'm tired)

From the article: "About 65% of the ticket holders for this year’s Super Bowl were corporate decision makers" WOW.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/02/06/super-bowl-xlvis-real-winner-indianapolis/

Super Bowl XLVI's Real Winner? Indianapolis!

Sunday’s Super Bowl was the most watched television event in American history, tuned into by nearly half of all households and at peak time, more than 117,000,000 viewers. Ad rates were $3.5 million per 30 second spot, and while viewers debated who was better, an overweight Volkswagen obsessed dog or Clint Eastwood, the real beneficiary of all that airtime and all those viewers was the city of Indianapolis.

“Ten years from now, I think we will look back on this one single day as the tipping point in tourism and perception for the city,” said Chris Gahl, Vice President of Marketing for the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association.

Several years ago when the city decided to go for the 2011 Game (it ended up with 2012), the bid process required $25 million in non-taxpayer funds, and several big Indy area companies, including Eli Lilly and Cummins, stepped up and provided it in the form of donations. Last weekend paid off that investment handsomely on both sides of Gahl’s equation: Conventions and Visitors.

Leisure travelers were treated to a week of eye opening coverage of the city’s unsung charms on major networks, minor networks, radio and the internet. Establishing shots featured some of the city’s most iconic attractions, including the world’s largest children’s museum, the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the country’s second largest collection of urban monuments after Washington, DC. Sports talk radio hosts on New York’s ultra-popular WFAN seemed to spend as much time discussing how shocked they were by the high quality of their meals (especially at the city’s beloved St. Elmo’s steak house, where Eli Manning fueled up for his Super Bowl victory) as the teams involved. This scenario was repeated all over the country as visiting media, many of them new to the city, were won over.

continued -

moochie

February 7th, 2012, 05:35 PM

Any idea how he's going to deal with this loss? and when? I follow his blog and videoblogs all the time. As the biggest Patriots fan, he has quite a following and his videos after the 2006 AFC loss to the Colts and after the Giants beat them in the superbowl the last time were flat out hilarious... I've been going to www.townienews.com hourly to see if he's posted yet... here's a sample, well worth a viewing. NSFW.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNIl2uCPwWs&feature=player_embedded

Oh, and he does talk a lot about Indy.

arenn

February 7th, 2012, 05:42 PM

"most urban Super Bowl ever" - I like the sound of that.

ablerock

February 7th, 2012, 06:11 PM

ablerock

February 7th, 2012, 06:17 PM

"most urban Super Bowl ever" - I like the sound of that.

No kidding! And even if it means nothing to the rest of the country, perhaps it will start to sink to the rest of this city that density and the word urban are good things!

cdc guy

February 7th, 2012, 06:41 PM

"most urban Super Bowl ever" - I like the sound of that.

Yeah, it's almost as if we have a real city and a real downtown. :)

GarfieldPark

February 7th, 2012, 11:03 PM

Now that "the Huddle" is moving out of Circle Centre -- has anyone heard what is going to happen there next? I walked down to that area of the mall earlier today and it is just moronic how difficult it is to try to even get into the south end of the mall. The only entrance is at the NW corner of that block. (A person walking south on Meridian would have to walk around three sides of the block before they can find an entrance!)

For businesses like Abercrombie and Fitch - which is at the south end of the mall -- if you are coming from the south you need to walk a block past it on the street and then go inside and walk back an entire block to get to it. I'd be pissed at the poor planning.

Hopefully Simon has some vision and can see how great the space should be along Georgia Street. They need to re-do that entire end of their mall. First - they need to have a big, new, main entrance somewhere in the middle of the block along Georgia Street. It should be somewhere near the escalators leading to the upper floors - or maybe by the escalators in the former Nordstrom section. They also need to have at least a couple of big restaurants / bars with outdoor seating along Georgia. The existing exterior needs to be completely changed to open up big new windows and easy access points to these places. A couple of new streetfront restaurants should also go in along Meridian - and possibly along Maryland as well.

They need to design this well -- so that whatever new retail goes in on the upper floors is more visible from the street. I can understand Simon not wanting to have tons of windows on the upper floors - to keep their shoppers focused on shopping - but it seems that something could be done to break up those large expanses of solid brick walls.

Hopefully someone with a good sense of smart design and awareness of appropriate retail interaction with the street will be in charge of the re-do of the building. The only thing I heard about possible plans was about two or three months ago when ESPN Zone, the Hofbrau Haus and a couple of other places were mentioned as possible leasees for the space. I think Lord & Taylor was also mentioned as a primary retail tenant.

Anyone have any insight with Simon that has heard any details about any progress on this project? It would be great to have them get started on this before we get too far into Springtime.

arenn

February 7th, 2012, 11:05 PM

cwilson previously posted that Lord and Taylor was taking over the space, but that's the only thing I've heard about it.

El Mariachi

February 8th, 2012, 01:03 AM

In researching public perception about Indy during/post Super Bowl online, I've discovered there's been an interesting alternate narrative bubbling about the Super Bowl/Indianapolis in the black community online here and elsewhere.

Two prominent musicians/rappers (with millions of followers on Twitter for perspective) supposedly publicly dissed the city during their SB visit. Drake, an MC from Toronto who performed over the weekend allegedly rapped/said that Indy was the slummiest city he'd ever been in, was very boring, and that the women here are less than desirable. Another rapper who performed, Rick Ross, also said the women here are ugly and that everyone here is a bunch of groupies. This also led to other minor black celebrities and mostly young people weighing in on Twitter about it sucking here due to weather, nothing to do, etc.

Now, I haven't been able to find definitive evidence that either said these things. Supposedly they said it at club or tweeted it or rapped it. It could all just be rumors. Who knows if it even happened. But as a result of the rumor/truth spreading, there is plenty of negative noise from lots of (primarily black) people on twitter either saying yes, Indy is indeed dirty and boring, or locals mad at the artists for dissing the city.

I'm not sharing this so we can all say they're stupid or wrong or stir up a racial conversation, but because I think it's very interesting that there are many sub narratives within different communities and that public perception can indeed be quickly shaped by celebrities, media, even from rumors. If it weren't for Twitter and profile pics, we wouldn't even get to peek into a small phenomenon of opinion like this. It's also interesting to compare the response from the mainstream media, who were catered to like kings for the most part and are looking for the city to fulfill one set of criteria to call it a raging success, against some of the superstars (especially rappers/musicians/rockstars) who are probably used to the Miami's crazy nightlife scene during the Super Bowl. Since we don't excel in that area, they might call our city boring and a failure. (It brings to mind shades of Bernie Ecclestone, F1 CEO, who also dissed our strippers and nightlife.)

Thankfully, the majority of the mainstream national media has been very positive and this is just a small blip that didn't get much traction in mainstream media.

--

Also, from a personal perspective, as much as I want to fein it doesn't, it does hurt a bit to read a superstar visitor dissed the city for something that's partly true (slummy and boring in areas) and then read as strangers agree with them and have fun dissing the city as well.

All I have heard about Indianapolis was that it was great and one of the best Super Bowl host cities. Numerous sports personalities talked up the city and how accessible everything was. Jim Rome in particular has talked up Indy on his radio show and enjoyed all the great restaurants in walking distance.

I wouldn't get too discouraged by what celebrities say about your town. Especially rappers and star athletes. Unlike normal people, they tend to have a small set of interests. Those being luxurious places where they can throw their money around and have everybody kiss their ass. Indy, like most Midwestern cities, will never be able to have that. The same things have been said about Milwaukee (a good comparison to Indy) by a few NBA players over the years. Like Indy, we have gotten alot of praise from newspapers, media, and things of nature. I tend to buy into that moreso than I do the opinions of an overgrown manchild/s---ty rapper like Drake.

BTW, I was disappointed the Packers didn't get to the SB because I would have been down in Indy for sure. That place would have been crawling with Packer fans. Alot of people here were excited that it was being held there and we had a chance to daytrip the Super Bowl.

atrain5371

February 8th, 2012, 03:21 AM

Yeah those rappers don't seem to have an ability of knowing how to have fun. I hope to make it to Indy and LOS for next year's big ten championship game.

I enjoyed Indy's downtown the last time I was there and it seems like it is a great place for major sports events.

GarfieldPark

February 8th, 2012, 03:49 AM

^^ Sounds good. It was great to have all of the UW (and MSU) fans in town last December. Who knows who will be in the game this year. There should be plenty of tough competition but I would think UW should have a pretty decent shot. After the SB experience -- hopefully the local planners will once again put together some type of big party with music and outdoor food and beverages so we can repeat the fun on Georgia Street. Whether or not your Big Ten Team is playing -- all visitors are more than welcome to join in the festivities. Last year's Big Ten Football Championship was played when the Georgia Street improvements had barely been completed -- and little time was available to plan a big party. The one that happened was pretty good, but I would guess that the 2012 version should be much improved. BTW -- the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament starts in about five weeks -- so that's another opportunity for Big Ten fans to visit downtown Indy.

GarfieldPark

February 8th, 2012, 03:58 AM

Below is another excellent and very positive article from Forbes Magazine about Indianpolis' Super Bowl and its big event hosting skills:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2012/02/06/what-super-bowl-host-cities-can-learn-from-indianapolis-convenience-is-king/4/

The closing line from the article:

"One thing is for sure…Indianapolis’ hosting touchdown last week has certainly raised the crossbar for future Super Bowl host cities."

cwilson758

February 8th, 2012, 04:45 AM

what a great week to be a Hoosier! I got to spend a lot of time downtown over the past week in different areas and it was just so electric!

GarfieldPark

February 8th, 2012, 04:55 AM

A oversight team is being pulled together to help plan and oversee special events to be held at the Georgia Street corridor. Initially you might not want to have more than one or possibly two big events there per month -- but there are plenty of opportunities for big events from which to choose. Below is a list of potential events that could utilize the Georgia Street Party corridor throughout the year. I know there are several other very large conventions that will be able to utilize the area as well, I'm just not sure exactly when they are, but they are in the 20,000 to 40,000 person range (CEDIA, Powersports, American Legion, etc.).

January: New Years Parties; Indy Auto Show; Possible Colts Playoff Games; Pacers pre and Post game events
February: Possible future Super Bowl; Annual NFL Combine; Pacers pre and post game events; Mardi Gras event
March: Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament; occasional Women's Big Ten B-ball Tournament; Indiana State Boys and Girls HS Basketball Championships; Pacers events
April: NCAA Men's / Women's Final Four Basketball Tournament (Every few years); Pacers events; Police and Fire Instructors Conference
May: Party related to the Indpls Mini-Marathon; Indy 500 parties; Pacers playoff parties
June: Mid Summer Party and weekend "prime-time summer" music events
July: Fourth of July event; Brickyard 400 event; Black Expo event
August: Gen Con event; Fever pre or post game events; Colts game day events; Drum Corps Int'l event
September: Colts game day / season kickoff event;
October: FFA event; Colts game day events; Octoberfest event
November: Pacers Season kickoff event; Colts game day events; State HS Football Championship event
December: Big Ten Football Championship event; Pacers pre or post game events;

GarfieldPark

February 8th, 2012, 04:59 AM

Cory -- since you're posting ... have you heard anything new relating to Simon's plans for the south end of Circle Centre? They need to get someone in here who knows how to plan and design this property to make sure they are taking advantage of all of the potential with this site.

cdc guy

February 8th, 2012, 12:57 PM

Round Rock

February 8th, 2012, 03:54 PM

I got back last night from my trek up to Indianapolis to witness the spectacle. I spent 7 full days into the late night of my 9 day trip.

A simple statment: INDY Kicked some serious ASS here.:banana:

I'm now $2600 poorer and shockingly I only had 2 beers the whole time. That doesn't add up.:ohno:

I was super impressed and overwhelmed during the time in the superbowl village and the overall excitement downtown. It was exciting to see the crowds. Even the massive massive one that happened on Friday night. I took many pictures and many videos I'm posting on youtube.

That Friday night crowd was something. I like crowds and the atmosphere but I got caught in something that even started to concern me when I saw a couple women have panic attacks in the crowd and tried to climb over people to desparately get out. This was at Georgia and Meridian St. by the Pepsi Stage. The crowd had backed up almost to Maryland at that time at 7:15PM. At 7:45 I got onto Georgia street. I sent an urgent text to the host committe using facebook about the crowd there. To my surprise it was everywhere. At one point the pressure pushing on me from all sides was a little unnerving. It was good to get some square footage to breath a second. But everything was ok. That had to be the largest crowd downtown ever saw in its history.

The only criticism I had was that Meridian St. itself between Georgia and Washington street was just a collector street for people. A missed opportuntiy there. Nothing festive about it except when you got toward the Circle. Also it would have spread the crowd out with more to do over two more blocks. The original plan they presented to the NFL showed Meridian Street made up significantly.

Someone ought to pull up my post from several months ago on this long thread about the host committe seeming to use just Georgia St., and how there will be crowding and that more people will come than they planned. And that they should use Meridian as they showed in the bid process. I'm not sure how to find it, but it would be intersting to see how accurate my prediction was.

I got to watch the game in the Hayatt Atrium where they had a set up bar and a 180 inch projection screen. Really cool.

Overall Indy had a smash hit here. I enjoyed it a ton. :cheers:

Round Rock

February 8th, 2012, 04:02 PM

Did any of you notice the serious paver damage that occurred on Georgia Street. On gameday the crowd was massive but there was some space here and there and I noticed that the white pavers that serve as the sidewalk were seriously cracked.

I stopped counting when I hit 350 cracked or broken pavers. They all split or had small chunks broken off. I was very surprised. Also I noticed that many pavers were shifting up and down when people walked on them. I saw one in particular dip down over an inch with the other side lifting up over an inch. Kind of scary when you can trip on that with the large crowds. I would have thought that the pavers could handle plenty of weight since one person can stand on a paver at any one time and be within its weight capacity.

What kind of footing did they do under the paver part? Sand only? There seemed to be some significant shifting with the million plus people walking on these.

Time for a warranty repair...:lol:

moochie

February 8th, 2012, 04:33 PM

All pavers on Georgia were laid over asphalt. I've noticed a ton of damage as well. I think most of it came from construction vehicles breaking the rules and using the sidewalks which are not rated for vehicle traffic, let alone dumptrucks...

Did any of you notice the serious paver damage that occurred on Georgia Street. On gameday the crowd was massive but there was some space here and there and I noticed that the white pavers that serve as the sidewalk were seriously cracked.

I stopped counting when I hit 350 cracked or broken pavers. They all split or had small chunks broken off. I was very surprised. Also I noticed that many pavers were shifting up and down when people walked on them. I saw one in particular dip down over an inch with the other side lifting up over an inch. Kind of scary when you can trip on that with the large crowds. I would have thought that the pavers could handle plenty of weight since one person can stand on a paver at any one time and be within its weight capacity.

What kind of footing did they do under the paver part? Sand only? There seemed to be some significant shifting with the million plus people walking on these.

Time for a warranty repair...:lol:

moochie

February 8th, 2012, 04:35 PM

To follow up a conversation earlier in this thread, Magabus is now offering service to Louisville. also, the Nashville route is being labelled as Chicago to Indy to Nashville. No mention of Louisville in the trip.

Edit - It turns out that Louisville had a megabus stop in the summer of 2007 that was discontinued due to lack of interest. It's been restored.

CorrND

February 8th, 2012, 04:58 PM

The only criticism I had was that Meridian St. itself between Georgia and Washington street was just a collector street for people. A missed opportuntiy there. Nothing festive about it except when you got toward the Circle. Also it would have spread the crowd out with more to do over two more blocks. The original plan they presented to the NFL showed Meridian Street made up significantly.

Someone ought to pull up my post from several months ago on this long thread about the host committe seeming to use just Georgia St., and how there will be crowding and that more people will come than they planned. And that they should use Meridian as they showed in the bid process. I'm not sure how to find it, but it would be intersting to see how accurate my prediction was.
You're right, the original plan was to use Meridian (can't find the original diagram either). I'm guessing that the unfortunate overriding factor was maintaining access to the large, 7-8 story garage on the east side of Meridian between Washington and Maryland.

Remember, though, that the original plan also didn't include using Capitol at all. In terms of total space, they probably did better with Capitol and they provided good continuity for the pedestrian space between Georgia St, the ICC and LOS.

ablerock

February 8th, 2012, 05:06 PM

All I have heard about Indianapolis was that it was great and one of the best Super Bowl host cities. Numerous sports personalities talked up the city and how accessible everything was. Jim Rome in particular has talked up Indy on his radio show and enjoyed all the great restaurants in walking distance.

I wouldn't get too discouraged by what celebrities say about your town. Especially rappers and star athletes. Unlike normal people, they tend to have a small set of interests. Those being luxurious places where they can throw their money around and have everybody kiss their ass. Indy, like most Midwestern cities, will never be able to have that. The same things have been said about Milwaukee (a good comparison to Indy) by a few NBA players over the years. Like Indy, we have gotten alot of praise from newspapers, media, and things of nature. I tend to buy into that moreso than I do the opinions of an overgrown manchild/s---ty rapper like Drake.

BTW, I was disappointed the Packers didn't get to the SB because I would have been down in Indy for sure. That place would have been crawling with Packer fans. Alot of people here were excited that it was being held there and we had a chance to daytrip the Super Bowl.

Thanks for the out of state perspective. And the encouragement about shaking the haters off! :)

Also, my wife's from Wisconsin. As are my brother and sister in law who we live next door to. We were all bummed Green Bay didn't make it. It would've been cool to see an entire state drive down for the game! ;) (I wink because it may have been insane gridlock!)

ablerock

February 8th, 2012, 05:09 PM

I got to watch the game in the Hayatt Atrium where they had a set up bar and a 180 inch projection screen. Really cool.

Nice! My wife and I hung out there early in the morning on game day. Glad you had fun, it was an awesome week for the city.

Indy'd

February 8th, 2012, 05:10 PM

I noticed damage as well. I thought the metal platforms at the bottom of all the posts along Georgia would be deformed from people using them to stand on for concerts, but they seem mostly ok. The bollards and "bike racks" really seemed to be a surprise as people walked. They work alright for low volume corwds, but huge events make it tough.

ablerock

February 8th, 2012, 05:12 PM

GarfieldPark

February 8th, 2012, 05:42 PM

Yes -- that sounds excellent. Maybe in late August. Someone earlier mentioned that this area needs a Manager to plan and oversee events (not a committee). I agree. I guess the next chance to see what happens there may be for the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament. That'll be a big change - as it will mean crowds in the 20,000 range (as opposed to 200,000).

cdc guy

February 8th, 2012, 05:42 PM

The bollards and "bike racks" really seemed to be a surprise as people walked. They work alright for low volume corwds, but huge events make it tough.

Noticed that too, after stumbling over/around one or two. Wonder if that "street furniture" could be rigged with bench or table attachments? If you were trying to eat and drink, even just a sandwich and drink, there was a lack of places to set things down for a minute.

cdc guy

February 8th, 2012, 05:49 PM

Someone earlier mentioned that this area needs a Manager to plan and oversee events (not a committee). I agree.

The same manager could also plan and manage events/activities on Monument Circle geared toward the hometown crowd. Car shows, food festivals, etc., even concerts. (Several pages back, someone recalled the old "Circlefest", where the Circle and all four quadrants were closed off for a multi-stage food and music festival in mid-summer.)

Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. might be a good institutional home for that function. :)

moochie

February 8th, 2012, 05:53 PM

I have wondered for years now why the Indy 500 doesn't have a larger presence downtown. Every year, Speedway is crowded and with a couple minor exceptions, downtown doesn't even know that there's a race. Extending the festival downtown seems like a no-brainer to me.

The state fair on the other hand, floods downtown during lunch and dinner times especially. Maybe an opportunity there to maximize the presence too.

The same manager could also plan and manage events/activities on Monument Circle geared toward the hometown crowd. Car shows, food festivals, etc., even concerts. (Several pages back, someone recalled the old "Circlefest", where the Circle and all four quadrants were closed off for a multi-stage food and music festival in mid-summer.)

Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. might be a good institutional home for that function. :)

cdc guy

February 8th, 2012, 06:25 PM

moochie

February 8th, 2012, 06:30 PM

The 500 Festival includes the Mini-Marathon, which is pretty tough to miss.

Honestly.. it doesn't bring a lot of revenue downtown. They show up, they run away, they don't spend money. The parade has a large impact, but that's only one day. We really could do more. I'm thinking more in terms of parties, concerts, festivals, race cars on Monument Circle all month etc.

GarfieldPark

February 8th, 2012, 08:00 PM

Glad to see this little project finally happening in the heart of the 16th Street corridor:

http://www.ibj.com/foundation-finds-buyer-for-16th-street-buildings-after-6year-search/PARAMS/article/32489

Its not a big project -- but I think it will be great to have a cool little, walk up cafe / lunch place with outdoor seating along that corridor - for all of the neighbors in the Old North Side and Herron Morton. I've been thinking that little building would be a great place for a little funky restaurant or cafe for quite a while. Hopefully it will stay open late - to take advantage of the late night crowds at some of the clubs in the vicinity. Hopefully it will be completed by this Summer - if the developer can meet the deadline mentioned in the article.

CorrND

February 8th, 2012, 08:51 PM

ablerock

February 8th, 2012, 08:56 PM

Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. might be a good institutional home for that function. :)

I'd like to see another group given the chance. IDI is old guard and they already have their hands in a lot of pots. We need to diversify a bit. I'd like to see some young new blood given a chance to shake things up downtown when it comes to marketing and planning events.

moochie

February 8th, 2012, 09:51 PM

Litebox... is back! I just had a meeting with Bob. The investors are here and meeting right now.. I just don't know what to think of all this..

DowntownIndianapolis

February 8th, 2012, 10:00 PM

Litebox... is back! I just had a meeting with Bob. The investors are here and meeting right now.. I just don't know what to think of all this..

Great! and to all those people that thought this was a scam...................
Really you should atleast give people a chance and more importantly time!
love proving naysayers wrong on 1000ish jobs.

cdc guy

February 9th, 2012, 12:43 AM

I've also heard that the interior of that place is a wreck.

It was a wreck before the back part (now a parking lot for The Walsingham) fell down.
What remains is a completely unfinished shell.

jjgn

February 9th, 2012, 12:48 AM

I'd like to see another group given the chance. IDI is old guard and they already have their hands in a lot of pots. We need to diversify a bit. I'd like to see some young new blood given a chance to shake things up downtown when it comes to marketing and planning events.
I believe IDI already has the management contract for Georgia St. or is at some advanced stage of getting it.

cdc guy

February 9th, 2012, 12:53 AM

Great! and to all those people that thought this was a scam...................
Really you should atleast give people a chance and more importantly time!
love proving naysayers wrong on 1000ish jobs.

Litebox, Carbon Motors, EnerDel. Think.

Indiana seems to attract its fair share"entrepreneurs" from the coasts who think we're stupid hicks, and will believe their big stories, big plans, and boundless business potential. Right up until they shut down, leave town, or file for bankruptcy.

If Litebox were real, they'd have had a demo/prototype parked downtown Super Bowl week.

cdc guy

February 9th, 2012, 12:58 AM

I'd like to see another group given the chance. IDI is old guard and they already have their hands in a lot of pots. We need to diversify a bit. I'd like to see some young new blood given a chance to shake things up downtown when it comes to marketing and planning events.

The "old guard" got the Super Bowl here, got Georgia Street built, and blew everyone away last week. Not to mention the whole Near East Side thing. I trust them to hire and supervise the next generation of talent. :)

moochie

February 9th, 2012, 12:59 AM

The only jobs they've created so far has been temporary work for Amish laborers.

But you're correct, give them a chance. I can tell you that Litebox has a real team and real investors who take this very seriously. Whether that translates into a successful venture is the question.

As for those who point to Bob's sketchy past and accuse him of being a crook.. well.. that's not exactly uncommon is it? I know a lot of wealthy and successful people, and a large percentage are like that. big fucking deal. Welcome to the real world folks, that's just the way it is.

Great! and to all those people that thought this was a scam...................
Really you should atleast give people a chance and more importantly time!
love proving naysayers wrong on 1000ish jobs.

moochie

February 9th, 2012, 01:03 AM

If Litebox were real, they'd have had a demo/prototype parked downtown Super Bowl week.

I talked to Bob about that today. He had tried to put up some banners and have a display of sorts but was shut down by the city. They called his materials "bootleg" because some was copyrighted material they had thrown together thinking that no one would notice.... and there is no prototype anywhere near ready for primetime.

Amd curiously, Bob was surprised how big the Superbowl was.. honestly, I don't think he grasped what an opportunity he missed until after the fact.

Poor planning and inexperience doesn't make for a crook.

IndyYeah

February 9th, 2012, 01:39 AM

Hope Indy gets another shot at the bowl, however I am hearing up here that 68,000 plus seats may not be enough for another shot as the host. Heard it on a sports station.

ablerock

February 9th, 2012, 02:46 AM

The "old guard" got the Super Bowl here, got Georgia Street built, and blew everyone away last week. Not to mention the whole Near East Side thing. I trust them to hire and supervise the next generation of talent. :)

Give me a break. My comment had nothing to do with our city's recent accomplishments, IDI's "management capabilities," or a particular generation.

IDI's great. They've been steering for 20 years. But our narrative and market are getting more sophisticated and diverse. It's time to spread the weight.

Downtown would be better served being marketed by people who actually live in Center Township, not Center Grove.

hoosier

February 9th, 2012, 02:53 AM

Hope Indy gets another shot at the bowl, however I am hearing up here that 68,000 plus seats may not be enough for another shot as the host. Heard it on a sports station.

The official attendance was 68,658. However, Lucas Oil Stadium can seat 70,000 with temporary seating but the NFL disallowed it.

Oh- and university07- the SB tickets were free and a gift from a relative. I paid nothing for them. Attending the SB is not being a sell-out at all.

hoosier

February 9th, 2012, 02:57 AM

Well, the SB is finished but the real task of growing and improving Indianapolis still remains to be completed. Vacant and underutilized buildings and lots plague DT and the areas surrounding it as does the terrible transit system.

cwilson758

February 9th, 2012, 03:23 AM

Hope Indy gets another shot at the bowl, however I am hearing up here that 68,000 plus seats may not be enough for another shot as the host. Heard it on a sports station.

They will just have to make up the lost revenue another way - like breaking the NFL Experience record again! :cheers:

As for the Nordie space - I am still being told that Lord & Taylor is coming, but maybe the space is being re-evaluated due to the smashing success of Georgia Street. Cafe's are the way to go along that space - and I see the potential for the CSX building to be off the charts now! Also, the surface lot that had the planned Aloft Hotel a few years back has suddenly become hot property and residential would make all kinds of sense!

I would love to see the old Borders store turned into a Crate & Barrel or Pottery Barn. There are examples of similar sized metros with 2 stores so it's possible. Besides, the rate of residential construction is constantly increasing!

cdc guy

February 9th, 2012, 03:28 AM

curiously, Bob was surprised how big the Superbowl was.. honestly, I don't think he grasped what an opportunity he missed until after the fact.

Poor planning and inexperience doesn't make for a crook.

Poor planning and inexperience makes for near-certain failure.

(SURPRISED by HOW BIG the Super Bowl was in a small-market NFL city???? Un-effing-believable.)

DowntownIndianapolis

February 9th, 2012, 03:29 AM

Hope Indy gets another shot at the bowl, however I am hearing up here that 68,000 plus seats may not be enough for another shot as the host. Heard it on a sports station.

It will heres why.
Lucas Oil can be expanded to 70,000 but the NFL had a seat problem last year so they wanted to be safe.
2nd Lucas Oil's lower capacity is easily made up for the NFL doesn't have to spend money to shuttle everyone around cause downtown Indianapolis has all the action and everything is compact and easily walkable.

cdc guy

February 9th, 2012, 03:38 AM

Downtown would be better served being marketed by people who actually live in Center Township, not Center Grove.

Given who Downtown is marketed TO, suburbanites may understand the target demographic best.

No one has to convince those of us who work or live in Center Twp. to go downtown.

CorrND

February 9th, 2012, 03:42 AM

It will heres why.
Lucas Oil can be expanded to 70,000 but the NFL had a seat problem last year so they wanted to be safe.
2nd Lucas Oil's lower capacity is easily made up for the NFL doesn't have to spend money to shuttle everyone around cause downtown Indianapolis has all the action and everything is compact and easily walkable.
I think Indy will likely get another Super Bowl, but transportation savings are a drop in the bucket compared to the difference in ticket revenue vs. a larger venue. A 30k difference in seats (such as in Dallas) at, say, $1k per seat is $30M. That is a revenue difference not easily overcome by a small market like Indy. They'll have to get creative if they go back to the NFL owners asking to host again.

cwilson758

February 9th, 2012, 04:09 AM

ablerock

February 9th, 2012, 04:49 AM

Here's a thought - and kinda a vanity project - do you think that Indy may revist the idea of building a structure that is a symbol/image that people immediatley recognize? People left with a positive impression but we still don't have something that people can see and immediately say "That's Indianapolis." Something over at White River State Park would be great. Hell, I would be thrilled with a London Eye-type ferris wheel!

I don't understand this line of thinking because we already have one heck of a great icon in the Circle/Monument. (Although I'm all for building something cool in WRSP.) I read an article in the Star right before the Super Bowl wondering the same thing (what's our symbol) and it drove me crazy. I went to Super Bowl Host Committee meetings where people wondered the same thing aloud and it drove me crazy.

Did you see the article saying 70% of people have zero impression of Indianapolis pre Super Bowl? They don't even know who we are and we barely exist to a lot of the world. I'd say that it's not that we don't have a symbol, it's that we're still making ourselves known. The Super Bowl obviously went a heck of a long way in pushing that ball forward.

We have the Circle/Monument. That's our symbol. It's a great, great symbol. It's not known because we're still making ourselves known.

Am I crazy? :)

bradyusi

February 9th, 2012, 06:02 AM

That Megabus announcement of service between Nashville & Chicago gets another stop.

http://us.megabus.com/Louisville.aspx

Megabus.com $1, Daily, Express Bus Service Returns to Louisville
Service Now Available to/from Chicago, Indianapolis and Nashville

CHICAGO (Feb. 8, 2012) –Megabus.com, the widely popular city-to-city, express bus company with fares from $1, today announced they will begin daily service to/from Louisville on March 14. Customers can begin booking travel today at www.megabus.com.

Travel is available between Louisville and Chicago, Indianapolis and Nashville. Megabus.com will offer two departures from its stop on the right-hand side of Liberty St. just prior to the intersection with 5th Street.

Megabus.com fares always start as low as $1 and get higher as the traveling date gets closer. Customers are encouraged to book early to secure $1 fares.

"Megabus.com has rapidly become the travel option of choice for millions of people and today we’re excited to return to the Louisville market,” said Dale Moser, president and COO of megabus.com. “As Americans continue to look for ways to stretch their income, we look forward to providing safe, convenient and affordable travel to Louisville residents.”
Megabus.com, a subsidiary of Coach USA, launched in April 2006 and is one of the largest intercity express bus service providers in North America, transporting more than 15 million travelers. In addition to affordable fares, megabus.com offers customers state-of-the-art environmentally-friendly buses with free Wi-Fi, power outlets and restrooms.

Visit www.megabus.com for additional information about the service, schedules, arrival and departure times and fares.

cdc guy

February 9th, 2012, 01:37 PM

I don't understand this line of thinking because we already have one heck of a great icon in the Circle/Monument. (Although I'm all for building something cool in WRSP.) I read an article in the Star right before the Super Bowl wondering the same thing (what's our symbol) and it drove me crazy. I went to Super Bowl Host Committee meetings where people wondered the same thing aloud and it drove me crazy.

Did you see the article saying 70% of people have zero impression of Indianapolis pre Super Bowl? They don't even know who we are and we barely exist to a lot of the world. I'd say that it's not that we don't have a symbol, it's that we're still making ourselves known. The Super Bowl obviously went a heck of a long way in pushing that ball forward.

We have the Circle/Monument. That's our symbol. It's a great, great symbol. It's not known because we're still making ourselves known.

Am I crazy? :)

You are definitely not crazy, and I agree 100%. We who live here know this. The Circle and Monument are iconic, even if they don't make a good logo. (Ever see official city stationery?)

Tens of thousands of us all have the same picture, taken from the SW quadrant of the Circle or from the middle of Meridian, of the Roman numeral 46 with the Monument (and Chase Tower). Day, night, clouds, sun...we all got that shot.

socrates#1fan

February 9th, 2012, 02:26 PM

Downtown would be better served being marketed by people who actually live in Center Township, not Center Grove.

Considering that a lot of the professionals and their dollars live in the suburbs, it is the best target audience downtown has. I love central township and it is the heart of the city, but a great deal of it is in rough condition. Besides, much of the city's renewal has been fueled by people moving into downtown from the suburbs. Urban pioneers were the ones who created Lockerbie Square, Old Northside, St. Joseph, etc.

The demands of suburbanites may be unrealistic (parking for example) but without them downtown wouldn't be half of what it is today.

cwilson758

February 9th, 2012, 02:33 PM

I don't understand this line of thinking because we already have one heck of a great icon in the Circle/Monument. (Although I'm all for building something cool in WRSP.) I read an article in the Star right before the Super Bowl wondering the same thing (what's our symbol) and it drove me crazy. I went to Super Bowl Host Committee meetings where people wondered the same thing aloud and it drove me crazy.

Did you see the article saying 70% of people have zero impression of Indianapolis pre Super Bowl? They don't even know who we are and we barely exist to a lot of the world. I'd say that it's not that we don't have a symbol, it's that we're still making ourselves known. The Super Bowl obviously went a heck of a long way in pushing that ball forward.

We have the Circle/Monument. That's our symbol. It's a great, great symbol. It's not known because we're still making ourselves known.

Am I crazy? :)

No, you are not crazy...and I totally agree that to us Hoosiers, the Circle is the defining image of our City; however, to the rest of the Country (with maybe the exception of the neighboring metros) our Circle is woefully under-recognized and under appreciated. I absolutely adore the Circle and whenever I have a guest or get the opportunity to show someone who has never been to Indy, my first three stops are the Circle, the War Memorial and Scottish Rite...and every response when they see the Circle is "WOW!"

The study that 70% have NO impression is what got me to thinking this...we need something that is identifiable on a national scale. Let's be honest, Indy, in the mind of many, may as well be Columbus or Kansas City. The thing that seperates STL from this group is the Arch. It's a modern icon that Indy lacks. Cincinnati has the river that at least makes it distinguishable from the rest of the crowded 1.8-2.2 million metros.

arenn

February 9th, 2012, 03:15 PM

Interesting to see the Megabus news. I was totally shocked that the original Nashville route didn't have Louisville on it.

You can now Megabus to Chicago, Columbus, Cincy, Louisville, and Nashville from Indy. Not bad. Plus there was that Chinatown bus thing I previously posted to NYC. And BTW: Apparently there is twice daily scheduled bus service to Muncie :)

arenn

February 9th, 2012, 03:17 PM

Presumably you all remember the Indiana Tower, which was originally supposed to go into WRSP.

I for one don't think Indy needs a major iconic structure like the Arch. Such as a symbol can as much backfire as anything. Think of St. Louis and what do you think of? That Arch as much as anything.

The last thing Indy needs is yet another one-off super-special design. It needs to dramatically upgrade the standards of the workaday.

cailes

February 9th, 2012, 03:27 PM

The last thing Indy needs is yet another one-off super-special design. It needs to dramatically upgrade the standards of the workaday.

THIS.

I have taken your thought about how we regard our every day spaces and used it as a core principal.

It's nice to have cool and special things, but when we do it at the expense of everything else, it's a wash

cdc guy

February 9th, 2012, 04:04 PM

Considering that a lot of the professionals and their dollars live in the suburbs, it is the best target audience downtown has. I love central township and it is the heart of the city, but a great deal of it is in rough condition. Besides, much of the city's renewal has been fueled by people moving into downtown from the suburbs. Urban pioneers were the ones who created Lockerbie Square, Old Northside, St. Joseph, etc.

The demands of suburbanites may be unrealistic (parking for example) but without them downtown wouldn't be half of what it is today.

My point exactly. I have to say it with clenched teeth, but it is the absolute truth: Without attracting suburbanites (both from Indy suburbs, and visitors with suburban money from elsewhere) into Downtown Indy, it fails.

Attracting big-city people from big-city cores is a fool's errand. They'll think downtown is quaint by their standards. It can't compete with The Loop or Manhattan or Center City Philadelphia or SFO or any number of other major cities, and we all know that. We're not selling "urban cool".

Our product is "urban safe, urban nice". Not a single homicide during the Super Bowl week. Only a handful of police incidents. Cleanup every night.

moochie

February 9th, 2012, 04:26 PM

I noticed that Louisville was a stop from Indy yesterday when I was putting a Chicago trip together for April... and I posted it here, thereby scooping you and the announcement... so powned! or something like that.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=88354428&postcount=7416

Funny that I must have done all that just minutes before the official announcement. Early yesterday, the Chicago - Indy - Nashville route was not advertised as having a stop in Louisville.

That Megabus announcement of service between Nashville & Chicago gets another stop.

http://us.megabus.com/Louisville.aspx

Megabus.com $1, Daily, Express Bus Service Returns to Louisville
Service Now Available to/from Chicago, Indianapolis and Nashville

CHICAGO (Feb. 8, 2012) –Megabus.com, the widely popular city-to-city, express bus company with fares from $1, today announced they will begin daily service to/from Louisville on March 14. Customers can begin booking travel today at www.megabus.com.

Travel is available between Louisville and Chicago, Indianapolis and Nashville. Megabus.com will offer two departures from its stop on the right-hand side of Liberty St. just prior to the intersection with 5th Street.

Megabus.com fares always start as low as $1 and get higher as the traveling date gets closer. Customers are encouraged to book early to secure $1 fares.

"Megabus.com has rapidly become the travel option of choice for millions of people and today we’re excited to return to the Louisville market,” said Dale Moser, president and COO of megabus.com. “As Americans continue to look for ways to stretch their income, we look forward to providing safe, convenient and affordable travel to Louisville residents.”
Megabus.com, a subsidiary of Coach USA, launched in April 2006 and is one of the largest intercity express bus service providers in North America, transporting more than 15 million travelers. In addition to affordable fares, megabus.com offers customers state-of-the-art environmentally-friendly buses with free Wi-Fi, power outlets and restrooms.

Visit www.megabus.com for additional information about the service, schedules, arrival and departure times and fares.

EddieB317

February 9th, 2012, 04:27 PM

Indianapolis super bowl time lapse (http://vimeo.com/m/36426933)

It's a cool time lapse video of Indy through out the SB.

dtIndydweller

February 9th, 2012, 05:38 PM

I came across this by accident. Has anyone else mentioned or posted anything about 16 Tech District?

http://www.developindy.com/redevelopment/16-tech.aspx

mobyhead

February 9th, 2012, 06:22 PM

Neat!
http://vimeo.com/36426933

ablerock

February 9th, 2012, 07:45 PM

I came across this by accident. Has anyone else mentioned or posted anything about 16 Tech District?

http://www.developindy.com/redevelopment/16-tech.aspx

Yes, although there is not a dedicated thread. You may have the honors! :)

HoosierInBTOWN

February 9th, 2012, 08:05 PM

Does anyone know of/have an interest about development in Bloomington?

moochie

February 9th, 2012, 08:23 PM

Does anyone know of/have an interest about development in Bloomington?

I have an interest, but know little. I haven't been to Bloomington (my alma mater) in years unfortunately.

So.. if you have info, start a thread!

HoosierInBTOWN

February 9th, 2012, 09:26 PM

I have an interest, but know little. I haven't been to Bloomington (my alma mater) in years unfortunately.

So.. if you have info, start a thread!

Deal! I've been reading the one about Indy for a couple of years curing boredom while at work, but have never commented on anything. Seeing cities come to life is my thing (guess I should have went to PU for that degree :ohno:).

There is a new hotel proposed down here, but nothing great as in Indy. I wish we could get over not building up and start building some 10 story buildings instead of taking up blocks with monstrosities such as Smallwood (which could have used less space if it would have been built higher instead of longer). :nuts:

Here's the new thread (I need some help because the first thing I tried to post was denied :( )

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=88397759#post88397759

Round Rock

February 9th, 2012, 10:20 PM

On Wthr.com

INDIANAPOLIS - The Super Bowl helped boost Indianapolis' national reputation - but not by much, a survey found.

Competitive Edge Research, a national opinion research firm based in San Diego, has been conducting surveys on people's impressions of Super Bowl host cities for the past eight years.

Its survey about Indianapolis asked people who watched Super Bowl coverage on television what they thought of the city. Visitors to the city were not included in the survey.

Before the game, 72 percent of those polled had no impression nationally of Indianapolis. After the game, that dropped to 66 percent.

People living in the central time zone had a more favorable impression of Indianapolis compared with the rest of the country. John Nienstedt with Competitive Edge Research says that could be the pride factor playing out as Indianapolis' neighbors recognized a kindred spirit.

However, Nienstedt said there was "no significant movement in other areas," meaning Indianapolis did not hit a home run. On the other hand, all that national exposure didn't hurt the city's image, either.

moochie

February 9th, 2012, 10:51 PM

Meh. What the Superbowl really did for us was prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we can not only handle the largest of large events, but we'll do it outstandingly, better than almost anyone. We can now expect no resistance when we go after the GOP or DNC conventions for example. We are now indisputably in the big leagues to the people and organizations with the most influence and money.

After all, 66% of people attending the game were corporate decision makers. They're the ones we really needed to impress. The average Joe Schmo's opinion was secondary to the effort, sorry to say.

On Wthr.com

INDIANAPOLIS - The Super Bowl helped boost Indianapolis' national reputation - but not by much, a survey found.

Competitive Edge Research, a national opinion research firm based in San Diego, has been conducting surveys on people's impressions of Super Bowl host cities for the past eight years.

Its survey about Indianapolis asked people who watched Super Bowl coverage on television what they thought of the city. Visitors to the city were not included in the survey.

Before the game, 72 percent of those polled had no impression nationally of Indianapolis. After the game, that dropped to 66 percent.

People living in the central time zone had a more favorable impression of Indianapolis compared with the rest of the country. John Nienstedt with Competitive Edge Research says that could be the pride factor playing out as Indianapolis' neighbors recognized a kindred spirit.

However, Nienstedt said there was "no significant movement in other areas," meaning Indianapolis did not hit a home run. On the other hand, all that national exposure didn't hurt the city's image, either.

benjaminooo

February 10th, 2012, 12:12 AM

BTW: Apparently there is twice daily scheduled bus service to Muncie :)

Any more info on this? I want to get drunk at the Heorot!

Edit: http://www.myibooking.net/locations/muncie-to-indianapolis/

~$40 round trip? damn..

arenn

February 10th, 2012, 02:16 PM

Nice to see the Indy Star finally saying something - oh, only 2-3 years after we started talking about it. I even wrote an IBJ column on it.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20120210/LOCAL18/202100315/The-evolution-Naptown-reflects-transformation-Indianapolis?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com

CorrND

February 10th, 2012, 03:11 PM

GarfieldPark

February 10th, 2012, 03:20 PM

cdc guy

February 10th, 2012, 04:16 PM

From Inside Indiana Business

Espich Not Seeking Re-Election

The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee is not seeking re-election. The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports Jeff Espich (R-82) has decided to end a four decade career in the Indiana House. In a letter to the newspaper, points to other state representatives in the Allen and Wells county area who will continue to serve, clearing the way for his retirement

cdc guy

February 10th, 2012, 04:17 PM

I'm no expert in polling but isn't a 6 point swing in national consciousness about Indy simply from watching the Super Bowl pretty massive?

It's not like they were watching "Naptown to Super City" and only 6% more people had an impression of Indy. They were watching a football game and 1 in 17 people somehow got an impression of Indy along the way. Impressive if you ask me.

As arenn might say, "it moved the needle".

arenn

February 10th, 2012, 04:34 PM

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/the_second_winner_at_this_year.html

idyllic indy

February 10th, 2012, 05:15 PM

By my figuring, 6% of 310 million people equals about 18.6 million people who no longer have "no opinion" about Indianapolis. Hopefully at least 18.5 million of those people's opinions shifted from "don't know anything about Indy" to "looks like a cool, fun place". There's probably at least 100,000 or so who are cranky and don't like to have fun and have switched from knowing nothing about Indy to now thinking it is a terrible, decadent party town. Oh well.

Agreed. I'm a little cautiously skeptical about the long-term impact of hosting the big game, but I would definitely interpret an additional 6% of the country now having an impression about our City as fairly significant. It would be nice to know a little more about their particular impressions though, but presumably most would be positive.

cailes

February 10th, 2012, 05:50 PM

cdc guy

February 10th, 2012, 07:09 PM

things could get even worse

Yeah, we could elect a Republican theocrat as governor. Oh. Wait. Pence.

Or a kooky Libertarian. Oh. Wait. Rupert.

Or a small-town Southern (Indiana) Democrat. Oh. Wait. Gregg.

Yep. Things could get worse.

cdc guy

February 10th, 2012, 07:24 PM

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/the_second_winner_at_this_year.html

High praise from another urbanist blog.

indysurveyor

February 10th, 2012, 07:33 PM

High praise from another urbanist blog.

Republished to The Atlantic site:

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2012/02/secret-successful-urban-stadium/1196/

cailes

February 10th, 2012, 07:45 PM

I like how Kaid at least touches on the plight that we talk about here everyday that is the rest of Indy. Its nice to see downtown getting it's day in the sun though.

flavius

February 10th, 2012, 08:25 PM

If the Superbowl has slightly changed the nation's perception of Indy, that's great. It will bring more conventions, and those will bring money. They may also bring six more chain steakhouses and another Hooter's to the south side of downtown.

What is more important is how the SB changed the opinion of Indy in the eyes of its own residents, and those of its suburbs. I hope it has reinforced the idea among them that Indianapolis is a place where you have fun outside your home, day and night, even in February. More condos or independent bars and restaurants will open downtown downtown, not when we score another Drum and Bugle Corps championship, but when the existing ones are so full of people having fun that they have to turn them away at the door.

IndyYeah

February 11th, 2012, 06:08 PM

The official attendance was 68,658. However, Lucas Oil Stadium can seat 70,000 with temporary seating but the NFL disallowed it.

Oh- and university07- the SB tickets were free and a gift from a relative. I paid nothing for them. Attending the SB is not being a sell-out at all.

It is just what Hub Arkush in Chicago is stating. He runs an NFL magazine and is a talk show host.

IndyYeah

February 11th, 2012, 06:10 PM

They will just have to make up the lost revenue another way - like breaking the NFL Experience record again! :cheers:

As for the Nordie space - I am still being told that Lord & Taylor is coming, but maybe the space is being re-evaluated due to the smashing success of Georgia Street. Cafe's are the way to go along that space - and I see the potential for the CSX building to be off the charts now! Also, the surface lot that had the planned Aloft Hotel a few years back has suddenly become hot property and residential would make all kinds of sense!

I would love to see the old Borders store turned into a Crate & Barrel or Pottery Barn. There are examples of similar sized metros with 2 stores so it's possible. Besides, the rate of residential construction is constantly increasing!

Write Hub and ask him personally, he answers email quite abit from what I understand, and is heavily into the NFL insider info. He says alot of ticket revenue will be lost. Again, he knows a few more people related to NFL issues than most. He is at Pro Football Weekly.

GarfieldPark

February 12th, 2012, 04:02 AM

DowntownIndianapolis

February 12th, 2012, 03:48 PM

Moving my talk over here so its more on topic.
Garfield what i meant about extending it to cicero is let Indianapolis expand further north past Noblesville to Cicero before putting in a Northeast corridor. Also with the Keystone Towers gone theres a good spot to add some decent apartments and shopping which could be along the new mass transit rail line :)

Also i can't stress it enough that Indianapolis would have a better shot at getting better mass transit if Downtown had more than 150,000 people working there every day. Our current interstate system can handle that and traffic in Indy is nothing like chicago or LA. Ideally we should get more jobs in Downtown Indy and get that number to around 200,000 or more then i think the politicians would take the mass transit bill more seriously. I am glad Mayor Greg Ballard is pushing for it but theres realistically only so much he can do.
Now Rolls Royce Consolidating into Downtown is a very good start. and krono's inc opening up a new service center at the PNC Center is a good thing too. 300 more jobs in Downtown.

IndyYeah

February 12th, 2012, 10:20 PM

^^ Don't really care what this "Hub" guy from Chicago thinks. Indy did a great job with the SB. Sure you can make more revenue selling tickets for an 80,000 seat stadium compared to a 69,000 seat stadium. That's not news.

Will you care if Indy does not get another Super Bowl? Because it is what he is hearing, not what he wants. He, along with so many people know Indy did a great job. Money is a huge issue here. Chicago cannot get a Super Bowl because 63,000 seats is not enough. I hope that Indy gets another, but the seating I believe will have to go up.

DowntownIndianapolis

February 13th, 2012, 03:03 AM

Will you care if Indy does not get another Super Bowl? Because it is what he is hearing, not what he wants. He, along with so many people know Indy did a great job. Money is a huge issue here. Chicago cannot get a Super Bowl because 63,000 seats is not enough. I hope that Indy gets another, but the seating I believe will have to go up.

Lucas oil can be expanded to 70,000 seats but the NFL said no so thats their problem.

JohnM Indy

February 13th, 2012, 03:05 PM

Here is an article (http://www.profootballweekly.com/2012/02/09/indy-impressive-as-super-bowl-host) that Hub Arkush wrote about his time in Indy. On balance, he was very complimentary, and while he mentioned the capacity issue, at least in this article he did not characterize it as a dealbreaker.

I think it's important to remember that the Cowboys' stadium is an outlier in terms of capacity. It seats 80,000 for typical games but is exapandable to 110,000. The Superdome in New Orleans holds 76,000. Sun Life Stadium in Miami seats 76,000. Reliant Stadium in Houston seats 71,000. U of Phoenix Stadium seats 63,000 but can be expanded to 71,000 for special events such as the Super Bowl. Raymond James Stadium in Tampa seats 65,000 but is expandable to 75,000. The Georgia Dome in Atlanta seats 71,000. As others have noted, LOS is expandable to 70,000 (I assume this would involve bleachers set up in the But Light party zone on the third level, in front of the window), but because of some problems with such seating in Dallas last year, the NFL nixed it. My guess is that seeing how well things went in Indy this time, the NFL would trust us to get the temporary seating right if we got another Super Bowl.

Other than one-offs in cities such as New York, which will host the first open-air, cold weather super bowl in a couple of years (the usual capacity of the new Meadowlands Stadium is 82,000, not sure if it's expandable), the above stadiums are the only stadiums that currently can be considered to be in the rotation. Right now, San Diego is off the table because of its antiquated stadium. Certainly, a new stadium in SD, or in LA/Orange County (either for the Chargers or for a relocated or expansion team) almost certainly would become a Super Bowl site. It's also possible that the proposed 49ers Stadium in Santa Clara could host as well. A new dome in Minnesota, if it is ever built, could become a candidate as well. But in the current NFL landscape, it isn't just LOS that is dwarfed by Cowboys Stadium; it's all of the realisatic host stadiums.

GarfieldPark

February 13th, 2012, 09:00 PM

Here's a story from the IBJ with a few details on the future of the Georgia Street Corridor. Apparently there is a meeting today at 3:00 pm to discuss some ideas and communicate with some of the adjacent property owners. Hopefully this will lead to some movement from the Simon folks as to what types of businesses will be encouraged at the prime locations along the Georgia Street frontage of their downtown mall.

Hopefully there will be a follow-up story in the IBJ providing insight into any pertinent news that comes out of the meeting.

In the article, IDI President Tamara Zahn said her organization will further develop, manage and market the street “to enhance the vitality of adjacent properties and attract and host major special events and gatherings.” Zahn added that outdoor cafes and other programming are part of the long-term plan for Georgia Street.

Here's the link to the article:

http://www.ibj.com/longterm-plan-for-georgia-street-rolled-out/PARAMS/article/32621

GarfieldPark

February 14th, 2012, 03:23 AM

Here's the story from the Indy Star on the plan for IDI to take over the marketing and oversight of the Georgia Street Corridor. A big focus will be to help develop many more outdoor cafes along the corridor. Grants of up to $10,000 per business will be available to help the businesses modify their facades and set up areas where they can serve drinks and have outdoor dining along the corridor.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20120213/NEWS05/202130347/Downtown-group-plans-keep-Georgia-St-buzzing?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com

cailes

February 14th, 2012, 02:07 PM

It wouldnt hurt my feelings to shut the whole corridor down to autos. But thats sparking an old debate Im sure.

Nice to see the city pushing this. Hopefully, the same spirit of programming the space will infect the Circle

arenn

February 14th, 2012, 03:05 PM

Clearly, we need that capital investment to spawn change in the street frontage on that corridor. Glad to see they are doing something on that front. Clearly programming will be needed during non-event time and prime going out evenings. The Wholesale District can be dead during the day. There's little office development in the area compared to north of the Circle.

Ultimately if you line this thing with restaurants and bars, and take advantage of the already existing legal structure to create a "go cup" culture, this space could ultimately be an amazing party zone.

GarfieldPark

February 14th, 2012, 03:10 PM

Yes, maybe they'll bring back "Circle Fest" to the Circle. Also -- last year, the Columbia Club held its First Annual Octoberfest on the Circle. I think it turned out to be a lot bigger crowd than they were expecting. With a little more publicity and being its second year -- without too much effort it could get to be even bigger this year. During the day time, they've already got the Strawberry Festival tradition, and there is also a boy scouts "cookout on the Circle". Along with those week-day events, a few more big events over the weekend would be good.

On the news last night -- one event that was mentioned as a possibility for the Georgia Street corridor was a "Christmas Market" type of thing.

moochie

February 14th, 2012, 04:07 PM

It's funny, it wasn't much longer than a decade ago that sidewalk dining was illegal downtown...

Here's the story from the Indy Star on the plan for IDI to take over the marketing and oversight of the Georgia Street Corridor. A big focus will be to help develop many more outdoor cafes along the corridor. Grants of up to $10,000 per business will be available to help the businesses modify their facades and set up areas where they can serve drinks and have outdoor dining along the corridor.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20120213/NEWS05/202130347/Downtown-group-plans-keep-Georgia-St-buzzing?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com

vitamin R

February 14th, 2012, 05:31 PM

Just saw this in IBJ.

http://www.ibj.com/super-bowl-effort-puts-city-on-short-list-for-auto-dealers-convention/PARAMS/article/32644

EddieB317

February 14th, 2012, 06:56 PM

Just heard a rumor that Mozzo on Virginia is planning to break ground around April.

GarfieldPark

February 14th, 2012, 07:16 PM

From the IBJ article linked two posts above:

Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association CEO Leonard Hoops told Capital Improvement Board members Monday that he received a call from a major automobile manufacturer who was impressed by the city during Super Bowl XLVI festivities and wants to consider hosting its annual dealers conference in Indianapolis next year.

“We just got this call literally a couple of hours ago,” Hoops said at the board's monthly meeting. “It’s pretty exciting, and it’s certainly an indication of the kind of impact a Super Bowl can have on our convention and tourism business.”

“This is a group that wasn’t even our guest at the Super Bowl,” Hoops said. “They were there independent of us. They had their site selection down to two cities, but they liked what they saw so much here during the Super Bowl that they have put their selection on hold until they can give Indianapolis a chance to get in on the bid.”

Hoops declined to identify the auto manufacturer, but he said if the meeting comes here it would bring an eight-figure economic impact.

Among the most-promising leads: A “major medical association based in Washington, D.C.,” has agreed to come back for an official site inspection in early summer, he said. Hoops is confident the city has a good chance at landing the group’s convention in 2019 or 2020.

The ICVA also hosted a major Washington, D.C.-based energy association that has met previously in Chicago.

“They went from not interested in Indianapolis before the Super Bowl to now saying they think we can host their group,” Hoops told CIB members. The quasi-governmental board owns and operates the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium and other local sports venues.

Hoops is most confident about a “major engineering association” the ICVA hosted for Super Bowl festivities.

“Based on the feedback we’ve gotten, I’m very confident that this group will ultimately choose Indianapolis for its major annual convention,” he said.

If Indianapolis lands meetings of groups discussed Monday, the economic impact would total more than $100 million, Hoops said, adding that ICVA officials should have answers in the next 90 days.

“The people who underestimate the economic impact of the Super Bowl often don’t look at the convention and tourism business we land as a result,” Hoops said. “Evaluating the economic impact of the Super Bowl is like evaluating the [NFL] draft. You have to look a year, two years, three years down the road.”