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Sports Business
IU makes pigskin promotional push: New coach, aggressive advertising are part of multi-prong strategy to escape financial
hole
August 29, 2005
Anthony SchoettleThe Indiana University Athletic Department is intent on reaping financial rewards from its football program for the first
time in more than a decade with a marketing campaign built around its affable new coach, Terry Hoeppner. IU officials said
they will spend nearly as much on marketing the school's football program this year as on Hoeppner's $250,000 base salary.
Bolstering football attendance is a critical step toward stopping financial hemorrhaging in the school's Athletic Department,
IU officials said. In 2004,...
MoreAdidas' Reebok purchase gives it extra muscle in China:
August 29, 2005
Andria ChengAdidas' $3.8 billion purchase of Reebok International will help the companies open more stores and compete against Nike Inc.
for leadership in China, the world's fastestgrowing athletic gear market. "We are growing faster in China than Nike and together
with Reebok we are bigger," Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer said. "We can offer our full organization in China to help Reebok build
stores." Germany-based Adidas and Massachusetts-based Reebok announced their merger in early August. The companies haven't
disclosed what the pairing...
MoreMore business owners embracing economy: High fuel costs, personal debt dampen some optimism
August 22, 2005
Scott OlsonBusiness owners are beginning to show signs of completely emerging from a recessional slumber, although some holdouts remain
unconvinced an economic recovery is in full swing. The confidence exuded by the state's massive manufacturing sector could
be sending the most optimistic signal. From 2000 to 2003, manufacturers in Indiana were stung especially hard by the soft
economy, shedding 75,000 jobs. While many of those positions may never return, employment levels have at least stabilized.
That seems to have provided enough...
MoreIMS mulls hotel: Convention-level facility connected to track would diversify Speedway's revenue stream
August 22, 2005
Anthony SchoettleSources close to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway say management is working on plans for a convention-level hotel on a 16-acre
lot just south of the track's 16th Street entrance. Under consideration is a multilevel hotel connected to the track via a
skywalk and a new set of track-side suites and condos near turn two where the Brickyard Crossing Inn sits. The inn would be
torn down to make room for the suites and condos, which will better complement the new...
MoreSPORTS: NCAA not shy about taking on hot-button issues
August 22, 2005
Bill BennerThe Indianapolisbased NCAA can be-and usually is-accused of a lot of things. Sticking its big, bureaucratic head in the sand
is not one of them, at least not any longer. Say what you will about the organization under the leadership of Myles Brand
since he came on board as president 2-1/2 years ago, but he has seen to it that wishy-washy is a term best left at the Laundromat.
Academic reform and accountability, student-athlete welfare, a streamlined legislative process, rules...
MoreBlair Kiel launches DVD production firm: Company's first release goes inside the Irish huddle
August 22, 2005
Anthony SchoettleFormer University of Notre Dame and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Blair Kiel is leading a local group that thinks it can
put up big numbers with a series of sports DVDs. Kiel-along with former Indianapolis Colts marketing chief Ray Compton, Grand
Slam Cos.' Milton Thompson and Pathway Productions' Michael Husain-formed Legendary Sports LLC this year, and the company
is preparing to launch a string of video productions. Legendary Sports' debut DVD, "Inside the Irish Huddle," the tale of
the University of...
MoreGuyFest: Motorcycles, brewers, home theaters ... New event targets CEOs to steelworkers
August 22, 2005
Anthony SchoettleIt's not a new medical procedure, but a three-day event Compton calls "a magical place-home to both the steelworker and the
CEO." Testostorama Men's Expo, planned for Nov. 11-13 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, is being hyped to men of all ages
and backgrounds "as payback for all those years she dragged you to the Flower and Patio show." "We cooked up this event and
put a little edge to it," Compton said. Testostorama organizers expect more than 200 exhibitors-from...
MoreNOTIONS: An empty nest fills with memories
August 22, 2005
Bruce HetrickLast Sunday morning, I awoke before dawn. Dreading what was to come, I lingered in bed, watching the gray light of a cloudy
morning illuminate the houses across the way. Around 7:30, I worked up the energy to get out of bed. I took a shower, popped
my morning meds, and headed downstairs. As is their teen-age wont, both my boys were still asleep. So I retrieved The Star
and The New York Times from the driveway and glanced through...
MoreAdidas sale could bring changes to former Reebok facility: German sports giant has a history of using overseas manufacturing
sites
August 15, 2005
Anthony SchoettleAdidas' plan to buy Massachusettsbased Reebok International Inc. for $3.8 billion has put the future of Reebok's eastside
manufacturing plant in doubt again. Though Reebok officials insist the immediate future is secure for the 600,000-square-foot
operation off Post Road, industry experts say changes are on the way. Reebok took ownership of the facility in 2001 when it
bought Indianapolis-based licensed apparel maker Logo Athletic out of bankruptcy court. Since then, Reebok has invested heavily
and expanded local staff from 400...
MoreSPORTS: Tiller rescued Purdue but isn't immune to critics
August 15, 2005
Bill BennerThis year the NCAA mandated that Division I-A football media guides be reduced to a uniform 212 pages. Keep in mind that these
fonts of information intended for inkstained wretches had morphed into voluminous pitch-tools for recruits and brag books
for boosters. The cutback didn't prevent Purdue's sports information office from devoting a copious 11 pages of copy in its
2005 guide to Joltin' Joe Tiller. Perhaps I (or you, dear reader) should read nothing more into that other than...
MoreNASCAR puts marketer in fast lane: Brown builds reputation for closing big sponsorship deals
August 8, 2005
Anthony SchoettleZak Brown retired as a race car driver years ago. But he's never moved faster than he does today as the founder and president
of Indianapolis-based Just Marketing. On the heels of this year's Brickyard 400, Brown expects to announce two more major
NASCAR sponsorship deals brokered by his company. Those deals-which he can't yet discuss-along with recent deals to bring
Johnnie Walker and Hilton Hotels to Formula One, will bring his sponsorship portfolio to near $150 million annually. Though...
MoreSPORTS: Before the first kickoff, all is well on IU gridiron
August 8, 2005
Bill BennerC H I C AG O - Almost a year ago in this space, I wrote about IU's then-new athletic director, Rick Greenspan, observing that
his arrival coincided with the beginning of football season, which would allow him to be immediately confronted with the Athletic
Department's most pressing and obvious problem. Under Gerry DiNardo, an uninspired choice to begin with, Hoosier football
was continuing its mired-in-the-muck ways, hopelessly spinning its wheels. Horrible as a game coach and even worse in...
MoreRiverview Hospital opens health care, fitness center:
August 1, 2005
Riverview Hospital opened a Health Care Pavilion July 5 at 146th Street and Hazel Dell Parkway. The 15,000-square-foot facility
is the first building to open in the new $5.2 million health and fitness complex. The pavilion will be home to Hazel Dell
Family and Immediate Care, as well as several physicians specializing in such areas as women's health, preventive medicine
and sports medicine. The second building in the complex, the Riverview Health and Fitness Center, is slated to open in...
MoreSPORTS: Lance Armstrong miracle started here...or did it?
August 1, 2005
Bill BennerIt is 10 a.m. on July 24 and, from several thousand miles and an ocean away, it is being reported that Lance Armstrong has,
indeed, won his seventh consecutive-and last-Tour de France. I pick up the telephone and dial Dr. Lawrence Einhorn at his
home here in Indianapolis. "What a way to go out," says the doctor, the pleasure obvious in his voice. "And it still gives
me goose bumps." What a championship pairing: Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor. Lawrence Einhorn,...
MoreEYE ON THE PIE: Your call is important to someone
August 1, 2005
Morton MarcusI'm on hold after calling Wishard Hospital's Adult Medicine Clinic at 7 a.m., as instructed, to get an appointment with my
doctor. My call is very important, the recorded message says, but no one is responding. First, I am told that if this call
concerns a "life-threatening situation," I should hang up and call 9-1-1. That's really helpful. Maybe other, more sophisticated
patients can identify a "life-threatening situation." I am always reluctant to make such a determination. Then I go...
MoreSolheim fills LPGA marketing cup: Sold-out international event at Crooked Stick set to be anchor of new advertising campaign
August 1, 2005
Anthony SchoettleWith unprecedented growth in Solheim Cup ticket and sponsorship sales, the LPGA is preparing to use the September event at
Crooked Stick Golf Club as a cornerstone for its new, racier marketing campaign. The LPGA, working with the Indiana Sports
Corp., quickly sold out the event earlier this year and expects more than 150,000 people to come through the turnstiles for
the three days of practice and three days of competition for the international women's golf event. "We had so...
MoreUniversity Place getting major makeover: New owner IUPUI investing $13M in renovation of 18-year-old hotel
August 1, 2005
Scott OlsonA hotel built during an era in which Indianapolis first laid claim to its title of Amateur Sports Capital of the World has
a new owner that is spending millions of dollars to bring the structure into the new century. University Place Conference
Center & Hotel, on the campus of IUPUI, opened amid the fanfare of the Pan American Games hosted by Indianapolis in 1987.
Nearly 4,500 athletes from 38 countries converged on downtown, including a throng of media that...
MoreSPORTS: A history lesson for 21st century stadium critics
July 25, 2005
Bill BennerIt is Oct. 20, 1971. I am standing near Market and Alabama streets, where the groundbreaking has taken place for a venue to
be called Market Square Arena. The price tag is a salty $23 million, and the project has attracted critics and naysayers who
wonder about the city's priorities, especially since our mayor, Richard Lugar, is using federal revenuesharing funds to help
pay for the arena. Plus, Lugar has this wacky idea about using the arena as a catalyst...
MoreRadio Disney catching the ears of youth-and advertisers: Event marketing key to getting local kids to tune in
July 25, 2005
Anthony SchoettleTwo years after its launch, Radio Disney's local WRZD-FM 98.3 affiliate is outperforming many affiliates in the 55-station
network, even though traditional measures of its success are anything but magical. WRZD's rating by New York-based Arbitron
Inc., the industry's standard media research firm, shows the station barely cracking the top 20 in this market. But WRZD has
prospered through another number: listener calls per day. The station averages an eye-popping 4,070 calls a day, according
to officials at Radio Disney's...
More$34M from NFL lightens Colts' load: Money will count toward team's portion of stadium cost
July 25, 2005
Anthony SchoettleA $34 million loan of sorts to the Indianapolis Colts from the National Football League brings the franchise and local officials
another step closer to signing a new stadium lease and drastically reduces what the team will spend out of pocket for the
stadium's construction. The National Football League approved a $34 million loan June 14 that will be applied to the Colts'
$100 million share of the $625 million downtown facility, which is scheduled to open in time for...
MoreTOM HARTON Commentary: Keep your eye on the design
July 18, 2005
Design matters, and architects aren't the only ones who should care. On the eve of two significant ground breakings, even
those of us who know nothing about facades and fenestration should consider what's about to take place here. Later this month,
the first dirt will be turned on the site of the city's new airport terminal, and we can assume that dignitaries will brandish
shiny shovels next month just south of the existing RCA Dome. In both cases, there will...
MoreSPORTS: Artest's future bright as long as Bird's in his corner
July 18, 2005
Bill BennerIn this space and in other media forums, I have expressed optimism that the Indiana Pacers' Ron Artest will (a) make it through
an entire NBA season without incident, (b) perform like the selfless allstar he has been and can be again, and (c) therefore
justify the Pacer management's faith in keeping him in a blue-and-gold uniform. What I fear, of course, is that he'll do (d)
none of the above. Artest's talent is obvious. Unfortunately, so is his volatile,...
MoreBEHIND THE NEWS: Hat World helps propel parent's stock out of slumber
July 18, 2005
Greg AndrewsWhen Indianapolis-based Hat World Corp. announced its $165 million sale to a Tennessee firm 17 months ago, it had posted increases
in same-store sales for an impressive 27 months in a row. Now, make that 42 and counting. Such a streak is almost unheard
of in the rough-and-tumble retail world, especially for a firm wrestling with the inevitable distractions that go along with
the transition from independence to ownership by a publicly traded company. "We have maintained the same momentum...
MoreFirm plans to get personal with clients' home pages: Former gubernatorial candidate runs Web business
July 18, 2005
Scott OlsonDeveloping an Internet home page that gives users more options for content than what behemoths such as America Online and
Yahoo! offer through their syndicated selections has become the ambition of George Witwer. The 46-year-old Bluffton native,
who once aspired to be Indiana governor, launched the northwest-side Humanizing Technologies in January 2000. With much of
the product's research and development in the can, the venture is close to weaning itself from investors and, for the first
time, could turn a...
MoreFever reverse attendance slide, grow sponsorships: League still working to stabilize, diversify fan base
July 18, 2005
Anthony SchoettleThe Indiana Fever have reversed a fouryear attendance slide at a time when most WNBA teams are sliding backward. The team,
owned by Pacers Sports & Entertainment, has seen average per-game attendance grow from 7,589 last year to 7,926 this year.
With the Fever in the playoff hunt in second place in the Eastern Conference and several promotions planned, team officials
expect average attendance to climb higher the second half of the season. "The lifeblood of the WNBA is ticket...
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It's also across the street from Fogo de Chao and Morton's....
Yep, the haters are trying to make good news bad. I guess it is hard to get people to believe the series is dying when they are gaining new sponsors.
David Copperfield! I remember watching his specials on TV when I was little.
Don't forget this is next to an MMA gym, a pawn shop, and some abandoned spaces.
Good project for Zionsville - A group who has owned the property for many years has waited and worked patiently to bring highest and best use development to a major corridor, and mix that in with the great downtown you have. Win Win. All the Best to Pittman Partners and Zionsville.