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The city has only hosted the Super Bowl once—in 2012—and failed in a second bid. (IBJ file photo)Opinions vary on the likelihood of Indianapolis’ ever hosting another Super Bowl.
The city hosted the 2012 Super Bowl and earned rave reviews from the NFL, the league’s corporate partners, participating teams and myriad visitors to the city.
A coalition led by the Indianapolis Colts, Visit Indy and the Indiana Sports Corp. unsuccessfully bid for the 2018 Super Bowl, losing out to Minneapolis, which has a new stadium.
Houston will host this year’s game. Atlanta (new stadium), Miami (recently renovated stadium) and Los Angeles (new stadium) host in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.
The 32 NFL owners will decide where the 2022 Super Bowl will be played at their spring meeting. Indy will not bid.
With the age of Lucas Oil Stadium, opened in 2008, one local tourism executive told IBJ “the window on this city hosting another Super Bowl has likely closed.” Others aren’t so sure. “We’re always keeping that on the horizon,” said Colts Chief Operating Officer Pete Ward. “I can’t say anyone is prepared to say we’re going for a particular year, but we definitely haven’t given up on that possibility.”
Indiana Sports Corp. officials said they would be open to considering another run at a Super Bowl, but warned that it’s a costly and time-consuming process, taking about a year to prepare a bid. An ISC official told IBJ, “You don’t make a bid for the game unless you think you have a reasonably good chance of winning the bid.”
Ward admitted that, with Los Angeles and Miami likely now in the hunt for repeat Super Bowls, competition has gotten a whole lot tougher.
“But Lucas Oil Stadium is not too old,” Ward said. “And it’s not too small. We think it stacks up nicely against other stadiums in the league.”•
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