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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard this week plans to name a point person to head the city’s bid for the 2012 Super Bowl.
Ballard spokeman Marcus Barlow said today the mayor’s office has moved forward and that other leaders are falling into place.
John Lechleiter, who will become CEO of Eli Lilly and Co. in April, will again lead fundraising. For the 2011 bid, business leaders convinced their peers to pledge $25 million in private funding to put on the Super Bowl.
It hadn’t been clear that Ballard would officially support a bid.
In early December, Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association President Bob Bedell said the ICVA had started prep work on the bid. Ballard’s transition team said then that he was supportive but still deciding whether to officially back the bid, a necessary step due to the city commitments needed on policing and other bid requirements.
It remains unclear what competition Indianapolis will face for the 2012 game.
Indianapolis lost to Dallas in its bid to host the 2011 Super Bowl. Houston and Glendale, Ariz., also made it into the later rounds of balloting for 2011, and a Jan. 21 article in Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal said those cities will compete for the 2012 game. However, no official announcements have been released.
The bids are due April 1 with team owners likely making their pick at a June meeting in Atlanta.
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