ATLANTA - NFL owners have chosen Indianapolis to host the 2012 Super Bowl. The 32 team owners meeting here today picked Indianapolis over Houston and Phoenix, which hosted the 2004 and 2008 Super Bowls, respectively. Indianapolis officials had gone to great lengths to secure the 25,000 hotel rooms required by league bid specifications. They also hammered […]
ATLANTA – National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell came to the podium this afternoon to tell the 32 team owners that Indianapolis had won the right to host the 2012 Super Bowl. But at the last minute, an assistant pulled him back and told him Indy hadn’t received the three-fourths majority support from the owners […]
It took four ballots for Indianapolis to persuade NFL owners to award the city the 2012 Super Bowl. The result means Indianapolis received less than 75 percent of the votes from the 32 team owners. Phoenix came in second, and the other contender, Houston, was third. Phoenix and Houston hosted the 2008 and 2004 Super […]
ATLANTA – The streets of Atlanta’s Buckhead district were quiet late last night, but the atmosphere inside the Ritz-Carlton was like a New Year’s Eve party. The 32 NFL team owners met and mingled mostly behind closed doors, but the entourages spilled into the lobby and bar area as officials from Indianapolis, Houston and Phoenix […]
ATLANTA-Indianapolis’ bid to host the 2012 Super Bowl calls for turning downtown into a big party, complete with massive fire pits to keep revelers warm. Officials hope to beat out Indianapolis’ larger rivals-Phoenix and Houston-in part by casting the city’s smaller size as a strength. “When the Super Bowl comes to Indianapolis, the NFL will […]
ATLANTA – The owners of the 32 National Football League teams began gathering here today for three days of meetings, which will include a vote tomorrow selecting the site of the 2012 Super Bowl. Indianapolis, league sources say, is the frontrunner. Houston and Phoenix also are competing to host the big game. Entourages from all […]
Optimedia came to Indianapolis 10 years ago primarily to handle media buying and placement for Simon Property Group Inc., which is a client of its sister company, ad agency Publicis. Simon is still Optimedia’s largest client, but the shopping mall developer that once represented all the firm’s business now accounts for less than half. The firm’s shifting client mix wasn’t forced by a drop in business from Simon. In fact, just the opposite is true, said Jay Schemanske, who heads…
The Indiana Fever could spike this year. Ticket sales, sponsorship and the local buzz about the team are on the rise. But
perhaps most important, the Fever have key advocates in the Pacers Sports & Entertainment front office that the team simply
hasn’t had before.
Emmis Communications Corp. Chairman Jeff Smulyan was as upbeat as ever about the company’s earnings report today, but this time there might be greater reason for his optimism. Revenue at the Indianapolis-based media company rose 9 percent, to $85.8 million, in the fiscal fourth quarter despite having posted a $13 million loss. Much of the […]
Numerous format changes late last year caused a major shake-up in the first-quarter survey results of central Indiana’s radio-listening
habits.
A group of motorsports journalists stood open-mouthed along the wall of the Texas Motor Speedway in 1999 as they watched 19-year-old
Sarah Fisher, fresh from the sprint car and dirt track circuits, zip past veteran open-wheel racers Buddy Lazier and Billy
Boat. What happened to Fisher over the next nine years is equally amazing–and mystifying–to those same motorsports experts
who watched her in Texas.
Emmis Communications Corp. today said it has signed an agreement to sell Fox affiliate WVUE-TV in New Orleans for $41 million to Louisiana Media Co. LLC, which is principally owned by Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints. After-tax proceeds are expected to be about $35.5 million, Emmis officials said. In addition, Emmis will […]
A local company that sells ticket and event packages associated with major sporting events has secured groundbreaking deals with the Ryder Cup and Churchill Downs Inc. Indianapolis-based Sport Events Ltd. will be one of the first two companies to sign an official deal with Churchill Downs to sell ticket and hospitality packages to the Kentucky Derby, run this year May 3. Previously, the fabled racetrack had chosen to run everything-including corporate hospitality-in-house. “In many cases, these properties have realized that…
Escalating demand for corporate entertainment space during Indianapolis Colts home games has team owner Jim Irsay wondering whether Lucas Oil Stadium should have been built with more luxury suites. “Quite frankly, I wish we built 30 or 40 more suites,” Irsay told IBJ during a recent interview. There’s good reason to think the Colts have outgrown the stadium-even though it’s still four months from completion. The Colts long ago sold all 142 suites for the venue, and have a waiting…
Beyond his last name, little is known here about Indianapolis Colts Vice President of Football Operations Chris Polian–even
though it’s likely he represents the future of the franchise. In National Football League circles, Polian’s stock has skyrocketed
as league owners have realized there’s more to the 36-year-old than his famous last name.
Almost everyone involved with the Indy Racing League expected a firestorm of publicity after Danica Patrick won her first open-wheel race. But few predicted just how hot a commodity the 26-year-old driving diva would become following her April 19 win in Japan. “It’s not like we got caught unprepared. We had a plan in place for over a year,” said Terry Angstadt, president of IRL’s commercial division. The victory blueprint included a list of contacts to be made, interviews to…
Purdue and Indiana universities have become magnets for international students. Purdue is third in foreign student enrollment among all U.S. private and public colleges and universities. Indiana is No. 15. Another Big Ten school-the University of Illinois-is No. 2. The University of Southern California is the leader, with 7,000 foreign students. Purdue currently has 4,994 foreign students enrolled in graduate and undergraduate programs, while IU has 4,027. This year, overall, there are about 39,102 students enrolled at Purdue’s main campus…
Small-market teams like the Indianapolis Colts could find themselves straining under the pressure of the National Football League’s recently disclosed $9 billion debt, which is three times higher than Major League Baseball’s and estimated to be double that of the National Basketball Association. Made public last month as part of a court filing, the NFL’s debt encompasses all league and team obligations. Sources close to the league said it is tied closely to stadium building projects. The Colts, for example,…
The Indianapolis Star has launched an armada of initiatives to bolster revenue as it reacts to seismic industry changes, many
driven by advertiser and reader flight to digital media. Daily newspapers–once one of the nation’s most stable, profitable
businesses–now face a rapidly changing marketplace that would make the most innovative business operator quiver.
The Indy Racing League was the first North American race series to use an alternative fuel to power its cars. Now it appears NASCAR might follow suit-news that has the attention of race fans and sponsors alike. “We’re looking at eight or nine different alternative fuels,” said Andrew Giangola, NASCAR director of business communication. “Ethanol is one of the alternatives we’re looking at.” NASCAR has put no timetable on adopting an alternative fuel. Because the league switched from leaded, petroleum-based…
