BENNER: How the Indianapolis sports movement began
Thirty years ago, the first so-called “sports commission” came into being. The rest is Indianapolis history.
Thirty years ago, the first so-called “sports commission” came into being. The rest is Indianapolis history.
The civic festival Spirit and Place, which runs Nov. 5-16, has been a fixture of the fall season since 1996, but organizers
are still trying to explain to Indianapolis residents what it’s all about.
I happened to be in Indianapolis the week before Mel Simon passed away on Sept. 16, and talked with his secretary about visiting him briefly, because I knew he was very ill. But he was too ill to see me.
Max Schumacher, now in his 52nd year with the Indians, runs a tight ship. His attention to detail and strategic thinking have
served the city’s minor league baseball team well.
The Simon family’s role in building the city has come at a steep price for taxpayers. Simon and
its business interests in the last 20 years have collected local government incentives
worth more than $400 million, an IBJ tally of those deals shows.
Layoffs could put Simon in violation of HQ incentive agreement. Noblesville put up big bucks to spur Hamilton Town Center development. It’s hard to imagine Indianapolis without the Simon family. The mall owner Simon Property Group Inc. is one of the city’s most prominent corporate citizens, the company-developed Circle Centre mall acts as downtown’s heart, […]
A group of mostly local companies that made big investments to help launch Circle Centre mall soon could be asked to write
off a portion of profits they agreed to redirect into the construction of Conseco Fieldhouse.
A group of mostly local companies that made big investments to help launch Circle Centre mall soon could be asked to write off a portion of profits they agreed to redirect into the construction of Conseco Fieldhouse. The Capital Improvement Board has floated the possibility of asking the 13 investors-including Conseco, American United Life, Duke […]
Voters decided last Election Day that they’d had enough of Bart Peterson, but the former mayor is in demand with academics, a think tank, and now the city’s premier leadership network. Peterson is moderator of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series, which introduces “emerging leaders” to Indianapolis and its problems. “It’s something I never went through as a class member. I’ve always envied those who did,” Peterson said of the series, which accepts just 25 applicants each year. “It’s…
Today is deflation day for the 24-year-old RCA Dome. Former Mayor Bill Hudnut is scheduled to begin letting the air out at 10:30 a.m. The stadium was built for $82 million…
Last week’s column looked ahead to the limitless possibilities of Lucas Oil Stadium. This week’s topic is a last look back at the Hoosier/RCA Dome because, this Wednesday, the Dome will be deflated and it will pass forever from our skyline. But not from our memories. Imagine our city without it. There would be no Indianapolis Colts. There likely would be no forthcoming Super Bowl, no Final Fours and no NCAA headquarters. There likely would have been no Pan American…
Re-entry key in city’s plot to fight crime Mayor makes push, hires director to help more ex-convicts find work Makeba Averitte spent more than seven years incarcerated in Indiana, Kentucky and Oklahoma prisons paying for the robbery he committed as a young man with few prospects. Since his release in 2004, the 32-year-old has obtained a driver’s license and insurance on his automobile, not to mention a bit more wisdom. But what eludes him most-even more so now as a…
Makeba Averitte spent more than seven years incarcerated in Indiana, Kentucky and Oklahoma prisons paying for the robbery he committed as a young man with few prospects. Since his release in 2004, the 32-year-old has obtained a driver’s license and insurance on his automobile, not to mention a bit more wisdom. But what eludes him most-even more so now as a convicted felon-is a steady, goodpaying job. Tired of temporary work, he enrolled in Second Chance at the United Northeast…
After Mayor Greg Ballard’s upset victory at the polls last November, local arts leaders were in a panic. They worried the
no-nonsense former Marine would put public safety on a pedestal and slash Indianapolis’ funding for cultural groups.
Indianapolis-based Browning Investments Inc. will build a 30,000-square-foot office/warehouse for Markey’s Audio Visual in the Keystone Enterprise Park, boosting the park’s occupancy to about 90 percent. That’s a huge milestone for the 62-acre development, which sits in the blighted Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, say officials with Browning and the city of Indianapolis. Keystone Enterprise Park, near Interstate 70 and Keystone Avenue, is a city-led venture launched to bring jobs and private investment to the near-northeast side. The goal was 600 jobs; more…
The roof has closed for the first time on Lucas Oil Stadium, and we now have a timetable for the demolition of its predecessor, the RCA Dome. Its last general event, the Fire Department Instructors Conference, has come and gone, as has its last sporting event, Supercross. Bit by bit, its innards are being dismantled. The pace will quicken throughout the summer. In August, the Teflon dome will disappear from the city skyline and shortly thereafter, the walls and the…
William F. Buckley, who died yesterday at age 82, was an intellectual lion who played a key role in pushing
conservatism to national prominence, and he left tracks in Indiana along the way.
Organizers for a new Indianapolis marathon and half-marathon think the event will become a national draw, showcasing downtown
monuments and historic neighborhoods. The first Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, to be held Nov. 1, is the brainchild of
Carlton Ray, a former city engineer who worked in the Hudnut, Goldsmith and Peterson administrations.
Former Indianapolis mayors have a way of staying in the news.
Richard Lugar has climbed to the top echelons of the U.S. Senate. Bill Hudnut is quoted regularly from his
position at the Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C., not-for-profit that…
Mayor Greg Ballard has less than a week under his belt of taking on a city that is both on a roll and full of challenges. It’s an exciting time to be mayor. An unknown commodity, Ballard has some big shoes to fill with little experience in government to help him out. (Note to self: That’s not necessarily a bad thing.) Indianapolis has been blessed with strong leadership for the last 40 years, beginning in 1968 with Republican Richard Lugar,…