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.
Max Schumacher is healthy, feels good and wants to continue working for the Indianapolis Indians full time. But
with his 77th birthday approaching in October, Schumacher, chairman and president of the team, needs a succession plan.
A year ago, we opened Lucas Oil Stadium. We’ve been arguing about it ever since.
The Indianapolis Colts recently signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Carmel-based James Allen Insurance Brokers to
become one of the primary sponsors at Lucas Oil Stadium.
A newly released 2008 poll shows the Indianapolis Colts thumping the Indiana Pacers in fan support, which isn’t a
surprise given the recent fortunes of the teams. But some observers say the numbers are more a reflection of the popularity
of the National Football League and the Colts’ Peyton Manning than an indictment of the Pacers.
Despite a ticket price increase, the terrible economy, and an uncertain season ahead, the Indianapolis Colts have sold out
of season tickets, assuring the team will extend its sell-out streak to 97 regular-season home games.
Even with the NBA draft approaching, Pacers coach Jim O’Brien makes time for his duties as a board member and on-the-ground
volunteer for the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention. A strong commitment to community service runs in
the coach’s family.
Less than a month after National Football League officials announced teams can sell an ad on players’ practice jerseys, Indianapolis
Colts officials are optimistic they can close a six-figure deal before training camp kicks off in Terre Haute Aug. 2.
So much sad, bad, disturbing sports news. Time to look on the brighter side.
In May, Indianapolis narrowly won the right to host the 2012 Super Bowl, beating out Phoenix and Houston at the National Football
League owners’ meeting in Atlanta.
Afater the sudden death of Michael Schupay, the respected and dedicated Ice team president, the Indiana hockey team is striving
to honor his memory.
I don’t begrudge those who legally obtain and carry guns, whether their intended use is hunting or self-protection, and I
question the media frenzy that erupted after New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was arrested for carrying a weapon
without a New York license.
Now that the NCAA has decided not to punish Indiana University further for basketball infractions, the athletic program must
concentrate on building an honest, successful sports program.
The Pacers opening victory, new game innovations at Conseco Fieldhouse and retaining Danny Granger are bright spots in the
city’s vast sports scene.
The Indiana Pacers are ratcheting up sales and marketing initiatives while cutting costs elsewhere in an effort to simultaneously
ride out the economic storm and boost attendance. The team has little hope of being profitable this year-or even breaking
even, said Pacers President Jim Morris, but he added that within three years the franchise’s financial status should be much
improved.
Emboldened by the deal he signed to put his company’s name on the Indianapolis Colts’ new home, Forrest Lucas has launched
an arsenal of creative-some would say unorthodox-initiatives to fortify his growing company. Many of them are designed to
help Lucas Oil Products Inc. go head to head with the oil industry’s biggest players.
Officials for Lucas Oil Products Inc. are imploring fans and media not to refer to the team’s new stadium as The Luke,
a nickname that has cropped up on sports talk radio shows and been repeated in print and on TV. The nickname
seems to be gaining momentum, and that doesn’t sit well with Lucas brass already playing defense against
New Jersey-based Lukoil Co. California based-Lucas Oil signed a 20-year, $121.5 million naming-rights deal
for the Colts’ new stadium.
Cleaning crews are wiping construction dust from the 63,000 seats in Lucas Oil Stadium, prepping for the public’s first peek at the $720 million venue Aug. 16. But the hard work is only beginning for the city’s Capital Improvement Board, the entity charged with operating the stadium. The fumbling point: CIB is anticipating a $20 million operating deficit for Lucas Oil Stadium in 2009.
Sports agent Andrew “Buddy” Baker has left locally based law firm Ice Miller and is taking with him the firm’s sports division,
IM Sports Services, which he wants to develop into a giant agency with a national reach. Baker’s new firm, Exclusive Sports
Group, starts with a list of high-profile clients.
Herb Simon is taking a new hands-on approach
with the Indiana Pacers, which he co-owns with his brother, Melvin. In response to a string of losing seasons and off-court
mishaps involving players, Simon is transforming himself from a behind-the-scenes owner into a visible figure intent on reconnecting
the franchise with the community that once adored it.
