I n d i a n a p o l i s real estate executive Edward Okun had a low profile in business circles here before he splashed into the news two months ago as the winning bidder for ATA Holdings Corp.’s Chicago Express Airlines. Two weeks later, however, he yanked his offer, valued at $3 million to $4 million. The reversal added to the air of mystery surrounding Okun, a 54-year-old Carmel resident. A closer look at Okun, president…
Medical helicopters are filling the skies over Indiana in an unprecedented growth spurt that has sparked a heated debate about overuse and quality of care. A market once dominated by not-forprofit Clarian Health Partners’ LifeLine program has seen three out-of-state companies plant seven new helicopter bases in central and southern Indiana over the past few years. PHI Air Medical Group Indiana, a subsidiary of Phoenix-based PHI Air Medical Services, opened bases in West Lafayette, Anderson and Columbus last year. They…
Roger Penske strode alone through Gasoline Alley 90 minutes before this year’s Indy 500. With 13 wins at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, The Captain certainly knows how to get his drivers around the famed Brickyard. In the next line of garages, a crowd of race fans and media gathered before doors numbered 12, 13, 14 and 15 where Rahal Letterman was encamped. Rookie phenom Danica Patrick arrived on a golf cart and disappeared quickly into the relative calm before the…
The Indianapolis 500 is back, so we are told and at least we should hope. While television ratings didn’t blow through the roof, they at least climbed out of the basement by posting a 40-percent increase and putting in the rear-view mirrors that evil NASCAR event later in the day. Officials proclaimed with pride that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was “almost a sellout” for the big race, which, not that many years ago, would have been an indictment, not a…
John Klipsch didn’t necessarily set out to take control of one of the largest public-works projects in Indianapolis history, but he prepared for it nonetheless. “My degree is in counseling,” he said with a wry smile. “This is how my career has evolved over the years.” So here he is, two months before work is scheduled to begin on a $900 million stadium construction and convention center expansion project, relying on his professional experience and personal dedication to get the…
One of my favorite jokes goes like this: In the forest one day, two turtles were involved in a head-on collision. The only witness was a snail. When the forest police arrived to investigate the accident, they asked the snail to describe what he had seen. “I can’t,” said the snail. “It all happened too fast.” Speed is a relative thing. And, like the snail, that’s my challenge in recounting my recent experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which involved…
When new San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan was told he couldn’t wear a suit and tie on the sidelines because of apparel manufacturer Reebok’s contract with the National Football League, some said Tom Landry and George Halas rolled over in their graves. To be sure, the late NFL coaches known for their suits and ties wouldn’t appreciate the mandate from Reebok, which manufactures much of its licensed goods on Indianapolis’ east side and has suffered a public relations black…
The RCA Championships is preparing for its biggest on-court change since the local tennis tournament replaced clay with hard courts in 1988. As part of a branding campaign led by the U.S. Tennis Association and U.S. Open, courts at the Indianapolis Tennis Center are being repainted from the traditional green to an eye-catching blue. The courts will be resurfaced and repainted-at a cost of $25,000-the week of July 4, just in time for the RCA Championships July 16-24. The RCA…
The locally based Midwest division of the U.S. Tennis Association is preparing to break ground on a 25,000-square-foot headquarters and hall of fame building on East 96th Street after five years of planning and courting tenants. The two-story office building was first conceived in 2000, but has been held up more than four years by a search for other tenants during a soft office market. The organization recently scored two tenants, Florida-based Raymond James & Associates Inc. and Muncie-based First…
Years ago, my wife and I registered our sons, Austin and Zach, for the Bank One 500 Festival Rookie Run. In what became an annual tradition, we’d drive the boys downtown early on the appointed Saturday in May, pick up their T-shirts and racing numbers, and wait for their age group to be called. At the appointed hour, Austin and Zach would line up with scores of other kids, run a few blocks up and back Meridian Street, and receive…
Despite the departure of two key marketing directors, the Indy Racing League has continued full throttle with its initiative to raise drivers’ profiles. Director of Driver Marketing Chris Bowers and Director of Brand Marketing Jayme Sabo departed earlier this year. That leaves two of the four director positions in the department vacant. John Griffin, Indy Racing League vice president of public relations, insists the departures are not a sign of instability in the series’ marketing ranks. “I don’t think it…
ram said. He credits solid financing at startup as key to the success of Heartland. To anyone interested in starting a business, he advises, “Don’t go into it on a shoestring. You have to have a business plan and be committed to working long hours. It’s not only working harder, it’s the workmanship, too. It may sound like an old cliché, but it’s very true.” * Golf cars are no longer just for sport. These electric- or gasoline-powered cars may…
This will be the 10th Indianapolis 500 since the split-or chasm, or Grand Canyon-wide divide-in American open-wheel racing, and there is no question that the Indy Racing League and CART/Champ Car continue to suck the exhaust fumes of NASCAR. They lag well behind the taxi-cab series in crowds, television ratings, media coverage and corporate support. Why the knuckleheads who rule both open-wheel circuits stubbornly continue to go their own way is way beyond me, but I suspect the reason can…
Foyt with a wrench. It’s an iconic image dating back to the 1960s, when the brash, hott e m p e r e d racer started forging his image as one of the world’s best drivers. A wrench gripped by Foyt’s rugged hands is still the image that best characterizes the legendary Texan. But in an era of high-tech diagnostics and sponsor-driven economics, it’s no longer a winning image. “There are certain athletes, racing drivers and personalities that have unusual…
The much-ballyhooed battle about funding for a new stadium and expanded convention center downtown appears to be over, but it will be some time before the victors get the spoils. Although state lawmakers authorized a series of tax increases to pay for the $900 million project, plenty of work remains to realize the promised payoffs-increased convention business, additional development and a shot at hosting the Super Bowl. “I don’t expect to see any of that until construction starts,” said Indianapolis…
Cialis, Eli Lilly and Co.’s erectile dysfunction drug, is teeing off its second season as a sponsor of the PGA Tour with several major marketing initiatives. The increased spending levels, sports marketers said, rival Viagra’s commitments in NASCAR and Major League Baseball. Lilly officials said a 24-plus-percent market share for the drug just 18 months after its debut proves the marketing strategy is working. Lilly makes the drug in partnership with Bothell, Wash.-based Icos Corp. In addition to serving as…
In subsequent columns, I also stated that we needed a regional solution to the funding problem, and proposed a regional tax for the counties contiguous to Marion in which they could keep a share of the proceeds for their own capital projects. Finally, within days of last November’s election, I observed that it would require a bipartisan effort led by both Republican Governor Mitch Daniels and Democratic Mayor Bart Peterson to work this thing through the Legislature. I’m glad-overjoyed-everyone took…
This spring brought unusual “blooms” to our downtown via truck and crane-25 bronze sculptures by New York sculptor Tom Otterness. I watched from my office window as “Free Money” and “Female and Male Tourists” were installed at the Indiana Convention Center near the RCA Dome. The sculptures were previously displayed in New York City to rave reviews. From Broadway to Indianapolis, it doesn’t get more prestigious than that! The next day, while driving east on Market Street from Illinois Street,…
Steve Alford and Stephanie White were the quintessential Indiana high school and college basketball stars. They were hardwood heroes who emerged from small towns and led their respective universities, Indiana and Purdue, to national championships. For many Hoosiers, the storybook ending would have been for that success to carry on to the professional level, with Alford and White leading the NBA Pacers and WNBA Fever to championships and street parades. Reality intruded. Alford, as we have been reminded recently, was…
IBJ: Is your sector of the construction or real estate industry better or worse off than a year ago and why? BURK: Overall, I think the Indianapolis office market is better off than it was a year ago. The occupancy rate for the 29-million-plus square feet of multitenant office properties in the market increased by about 2 percent last year, to 82.5 percent. There was positive net absorption of about 600,000 square feet, most of which occurred in the suburbs….
