Super Bowl riding on intangibles-Indianapolis Business Journal

Topping Phoenix, Houston for 2012 event may hinge on league politics, other details

Source: IBJ.com
By: Jennifer Wilson

If Indianapolis gets in the game for the 2012 Super Bowl, the nuts and bolts of the city bid likely won't be much different than those from expected competitors Houston and Phoenix.

All three stadiums are about the same size and were built since 2000. All three metropolitan areas have more than the 25,000 or so hotel rooms required by the National Football League. And all three have enough entertainment venues to handle the parties surrounding the NFL's biggest event.

Much like Indianapolis, leaders in Phoenix have expressed an interest in bidding but haven't committed to pulling the trigger. Super Bowl Host Committee Chairman Mike Kennedy told IBJ he hoped to have a decision by Feb. 15.

Phoenix hosted this year's game and also bid on the 2011 Super Bowl.

But events at this year's Super Bowl held at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. were so spread out that the town didn't have a festive feel, some visitors said.

"Aside from being at the game and seeing people in jerseys, you didn't get that much of a Super Bowl feel,"said Robert Tuchman, president of New York-based TSE Sports and Entertainment, which arranges travel packages for businesses. People want to feel all the energy and excitement.

While Houston and Phoenix would bring the warm weather and relatively spread-out events, Indianapolis' draw would be a newer stadium and a compact downtown experience.

"I prefer an event that takes over the city," Swarbrick said. the unique design of our mile square [downtown] means it becomes an event home or village.

And by 2012, the city is slated to have more than 4,500 hotel rooms physically connected to Lucas Oil Stadium something that could lessen concerns about the February weather.

The cold still will be a hurdle, though. Detroit hosted the 2006 game, and “that was not lauded as a great time or a great place to be," USC's Carter said.

Tuchman concurred.

I think Indianapolis would do a superb job, but in the end, it may be all about the weather," he said.

Although it hasn't hosted a Super Bowl, Indianapolis has experience with other large events from the Pan Am Games and the NCAA's Final Four basketball championships to the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400.

Nobody has our experience, and that's not intended to be in any way a negative comment," Swarbrick said. We host the two largest single-day spectator events in the world every year."

Indeed, the city has honed the muscles needed to direct logistics and line up volunteers.

And observers say Indianapolis would bring heart to the game.

In terms of the people, Indianapolis would give it the best support because it's a sports town and the fan absolutely will get into it," said Tuchman, the sports-travel expert.

And there's also still the hope that NFL owners will recognize that both Phoenix and Houston already have had a chance to host the big game and may want to reward Indiana and the Colts for their $700 million investment in Lucas Oil Stadium.