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Bowl-bid loss puts Indy in rare air
City is 1st in 20 years to tailor new stadium to big game, then lose on its first attempt
By Karen Eschbacher
Indianapolis became the first city in the past two decades to build a Super Bowl-caliber stadium and then fail to land the big game in its initial bid.
The city's loss to North Texas last week also carried another distinction: It was the first time two areas with new stadiums competed for the big game.
Indianapolis, of course, is pouring $675 million -- most of it public money -- into Lucas Oil Stadium, which will be the home of the Colts beginning in 2008.
While that should have been the city's trump card in its quest for Super Bowl hosting rights, Indianapolis instead was trumped by North Texas, which is building a $1 billion stadium that will be the biggest and arguably most impressive in the NFL when it opens in 2009.
"I think we were like Superman, but unfortunately Dallas was like kryptonite," said Fred Glass, president of Indianapolis 2011 Inc., which mounted the bid.
Indianapolis was never promised a Super Bowl in exchange for building a stadium, but the NFL did dangle the possibility as lawmakers debated new restaurant, hotel and car rental taxes to help pay for the venue.
During a visit to Indianapolis in March 2005, then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said a new facility would make Indianapolis a "strong candidate to host a Super Bowl."
While those words were far from a guarantee, Indianapolis should be celebrating right now if history is a guide.
In the past two decades, eight stadiums have been built that are eligible to host the Super Bowl under NFL rules, meaning they are enclosed or in warm climates.
Only one -- St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome -- hasn't hosted the big event. And that city never bid, a Rams spokesman said.
Of the seven others, none had to ask twice.
Six of the cities -- Miami, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Fla., Houston, Detroit and Phoenix -- were awarded the Super Bowl the first time they bid after building new stadiums, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
Tampa, Fla., which opened Raymond James Stadium in 1998, wanted to host the 2000 Super Bowl but lost in something of an upset. Yet rather than leave city officials empty-handed, NFL owners awarded them the 2001 game on the spot, even though the owners weren't set to choose a location for the game that year.
Why wasn't Indianapolis extended the same courtesy?
"It had been made very clear to all interested communities that we were specifically voting on 2011, and we weren't going to award others at this time," McCarthy said.
Asked why, McCarthy said: "To ensure focus on 2011. It would not have been fair to other potential cities that would want to bid for 2012."
Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell, who worked with the group that put together Indy's Super Bowl bid, said he and others involved in the effort aren't bitter that the NFL didn't give Indianapolis a consolation Super Bowl.
"It's their league, and they get to make the rules as far as whether they do it one or two or three at a time," he said.
Still, Glass said, he was disappointed that the new stadium wasn't more of a factor.
"We were next in line in terms of when our stadium started and when it will come online," he said. "I'm very disappointed that they (Dallas) jumped in front of us in the queue."
Second try?
Indianapolis can bid again, and city officials are already weighing that option.
NFL owners likely will choose a site for 2012 -- the next available -- in a year to 18 months.
It appears unlikely that the city would have to compete with another new venue, meaning the opening of Lucas Oil Stadium could give Indianapolis the edge it didn't deliver this time.
A new stadium that will be shared by the New York Giants and New York Jets is set to open in 2010, but it will be an open-air venue in a cold market, taking it out of contention unless the NFL bends its own rules.
The San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers also are looking to build new stadiums. While the West Coast cities likely would appeal to NFL owners as Super Bowl destinations, neither even has a site locked up, according to published reports.
Minneapolis wants to build a new, covered stadium for the Vikings, but the Minnesota Legislature took no action this year. That means the earliest one could open is 2012, said Bill Lester, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. Under NFL rules, a stadium can't host a Super Bowl the first year it is open.
Still, Indy's success is not a sure thing.
"Everybody loves Indianapolis, and everyone thinks what Indianapolis did as a team is great," Miami Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga said after the league meeting in Nashville, Tenn. "It just depends who you're up against at the time."
It's too early to know for sure who else will compete for the 2012 Super Bowl. But the list is likely to include at least some cities that boast better weather and more luxurious accommodations, factors owners care about.
Phoenix, which is hosting the 2008 Super Bowl and also lost to Dallas for the 2011 game, could try again. It wants to be a regular Super Bowl host.
Tampa has the 2009 game but could go after 2012. Houston also might vie for another.
New Orleans, the host of nine Super Bowls, is a wild card.
For now, Indianapolis will have to weigh all that and decide whether there's a will to launch another effort.
With or without the Super Bowl, Glass said, building the new stadium was worthwhile. He points out that keeping the Colts, providing a new venue for the Final Four and other events, and making room to expand the Indiana Convention Center were the driving forces behind construction plans.
"The Super Bowl was always the candle on top of the icing on top of the cupcake," he said. "We got the cupcake and the icing and the sprinkles, and we still may get the candle."
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070529/SPORTS03/705290370/1100
City is 1st in 20 years to tailor new stadium to big game, then lose on its first attempt
By Karen Eschbacher
Indianapolis became the first city in the past two decades to build a Super Bowl-caliber stadium and then fail to land the big game in its initial bid.
The city's loss to North Texas last week also carried another distinction: It was the first time two areas with new stadiums competed for the big game.
Indianapolis, of course, is pouring $675 million -- most of it public money -- into Lucas Oil Stadium, which will be the home of the Colts beginning in 2008.
While that should have been the city's trump card in its quest for Super Bowl hosting rights, Indianapolis instead was trumped by North Texas, which is building a $1 billion stadium that will be the biggest and arguably most impressive in the NFL when it opens in 2009.
"I think we were like Superman, but unfortunately Dallas was like kryptonite," said Fred Glass, president of Indianapolis 2011 Inc., which mounted the bid.
Indianapolis was never promised a Super Bowl in exchange for building a stadium, but the NFL did dangle the possibility as lawmakers debated new restaurant, hotel and car rental taxes to help pay for the venue.
During a visit to Indianapolis in March 2005, then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said a new facility would make Indianapolis a "strong candidate to host a Super Bowl."
While those words were far from a guarantee, Indianapolis should be celebrating right now if history is a guide.
In the past two decades, eight stadiums have been built that are eligible to host the Super Bowl under NFL rules, meaning they are enclosed or in warm climates.
Only one -- St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome -- hasn't hosted the big event. And that city never bid, a Rams spokesman said.
Of the seven others, none had to ask twice.
Six of the cities -- Miami, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Fla., Houston, Detroit and Phoenix -- were awarded the Super Bowl the first time they bid after building new stadiums, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
Tampa, Fla., which opened Raymond James Stadium in 1998, wanted to host the 2000 Super Bowl but lost in something of an upset. Yet rather than leave city officials empty-handed, NFL owners awarded them the 2001 game on the spot, even though the owners weren't set to choose a location for the game that year.
Why wasn't Indianapolis extended the same courtesy?
"It had been made very clear to all interested communities that we were specifically voting on 2011, and we weren't going to award others at this time," McCarthy said.
Asked why, McCarthy said: "To ensure focus on 2011. It would not have been fair to other potential cities that would want to bid for 2012."
Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell, who worked with the group that put together Indy's Super Bowl bid, said he and others involved in the effort aren't bitter that the NFL didn't give Indianapolis a consolation Super Bowl.
"It's their league, and they get to make the rules as far as whether they do it one or two or three at a time," he said.
Still, Glass said, he was disappointed that the new stadium wasn't more of a factor.
"We were next in line in terms of when our stadium started and when it will come online," he said. "I'm very disappointed that they (Dallas) jumped in front of us in the queue."
Second try?
Indianapolis can bid again, and city officials are already weighing that option.
NFL owners likely will choose a site for 2012 -- the next available -- in a year to 18 months.
It appears unlikely that the city would have to compete with another new venue, meaning the opening of Lucas Oil Stadium could give Indianapolis the edge it didn't deliver this time.
A new stadium that will be shared by the New York Giants and New York Jets is set to open in 2010, but it will be an open-air venue in a cold market, taking it out of contention unless the NFL bends its own rules.
The San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers also are looking to build new stadiums. While the West Coast cities likely would appeal to NFL owners as Super Bowl destinations, neither even has a site locked up, according to published reports.
Minneapolis wants to build a new, covered stadium for the Vikings, but the Minnesota Legislature took no action this year. That means the earliest one could open is 2012, said Bill Lester, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. Under NFL rules, a stadium can't host a Super Bowl the first year it is open.
Still, Indy's success is not a sure thing.
"Everybody loves Indianapolis, and everyone thinks what Indianapolis did as a team is great," Miami Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga said after the league meeting in Nashville, Tenn. "It just depends who you're up against at the time."
It's too early to know for sure who else will compete for the 2012 Super Bowl. But the list is likely to include at least some cities that boast better weather and more luxurious accommodations, factors owners care about.
Phoenix, which is hosting the 2008 Super Bowl and also lost to Dallas for the 2011 game, could try again. It wants to be a regular Super Bowl host.
Tampa has the 2009 game but could go after 2012. Houston also might vie for another.
New Orleans, the host of nine Super Bowls, is a wild card.
For now, Indianapolis will have to weigh all that and decide whether there's a will to launch another effort.
With or without the Super Bowl, Glass said, building the new stadium was worthwhile. He points out that keeping the Colts, providing a new venue for the Final Four and other events, and making room to expand the Indiana Convention Center were the driving forces behind construction plans.
"The Super Bowl was always the candle on top of the icing on top of the cupcake," he said. "We got the cupcake and the icing and the sprinkles, and we still may get the candle."
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070529/SPORTS03/705290370/1100
YEP :bravo: