Saturday, August 7, 2010

Did Indianapolis Get Fooled Into Bidding on 2012 Super Bowl That May Not Ever Take Place?

Over at the Indianapolis Business Journal, Anthony Schoette blogs about what he admits is a "conspiracy theory," namely that other cities stepped aside letting Indy win the 2012 Super Bowl knowing it might not take place:

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I’m beginning to think Indianapolis got hoodwinked into bidding for and agreeing to host the 2012 Super Bowl.

City officials waded into the deep end and bit hook, line and sinker. We won the Super Bowl that nobody else really wanted. Even the competition now looks like a sham. Phoenix had just hosted the Super Bowl in 2008, and Houston never was a major threat for 2012.

New Orleans wisely stepped aside, saying the post-Katrina Crescent City wouldn’t be ready until 2013. This Super Bowl savvy city knew better than to vote on a Super Bowl that had a lockout hanging over head.

The most galling part is that the man who pushed Indianapolis’ 2012 bid over the top—Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones—was the same guy who swiped the 2011 Super Bowl out from under the Circle City.

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The city has put countless hours and at least $25 million into planning for this event. It is supposed to be a launch pad to take this convention and event hungry city to another stratosphere. The game is supposed
to be a showcase to prove Indianapolis actually deserves another Super Bowl. If city leaders are able to manage this sticky situation nicely, Indy certainly deserves another Super Bowl.

Now all anyone can talk about is the financial fight between players and owners, the looming lockout and the threat of postponing or, gulp!, cancelling the big game. Like it or not, all this lockout talk takes the focus away from our city. Hoteliers and the Indianapolis convention & Visitors Association are being held hostage to boot.

Already the city and hoteliers have been forced to reserve two weekends for the Super Bowl. Those weekends are valuable currency for any convention city. If it gets pushed back any further, Indianapolis has a big problem; the massive Dealer’s Expo, which is set to be here.

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Maybe Indianapolis city leaders that bid for the 2012 game couldn’t have known any better. But you can bet savvy NFL owners like Jones knew even in 2008 this was headed for an ugly ending. After all, it was the owners who opted out of the current collective bargaining agreement. Colts owner Jim Irsay should have known too.
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To see the entire article, click here.

6 comments:

M Theory said...

What's that old saying about lying with dogs?

Downtown Indy said...

When you lie down with the CIB dogs, you get fleeced.

Paul K. Ogden said...

DI,

Very clever.

Jon said...

When the sheep lie with the CIB they get fleeced!

guy77money said...

The NFL owners want the players to give back one billion dollars next year and there are 32 teams. Hmmm something tells me the players won't go for it. Don't forget the NBA players associations contract is up next year to.

guy77money said...

Looks like you both beat Bob Kravitz to the punch Paul. Apparently the NFL owners make money from the TV contracts even if no games are being played.