Super Bowl thrusts Indianapolis into global spotlight

"Now there are 200 in the downtown core, and probably another 200 if you go out a few blocks to Mass(achusetts) Avenue or to Fountain Square," Benner said. "It's just been an amazing transformation for this city."

In the coming week, Indianapolis will be thrust into the glare of a global spotlight as it hosts Super Bowl XLVI, the most-watched single sporting event in the world, next Sunday.

Benner, once a sports columnist who now works as an associate commissioner for the Horizon League, is one of the more than 12,000 volunteers making sure that Indiana's state capital puts its best foot forward. His office at Pan Am Plaza is in the shadow of Lucas Oil Stadium, where the game will be played, and overlooks Georgia Street, where the Super Bowl Village fan experience will unfold every day this week.

"I'm literally at ground zero, with the ESPN (broadcast) set right below me," he said. "And it's the neatest thing I've ever been involved in."

It's been a long time coming for a city once derided as "India-No-Place" and "Nap Town."

"If you were in Indianapolis in the 1970s, then came back today, you wouldn't believe it's the same city," said Fred Glass, a native son who now is the athletics director at Indiana University in Bloomington. "And it's all because of some leaders who had a vision and wouldn't take no for an answer."

In large part, the new Indianapolis was built on the backs of athletics — just as the old Indianapolis, every Memorial Day weekend, was locked in on the massive West Side Motor Speedway for the Indy 500 car race (and, now, the summertime Brickyard 400 NASCAR race).

Glass, familiar with the players, can tick off the names of mayor after mayor and their role in the city's growth.

There was John Barton, a Democrat who established the Indiana Convention Center. Richard Lugar, now a Republican U.S. Senator, who championed Market Square Arena to bring the NBA's Indiana Pacers from the State Fairgrounds to Downtown. William Hudnut, a Republican who pushed through the Hoosier (later RCA) Dome and brought the Colts to the city. Stephen Goldsmith, a Republican who brought about Conseco (now Bankers Life) Fieldhouse and finished Circle Center Mall. Bart Peterson, a Democrat who set the stage for Lucas Oil Stadium and the expansion of the convention center. And now Greg Ballard, a Republican who gave the final push for a just-completed major hotel complex.

With each new facility came bigger and better events — and more to do around downtown.

There was the National Sports Festival in 1982. The arrival of the Colts in 1984. The Pan Am Games Competition in 1987. NCAA Men's Basketball Final Fours in 1980 (at Market Square), 1991, 1997, 2000 and 2006 (at The Dome), 2010 (at Lucas Oil) and now guaranteed at least every five years, next in 2015, along with regional tournaments and women's events. The Big Ten Conference men's and women's basketball championships, and, this year, the inaugural Big Ten football title game.

The NCAA's national offices are now located in Indy, as is the National Federation of High Schools. USA Track & Field, USA Gymnastics, USA Diving and USA Synchronized Swimming all have established roots. Near downtown, White River State Park, with its zoo and the state museum and NCAA and IHSAA offices are an easy walk.

With more events came more hotels, culminating with the opening last year of the blue, glass-faced JW Marriott with its 1,000 rooms and 25 luxury suites.

The Super Bowl, though, remained the biggest star high in the sky — one that most Indianapolis residents believed was out of reach.

"We call it the Indy-feriority complex," said Benner. "We'd be talking to national media, to team owners who talked about how much they enjoy coming to the city for Colts games and for Final Fours and for Big Ten tournaments, how they like how the city works and that they were all for it, but some of our own populace somehow didn't feel that we were worthy of putting on the game.

"Sometimes people want to look back instead of looking forward, so there were attitudes that had to change."

It didn't help when, in Indy's first Super Bowl bid, headed by Glass in 2008, the city came up two votes short of approval. By a vote of 17-15, NFL owners awarded the 2011 game — Super Bowl XLV — to Dallas, which not only also had a new stadium but had 30,000 more seats.

"We came within a vote or two of getting there, and with their extra seats and extra suites we had a $20 million wind in our face," said Glass. "But at the same time, we were strongly encouraged by the owners and (NFL) commissioner (Roger Goodell) to bid again.

"Part of that was having (Colts owner) Jim Irsay on our side; he really stepped up and supported us. Part was that when we showed up to make our bid, we already had raised $25 million — in three months — from more than 100 individuals and companies to show that we could deliver the enhancements to the stadium and all the little goodies that you have to deliver as the host city.

"We stepped up and proved that we could play with the big boys. And we did it using no public money whatsoever."

So Indy bid again and got the game. Its host committee was in Dallas last year, seeing what went wrong (an ice storm and oversold seats didn't help) and what went right. They returned home better prepared to welcome an estimated 150,000 guests (though only 65,000 will be in the stadium for the game).

While the NFL estimates the economic value at a broad range of $125 to $400 million — not to mention the possibility of positive publicity and the chance to impress corporate and media leaders — concerns remain.

While everything is within walking distance once you're Downtown, Indianapolis lacks in public transit. The bus system isn't great, though a "Super Route" has been established for this week, and the city has only 700 licensed taxis which will operate nonstop.

And even with all of the new dining and entertainment options, restaurants and nightclubs will quickly fill up. Many places, including some as far away as in Fishers, a half-hour drive from downtown, have been bought out for the entire week. One of the most famous, St. Elmo's, has been booked solid for six months (though it will put diners on a waiting list).

Restaurants and bars are on full alert. Hoosier Park's Winners Circle, a combination restaurant/off-track betting facility, recently moved from the Embassy Suites building in the midst of the Downtown corridor to a less-beaten path on Pennsylvania Street up from Monument Circle. But it nonetheless expects massive business — some national broadcasters already stopped in during the week.

"It's being treated like the Kentucky Derby, which is our biggest day all year," said employee Andy Curry. "We've been told that it probably would be best to bring our lunch or dinner, because it will be hard to get in-and-out of even the fast-food places or the food court at the mall. It's going to be all about taking care of our customers and making sure everyone who's in town for the Super Bowl has a good time."

So for a week, while visitors and residents alike have hundreds of dining and entertainment choices downtown, it may once again be tough to get a table — though the host committee is stationing volunteers around downtown who can log in to inform visitors of waiting times.

But it's still a complete turnaround from when Benner had to choose between three restaurants, or Glass, going him one better, had to pick between two.

"I was in law school (at IU in Indianapolis)," Glass said, "and there was a really nice restaurant that I couldn't afford and then another place called the Elbow Room Tavern — and it closed at 7.

"So when you look around now, what's happened here is pretty amazing. This Super Bowl is only going to add some momentum and make it that much better in years to come. If you can host a Super Bowl, you can host a huge pharmaceutical convention, or a high-tech entrepreneurs convention, or just about anything they can throw at you."