Indianapolis is on schedule for 2012 Super Bowl

A top NFL official has said Indy's Super Bowl planning efforts are going well, and are shifting from big picture plans to nailing down the details. Those include traffic issues and where to host A-list Hollywood parties and major corporate events. Senior Vice President Frank Supovitz told the Indianapolis Star he's impressed with how the community has embraced the game. "The fact that you have an enormous number of voluneers already committed to work on an event a year and a half in front of us is an incredible achievement," he said. The Star story is available here.

How will Indianapolis compare to Miami as a Super Bowl host?

There has been plenty of talk in Miami this week about not just the Colts, but also their home city of Indianapolis, host of the 2012 Super Bowl. Indianapolis Star columnist Matt Tully and Indianapolis Business Journal columnist Bill Benner both weighed in on the topic from Miami. Here's a taste of Benner:

Yes, we received the “weather question” a number of times. Hey, it is what it is … in this case, February in Indiana. My response was, “We’ll be the warmest cold-weather city you’ll ever encounter.”

I didn’t say that as P.R.-speak. I said it because I believe it. The warmth of our community spirit. The warmth of the personalities of our volunteers. The effectiveness of our preparation that can ease hassles and prevent the feeling of being given a proverbial cold shoulder. And the tangible fact of 4,700 hotel rooms connected by skywalks.

The other thing we noted, especially recalling the Super Bowl the Indianapolis Colts won three years earlier here and the torrential deluge that took place here early this pre-Super Bowl week, was that we could promise, at game time, a perfect environment: 70 degrees and dry.

Yes, we still have some misconceptions to overcome. A columnist for the Miami Herald referred to Indianapolis as the “capital of bland.” And a USA Today writer trotted out the tired (and no longer accurate) India-No-Place reference.

And here are a few thoughts from Tully:

In two years, a game associated with warm weather and outdoor parties will land in Indianapolis, a wonderful city but one that I hear is cold and snow-covered this morning.

I'll admit that in recent days, I have occasionally thought to myself: How can Indy compete with this Mecca of sunshine, scenery and decadence? Am I the only one worried about reading the blistering words of sportswriters from around the world who have grown accustomed to a break from winter weather?

Page after page of Miami's media packet boasts -- quite accurately, I must say -- about this area's "brilliant weather," "stunning waterfront," "vibrant nightlife" and, as one romantic local mayor put it, "unspoken poetry that stirs the soul." On page five, Gov. Charlie Crist smiles at readers, his face as tan as George Hamilton's. For all of his strengths, Gov. Mitch Daniels never will be mistaken for a beach boy.

Colts Headed Back to Miami!

The Indianapolis Colts will face the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7 in Miami. It marks the first time since 1994 that two No. 1 seeds face off in the Super Bowl, and the first time ever that two indoor teams battle in the big game. The game will be broadcast by CBS, and commercials will cost an average of $3.1 million for a 30-second spot. Peyton Manning and the Colts have opened as a four-point Las Vegas favorite to beat New Orleans. Can the Colts keep their momentum alive and play a home-field Super Bowl in 2012? Information on 2012 Super Bowl tickets is here.

Downtown Indianapolis Plans for Colts-Jets AFC Championship Matchup

The Indianapolis Colts will play host to the New York Jets in the AFC Championship game at at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24. Downtown hotels, restaurants, bars and shops are all likely to be buzzing with business this weekend. The broadcast has an expected audience of 40 million viewers, Indianapolis Downtown Inc. predicts, giving Indianapolis unequaled exposure. Recent quoted rates for a 30-second national advertisement were as high as $500,000. Several building owners downtown plan to show off their blue pride this weekend. Among them:

• The OneAmerica and Chase towers will leave office lights on and fly large Colts banners.
• The Simon, IPL and Eli Lilly & Co. headquarters buildings will have lights creating blue horseshoes.
• The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the Artsgarden and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pagoda all will be lit up in blue.
• The Methodist Hospital Campus will have a large Large greeting on its lawn, Victory Field will have its field illuminated and the Majestic Building will feature a horseshoe over its windows.