INDIANAPOLIS – Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to downtown Indianapolis for Super Bowl festivities, but outlying communities that served as official hosts to out-of-town fans generally didn’t see as much excitement.
The Indianapolis Star reported that many Super Bowl Celebration sites beyond downtown Indianapolis wound up serving locals rather than visitors.
Crowds failed to materialize in Broad Ripple on the city’s near-north side, which lost money on the $182,000 spent to erect a 1,000-person tent with free live music.
Brenda Rising-Moore, treasurer of the Broad Ripple Village Association, said most Broad Ripple regulars spent the weekend downtown and too few out-of-towners ventured to the village.
“I am very glad it’s over,” she said.
Organizers at other celebration sites had similar experiences. Many said Super Bowl Village was such an attraction it’s no wonder most tourist dollars were spent there.
“There is no fault involved there. That’s the price of success,” said David Andrichik, who owns the Chatterbox Jazz Club on Massachusetts Avenue and is the president of the Massachusetts Avenue Merchants Association near downtown Indianapolis.
He said the downtown event was so well-planned that even Massachusetts Avenue merchants on the outskirts were left out.
“The business just didn’t match our hopes and expectations,” he said.
Hotels filled up at most locations and shuttle buses were busy as the balmy weather prompted even out-of-town guests to venture away from the smaller cities they were lodging in and head downtown to the Super Bowl Village.
“We knew downtown would be the core of it,” said Dianna Boyce, spokeswoman for the Super Bowl Host Committee.
“I think the return was we provided something for locals to enjoy,” said Ralph Day, executive director at the Anderson/Madison County Visitors and Convention Bureau. Anderson provided three 55-passenger buses to shuttle fans to downtown Indianapolis.
Officials said nobody knew exactly what to expect at the 17 sites, from as close as Broad Ripple to as far as Bloomington, which were designated as official hosts to visitors.
Officials said the main goal was to allow local communities to celebrate the Super Bowl.
Some locations, such as Zionsville and Columbus, said their expectations were exceeded. About half the rooms in Columbus’ 22 hotels were filled and the city south of Indianapolis put on family, art and fitness activities throughout the week.
About 3,500 people rode tax-subsidized shuttle buses from the northern suburb of Zionsville on Super Bowl weekend, and sales at the Friendly Tavern jumped 25 percent, owner Scott Barnes said.
“It was absolutely fabulous. We had great expectations, and it exceeded them,” said Valerie Swack, co-chair of ZBowl, the Super Bowl Celebration organization in Zionsville.
