Indy Looking For Super Bowl Bid Ideas In NY-NJ

An Indiana delegation is heading to New York and New Jersey this week to see how the Super Bowl is being run.

The goal is to build on the momentum of Indianapolis hosting the 2012 game and gain a better understanding of what the NFL wants now.

"I think the Super Bowl Village was a huge success," said Indiana Sports Corps Vice President of Strategy and Operations Susan Baughman of Indy's host performance.  "Proven by the fact that they have incorporated that into their bid specs now.  They call it Super Bowl Boulevard, but patterned off the village.  I think it is a great compliment and a great testament that they believed in what our product was here and how we staged the event."

"It does raise the question, how do you do differently and how do you do better and how do you keep it exciting? So, we are really focused on that."

By all accounts, the Super Bowl in the Circle City two years ago was a success.

Baughman says the lessons learned from the 2012 experience are valuable in putting together a proposal to host Super Bowl LII.

"I think having hosted in 2012 helped so much because things that we weren't sure of going into it we have now proven that we can do," she said.  "Do we have enough hospitality space? Well, we might not have traditional space, but we found alternatives for them that worked well.  Things for fans to do.  We found a lot of things for fans to do.  So much that people still talk about it. They want to come back and do it again. We did learn a lot through that process and it helps us be more confident moving forward."

Baughman is part of the group heading east this week.  Members won’t necessarily be lobbying for the city, but instead, putting together ideas to attract another Super Bowl.

"During the bid process I think it's more about a physical presence in that we participate in anything the NFL asks us to do.  In this particular case we are invited to some future host tours," she said.  "Generally speaking, it's more that you come and participate.  We are able to ask questions of them after the fact."

The city will submit a preliminary bid to the NFL in April and make a formal presentation in May, when the 2018 host city will be chosen.

Minneapolis and New Orleans are the other finalists for the game.

Baughman estimates the cost of bidding will be around $30 million and says the fundraising effort pace "is going very well."

She says the Sports Corp has raised "more than half" of the money already.