The benefit of the 2012 Super Bowl will be felt statewide.
by Rick A. Richards
Back in 2008, when Indianapolis was bidding to host the 2012 Super Bowl, an economic-impact study by Ball State University showed Indiana would benefit by at least $250 million.
Under the right conditions, the impact could surpass $400 million, but that's going to depend on the weather and which teams wind up in the NFL's championship games, the two major things the Host Committee cannot control.
But, says Allison Melangton, CEO of the Super Bowl Host Committee, “The 2012 Super Bowl is about so much more than a game. Through initiatives like Super Scarves, Indy's Super Cure and the NFL Emerging Business Program, we have engaged people including and beyond the traditional football fan in our planning and implementation.
“The footprint of this Super Bowl will be seen worldwide when the international spotlight shines on the game next February. More important, the footprints of the Host Committee's innovative programs that will be left behind long after the game will impact generations of Hoosiers.”
Melangton says the work of reaching out to Indianapolis neighborhoods has begun and now that work is expanding beyond Indianapolis to the rest of Indiana.
Besides spending on hotel rooms, restaurants, souvenirs and meeting rooms that is part of big events like a Super Bowl, Melangton says she expects the footprints being left by the Host Committee will lead to economic opportunity for a variety of small businesses.
Dianna Boyce, director of communications for the Host Committee, says that because Indianapolis is a rookie Super Bowl host, organizers have gone “above and beyond what's expected.” The Host Committee has 28 employees, created 60 committees looking at everything from transportation to trash removal to the weather, and in the process has involved 900 volunteers in the planning. By game day, there will be 8,000 volunteers involved with the Super Bowl.
“All of Indiana stands to benefit from the Super Bowl,” says Boyce. “We've set up a statewide outreach. It may be hard to measure what the impact will be, but in the end we think Hoosiers will know an impact exists.”
A major concern for the Host Committee, says Boyce, is the compact nature of downtown Indianapolis. Most activities will be within a three-block area, making this Super Bowl the most compact of any Super Bowl in NFL history.
“We need to plan on how to get a large number of people and food in easily and how to get the trash out,” says Boyce, who adds that all of the planning has involved making sure the area and the rest of Indianapolis is secure.
“We're also preparing for the weather. It's February, we could have anything from 40 degrees to a blizzard,” says Boyce.
The outreach by the Host Committee has extended not only to neighborhood groups and schools in Indianapolis, but to the four corners of Indiana. Meetings around the state have explained to potential vendors what steps they need to take to get involved with the NFL. Boyce explains that even though the Host Committee wants to create opportunities for Hoosier businesses, the final decision on which companies will get the nod to provide products or services for the Super Bowl will be up to the NFL.
For Lisette Guillen of LatinMedia in East Chicago, the Super Bowl process has been a wonderful learning experience. LatinMedia is a full-service bilingual advertising and public relations agency that hopes to receive a contract for bilingual services for the large Hispanic audience for the Super Bowl.
“No, we don't have a contract right now,” says Guillen, “but we've been to several workshops with the Host Committee. They've been wonderful and have helped us out all along the way.”
Guillen says she doesn't expect to hear anything about potential Super Bowl business until November.
“It's been a really great experience. They've kept us up to date and given us previews on what is expected. That experience alone has been worth the time,” says Guillen. “There have been great networking opportunities. We've met with NFL contractors and other businesses around Indiana.”
LatinMedia's experience with the Miss USA Pageant when it was held in Gary has been a plus for the company, says Guillen. “It shows we have the ability to handle a national event. This is a learn-as-you-go process. Should we be fortunate to get a contract, we would want to move quickly to hire people.”
For Blackjack Uniforms in Hammond, the possibility of a contract for work with the Indianapolis Super Bowl is worth the time invested in the process. Jim Crowell, sales manager for the company owned by his wife, Judy, says Blackjack won't know anything until just a few weeks before the game.
Blackjack, which provides security, postal and work uniforms to government and private businesses, says working with the Super Bowl Host Committee has sharpened the company's organizational skills.
“I have a feeling that a lot of what the Super Bowl is going to need is going to come at the last minute,” says Crowell. “I think there is the potential for some business for us, but even if nothing comes of it, this has been a great experience for us.
“What I have come to realize from this experience is just how huge the Super Bowl is. It's a big deal,” says Crowell. “Until you take part in some of these meetings, you don't have any idea how massive it is.”
It's not just Northwest Indiana businesses that have embraced the Super Bowl. When the Host Committee sent out a call to Hoosier knitters that it needed 8,000 scarves for the outdoor workers at the Super Bowl, Michigan City's Bev Meska answered the call.
For the 81-year-old retired school secretary (a die-hard Indianapolis Colts fan) the call came from her daughter, Candace Williams, who lives in suburban Indianapolis.
“She knew I liked to knit, so she called. The next day, I went out and bought yarn,” says Meska, who has been the most prolific knitter for the Super Bowl in the state. She has completed 254 scarves, and with four friends (Theresa Greene, Phyllis Long, Marge Gosnell and Sandy Robbins), the group from Northwest Indiana has contributed more than 300 scarves.
“I just started knitting and when a box got full, I sent it in,” says Meska. “Then I'd start on another.”
Meska has letters from the Super Bowl Host Committee thanking her for her work. She's received shirts, hats, a notebook, a slingbag and a windbreaker as thank-you gifts. When Meska's scarves arrive at the Host Committee office, they're logged and then sent to the Indiana Women's Prison, where the Super Bowl logo is affixed to each one.
“I will miss this when it's all over,” says Meska, who takes her knitting basket with her wherever she goes. After the Super Bowl, Meska says she will continue to knit, making prayer shawls for churches and lap blankets for hospitals.
For companies like LatinMedia and Blackjack Uniforms, the impact of the Super Bowl is yet to be felt, but for others like Bev Meska, she's already a part of the team.
