The NFL is “moving forward on a new level of league-administered hospitality called NFL House -- a high-end, drop-in facility for business partners that will operate from Thursday through Sunday of Super Bowl week in Indianapolis,” according to Terry Lefton in this week’s SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The ice storms and snow that hit Dallas during Super Bowl week this year “led to complaints from the league’s top business partners,” so NFL officials decided that “controlling more assets in and around their championship event would be one corrective course of action.” That led to NFL House, a “two-level, 15,000-square-foot facility that will be built within the 123-year-old Union Station in downtown Indianapolis.” The space will be “outfitted in grand style and include a large ski-lodge-style room with an oversized fireplace as well as a game room and meeting areas.” Food and drinks “will be offered, along with programming that is still to be determined but will include the likes of chalk talks with retired NFL players, wine tastings and celebrity chef events.” A high-end Super Bowl store “is also planned for the space, which will be run by retail and merchandising company MainGate.” The NFL is “already scouting for locations in New Orleans, which will host the 2013 Super Bowl.” Finding a central space in metro New York and New Jersey for '14 is “also an imperative.” SportsMark is “handling creative, production and operations for NFL House” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/7 issue).
