Super Bowl Village Exceeding Expectations; NFL Experience Sets Weekend Record

The Super Bowl Village's opening weekend "met local organizers' expectation -- and then some," as more than 205,000 people came to the attraction from Friday through Sunday, according to Anthony Schoettle of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. That amount is more "than would come downtown for an average Final Four weekend," and Super Bowl XLVI Host Committee officials believe with the "influx of out-of-towners expected to begin Thursday, next weekend's crowds could be even bigger." More than 100,000 people visited the NFL Experience inside the Indiana Convention Center since it opened Friday, including a record 42,238 fans on Saturday and 42,156 Sunday. The "record attendance for the NFL Experience is about 200,000," set during Super Bowl XLIII in '08. Host Committee member John Dedman said, "We are exceeding some expectations and I would expect to break the NFL Experience attendance mark." Schoettle noted the "only issues over the weekend" occurred shortly after 3:00pm ET Sunday, when "high winds caused several tents in the Super Bowl Village to be evacuated." Officials said that they reopened about two hours later (IBJ.com, 1/30). Schoettle in a separate piece noted since the Village opened, there has been more talk "about the record number of people to come through the NFL Experience ... and a lot less about the relatively small Super Bowl crowd Lucas Oil Stadium will hold." The national media has been "raving about the drive time from the airport to the hotel and the media hotel to both AFC and NFC player hotels." The media also has "raved about the hand-written notes from kids greeting them in their hotel rooms, the greeters at the airport and other little niceties they don't often see on the road" (IBJ.com, 1/30).

WELL DONE SO FAR: Several media members took to Twitter yesterday to express positive sentiments about the setup in Indianapolis. The L.A. Times’ Sam Farmer wrote, “Early consensus among small sampling of media types is that Indianapolis gets an A as a Super Bowl city.” Newsday’s Neil Best wrote, “After 12 attempts I finally have found Super Bowl heaven. Logistical convenience of Indianapolis setup is so good it doesn't seem real.” The Florida Times-Union’s Vito Stellino wrote, “If the writers had a vote, Indy would be in regular Super Bowl rotation. Logistics couldn't be better.” Giants radio announcer Bob Papa wrote, “I think Indy is going to prove to be a GREAT host city for SB. My first 24 hours have been great. Very organized.” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote, “A Super Bowl guarantee: Indianapolis will be a great host.” CBSSports.com’s Pete Prisco wrote, “Indianapolis will be one of the best Super Bowl cities ever. Watch.” NFL Network’s Jeff Darlington wrote, ”It looks like a really nice setup here in Indy for the Super Bowl. Call me crazy, but I think this will actually be a solid host city.” ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss wrote, “It is a gorgeous day here in Indy. Downtown crowded at Super Bowl Village. Nothing compares to Faneuil Hall, but this has that type of feel."

WANTING TO STAY IN THE ROTATION: In Boston, Zuri Berry reported both Colts Owner Jim Irsay and Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard "hope they can attract another Super Bowl, despite the city being deemed a cold-weather town." Ballard said, "I think that people feel that the regular cycle, for regular teams, of four to five years, may not be the best way to go. I think eight to 10 years is doable. And I think we can get on a regular rotation" (BOSTON.com, 1/30). Also in Boston, Amalie Benjamin noted Indianapolis "isn't attempting to ignore the cold." Super Bowl Host Committee Dir of Communications Dianna Boyce said, "Kind of embracing that winter theme. Get your winter on, it's cool, is really what we've said all along. (We're) just embracing the whole outdoor festival theme." Benjamin noted that includes "warming zones, hot chocolate, and the type of heated benches found on the sidelines at an NFL game" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/30).

NOT A CHEAP TICKET: In N.Y., Leonard Greene notes the lowest price for a ticket to Super Bowl XLVI on the secondary ticket market yesterday was $2,090. That is 20% "lower than the price of tickets in the hours after [Lawrence] Tynes' overtime field goal against the 49ers sent the Giants to Indianapolis" (N.Y. POST, 1/31). Also in N.Y., Joe Sharkey notes StubHub had about 3,000 ticket available yesterday, "priced from a mere $2,100 in the farthest nosebleed levels, all the way up to $516,484 for a full luxury suite." Meanwhile, Travelocity.com last Friday listed a "scarce hotel room" for $899 a night. TravelClick Exec VP/Business Intelligence Solutions Tim Hart, whose company provides marketing data to the hotel industry, said, "Indianapolis is probably going to be one of the most extreme of all the Super Bowl cities simply because of the limited supply" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/31).