Indianapolis did an exceptional job hosting Super Bowl XLVI. Now it wants to prove this wasn't a one-hit wonder.
Mayor Greg Ballard confirmed Wednesday that the city will bid to host Super Bowl LII in 2018, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported.
(That's Super Bowl 52 for the Roman numeral-challenged among you.)
"Let's do it again," Ballard told reporters. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay predicted San Francisco and Minnesota -- set for new stadiums -- could put up a fight, but talked about the difference he saw in Indy:
Jim Irsay: we're not just another cold-weather city. We're a special community."
- IBJ The Score (@IBJTheScore) July 18, 2012
Super Bowl host committee president Allison Melangton told The Associated Press that 99 percent of media mentions about Indianapolis during Super Bowl XLVI were positive.
It was also a shot in the arm of Indy's economy. The popular Steak 'n Shake restaurant peddled 65,000 hamburgers during Super Bowl week, IBJ reported. St. Elmo (where you're as likely to sit next to Bill Belichick or Abby Manning as you are some anonymous schmo) sold two tons of shrimp in the days before the game.
Three of us on the ATL crew were lucky enough to walk the streets of Indy for XLVI. The city lucked out with perfect weather, but everything Indianapolis had control over was handled with care and a sense that it meant something special to the people. We don't have a horse in the race, but we'd love to find ourselves back here again.











