Indianapolis is My Home

30
May

Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton In Concert

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Concerts, Things To Do in Indy, Verizon Wireless Music Center, White River State Park

They won’t be appearing together, but Sheryl Crow and guitar-legned Eric Clapton will be playing concerts in the Circle City this summer.

Eric Clapton will be performing tonight at Verizon Wireless Music Center.

Sheryl Crow will be performing at White River State Park on Tuesday, June 2nd. You can get more information about this concert here.

28
May

Celebrities at the Indy 500

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Celebrities, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy 500, Speedway

I attended my first Indianapolis 500 this past weekend and had a great time. I have friends that come in from Vegas every year, they usually come for the F1, but since it’s not running they decided to continue the tradition and just switch it to the Indianapolis 500.

We had a blast. Had some good seats and got to see some celebrities. I’ll have to admit though, I didn’t know a lot of them, here are two that we had to ask who they were.

Whitney Thompson - Winner of "America’s Next Top Model"

Drew Lachey - from 98 Degrees and "Dancing with the Stars"

More pictures of other famous people that were at the race to come!

23
May

Gene Wojciechowski Can Stay Home in February

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Lucas Oil Stadium, Special Events

First Mr. Wojciechowski spends more than the first half of his article complaining about why Indianapolis shouldn’t be the host of the 2012 Super Bowl, but briefly inserts the following:

I’ve got nothing against Indianapolis. It’s a lovely place to hold car races, a Final Four, even an NBA All-Star Game every few decades or so. Plus, you can never go wrong at that downtown Steak ‘n Shake.

Nothing against? You mean like the first 10 paragraphs nothing against? Last time I checked some of the greatest teams in football were from colder weather locations. And each of those teams crammed out stadiums with fans who weren’t worried about freezing their butts off to support their team. Perhaps you would also like to outlaw any open air stadiums?

So, if you’re team makes it to winter vacation Super Bowl, then play the game and do what you were sent there to do.

Indianapolis will host one great Super Bowl. Now shut-up and do your job and report about sports. If I wanted your opinion on travel destinations I would have looked for your article in Frommer’s.

ESPN - Can’t quite warm up to cold-weather Super Bowl - Columnist

20
May

Indianapolis Wins Bid for Super Bowl 2012

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business Entrepreneurs, Downtown, Indianapolis Colts, Indy Pro Athletes, Lucas Oil Stadium, News, Special Events

Great news for the city! Congratulations to everyone that participated and help secure this deal into reality. Can’t wait to see this thing come to the city and hopefully be a part of it in some way.

Indianapolis officials had gone to great lengths to secure the 25,000 hotel rooms required by league bid specifications. They also hammered home the city’s strengths, including downtown connectivity and history of hosting big events, from the 1987 Pan Am Games to the Indianapolis 500 and NCAA men’s basketball Final Fours.

Indianapolis also came up with $25 million in corporate and individual support to fund various Super Bowl operations, including event hosting, transportation and building a practice facility. NFL sources said Indianapolis has more money secured to host the 2012 Super Bowl than either Phoenix or Houston.

I still think that working as hard to get back and keep events like the F1 should also have the same importance.

What do you think?

Indianapolis lands Super Bowl

19
May

Tomorrow Is the Big Day - Super Bowl 2012?

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Downtown, Indianapolis Colts, Indy Pro Athletes, Lucas Oil Stadium

Tomorrow is the big day, the NFL owners should decide where the Super Bowl will be taking place in 2012. According to the IBJ, Indianapolis is leading as the "frontrunner".

"There’s a thought that Indianapolis and Jim Irsay have done everything they need to host a Super Bowl," said Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based consulting firm Sportcorp Ltd., which counts several NFL teams as clients. "You can never predict what these 32 owners will decide, but some think Indianapolis is in a solid position."

The Indianapolis promoters have added an interesting idea to build the equivalent of an "Olympic village" downtown to provide an epicenter of activity for visitors to participate in without having to have tickets to game itself.

18
May

Get a Golf Deal at Brickyard Crossing

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Indianapolis Golf, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Outdoor Recreation, Speedway, Things To Do in Indy

It’s May and it’s time to be at the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. If you didn’t know it though, there’s more to the Speedway than just cars, engines and tires… you can also play some great golf at the Brickyard Crossing golf course.

Now you can take advantage of getting a great rate by playing the course on their Twilight rate special.

For only $55 after 4pm, play one of the most unique golf courses in the world, including four holes inside the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Whether you’re golfing for business or pleasure, you can take advantage of the extended daylight hours and play one of America’s top public golf courses. Tee times up to 30 days in advance at brickyardcrossing.com or call 317-492-6572.

For more details, you can visit or call the Brickyard Golf Course at the following:

Brickyard Crossing Golf Course
4400 West 16th Street
Indianapolis Indiana 46222
317-492-6572
www.brickyardcrossing.com

15
May

Jon McLaughlin Performing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway This Weekend

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Concerts, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy 500, Local Musicians, Things To Do in Indy

One of the musicians and artists I’ve been enjoying lately, since purchasing his album, is Jon McLaughlin. I just read that he’ll be performing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend at 3pm. Tickets at the gate are $10.

Click here for a list of other events on the schedule at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Jon is a great singer and does some great piano playing. You can see his talent by clicking on the link below for him performing "Industry" from his latest album "Indiana".

An Anderson, IN native and Anderson School of Music graduate, I think he’s definitely someone we can be proud of by calling Indiana home.

YouTube Video of Jon performing "Industry"

14
May

What Indy Car Drivers Drive Off the Track

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy 500, Northwest Side

We were just in a local tire shop having some work done and picking up the car. Before I even pulled into the lot I noticed this car in the parking space (handicapped at that).

We found it it belongs to an Indy Car driver, but he doesn’t have his pit crew work on his personal car so he brings it in here to get work done on it. There were a stack of racing slicks next to the car just to the left out of the photo.

I’m not sure who it belongs to, but the car had California plates on it. I wonder if he gets to open this sucker up on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track sometimes?

In case the photo I took above isn’t clear enough (I took it with my phone), here’s what the car looks like from Edmunds.

Yeah! Very nice! Would love to drive that around at least once in my life.

31
Jan

Jonas Brothers Heading to Victory Field

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Concerts, Downtown, Things To Do in Indy, Victory Field

Just saw that the Jonas Brothers have a concert scheduled for Saturday, February 16th at Victory Field.

If you don’t know who the Jonas Brothers are then you probably don’t have kids under the age of 10. They have been dominating the music charts on Disney Radio for a couple of years now.

The concert is scheduled for 6pm and the first thing that comes to my mind is…"They know this is Indianapolis right?"

Anyone else think the chances for it to be snowing, raining, sleeting or just plain cold are pretty high for that day?

I think I would have picked a different venue for this time of year.

30
Jan

Indiana Pacers Desperate for Audience

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indiana Pacers, News

I was just reading an article in the IBJ about the Indiana Pacer’s being in an ugly situation for attendance and revenue for the first time in well over a decade. It’s so serious that the NBA Commissioner, David Stern, is even keeping an eye on the situation. Rumor is they’ll even be asking the city for help.

But Pacers home attendance is a crippling financial factor. Sports business experts said a decline of the magnitude the Pacers are experiencing this year could cost the team $7 million to $9 million in ticket revenue alone. Lost parking, concession and other ancillary revenue that results from fewer fans’ attending games could easily put the loss in the eight-figure range.

Here’s an idea. Cut the crap!

When Chris Rock comes to town and jokes about not hanging out with the Pacers because they could "get you shot" would be hilarious if it weren’t so true!

I went to a game early in the season and tried to give them some benefit of the doubt, but less than a month later Jamaal Tinsley is involved in another downtown Indy shootout.

I’ve got to think the best move the team could make is some zero tolerance for about the next 5 years at least. I’m not sure if it could actually be accomplished, but I’d dump any player on the team that’s been involved in any court other than the one with goals and basketballs. I’ll bet they could garner some more fan support from 3rd string, hard-working college graduates than some of the players on the team now.

IBJ Source: What’s Pacers’ next play? Team falls into last place in NBA home attendance; league wants ’ship righted’