The National Football League's 2012 title game will be played in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Press Release

(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., December 16, 2008) The Indianapolis 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee today announced the leadership of its civic legacy campaign, an ambitious effort to leverage the economic and publicity power of the NFL championship game to accelerate the revitalization of the city’s Near Eastside neighborhoods.

For Indianapolis, the benefits of hosting the 2012 Super Bowl go on and on: More than $120 million in direct economic investment, invaluable worldwide media exposure, and the opportunity to showcase the city to business leaders and other VIPs from across the globe, to name just a few. But for organizers of the Circle City’s Super Bowl bid, this wasn’t enough – the plan needed to include a lasting civic legacy that would leave an impact far beyond game week.

The Super Bowl bid leadership found a worthy partner on the city’s Near Eastside, where a coalition of neighborhood groups had come together under the auspices of the Great Indianapolis Neighborhoods Initiative (GINI) and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to create a comprehensive quality of life plan. The Super Bowl Committee was exploring building a new state-of-the-art practice facility for the NFC Super Bowl team at Arsenal Technical High School on the Near Eastside; this project became the cornerstone of a broader collaboration focused on supporting the community’s strategy.

Today, the Super Bowl Host Committee and neighborhood leaders announced an organizational structure and initial leadership for the civic legacy partnership:

Housing Committee

Focusing on the redevelopment of housing units within a soon-to-be-selected neighborhood of the Near Eastside, addressing the issue of abandoned and condemned properties and promoting homeownership.

Co-Chairs:

Sarah Dillinger - Board Member, Near East Side Community Organization

Moira Carlstedt – President, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership

Joe Whitsett – Whitsett Group LLC; Board President of the Boner Community Center on the Near Eastside

Business & Economic Development Committee

Emphasizing investment and development starting with the East 10th Street corridor – a major artery through the Near Eastside that includes assets like the IPS School 97 and the Jefferson Apartments.

Co-Chairs:

Patrick Dooley – former CEO of Frank Irish Company and Director of the Indianapolis International Airport; resident of Woodruff Place

Bill Taft – Executive Director, Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Volunteer/Special Events Committee

Creating and executing a campaign to promote the wealth of neighborhood events and festivals occurring on the Near Eastside, showcasing the unique attraction of the community’s twenty individual neighborhoods.

Co-Chair:

Tessie Lloyd-Jones – resident of Woodruff Place, former teacher at Harshman Middle School (20 years)

Community Recreation/NFC Practice Facility Committee

Tasked with managing the design and construction of the Super Bowl NFC practice facility on the campus of Arsenal Technical High School. This group will also facilitate a unique arrangement that divides use of the facility between an Arsenal Tech/IPS athletic complex and a community center serving the neighborhoods of the Near Eastside.

Co-Chairs:

Susan Williams – President, Indiana Sports Corporation; former Executive Director of Indiana State Office Building Commission

Joe Matthews – Executive Director, Jobs Partnership of Greater Indianapolis; founding President & CEO, Indiana OIC Council

“The co-chairs of these committees collectively represent a great partnership between residents of the Near East Side and the corporate and civic leaders from across our community,” said Mark Miles, Chairman of the Super Bowl Host Committee. “They’re united by a common commitment – to make the 2012 Super Bowl more than just a game for Indianapolis, to build a brighter future for the residents of the Near Eastside.”

Miles will co-chair a broader Legacy Leadership Committee that includes these committee co-chairs and will guide the overall civic legacy effort. Also co-chairing the Leadership Committee is Ann Marie Hanlon, a longtime resident and community activist on the Near East Side who currently leads the Near Eastside Collaborative Taskforce that led to the GINI quality of life plan. Derrick Burks, Managing Partner of Ernst & Young in Indianapolis and Treasurer of the Super Bowl Host Committee, is also a member of the Leadership Committee.

“Strong neighborhoods are the backbone of the vibrant city, so it only seems appropriate to leverage an opportunity like the Super Bowl to help rebuild great neighborhoods like those on the Near Eastside,” said Hanlon. “As a community, we’ve created the roadmap for revitalization – thanks to our partnership with the Super Bowl Host Committee, we look forward to going further, faster towards that destination.”

The John H. Boner Community Center has served as the organizational focal point for many of the Near East Side’s civic initiatives; its CEO, James Taylor, and staff members Joe Bowling and Tracy Heaton de Martinez will also support the legacy effort. The announcement of the civic legacy leadership team was made at the Boner Community Center.

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